Do You Remember: When Figment Posed with Guests?

by: Nick

Somewhere, maybe in a box in the attic or garage, hopefully not lost along with so many other photos of Walt Disney World from the early to mid 90's, I have a photo of me with Dreamfinder and Figment in front of what was then simply the Journey Into Imagination pavilion in Epcot's Future World.
Dreamfinder has, sadly, been gone for a very long time. But as recently as November 2007 Figment still posed with guests.

Me and Figment. I'm looking at my wife, Figment is looking at the FastPass Photographer!

I haven't seen Figment since then, and, as there are those occasional rumors of Journey Into Imagination with Figment closing for good.

Me, Figment, and Barbie

I'm going to try and stay positive, and hope that Figment stays in some capacity at the park, and perhaps they will be improving rather than replacing the Imagination Pavilion. 

 

Epcot Center Opening Day Guide

by: Nick

I've seen this guide book listed on eBay as the Opening Day Guide, although there is nothing on the cover to indicate as much. When I bought it at an antique store many years ago, the white label that someone annoyingly put on the cover, and which, as you can see, I unsuccessfully removed, stated that it was a pre-opening guide. I payed $10 for it.


The inside cover.


Page 1.


The back cover.


Regardless of what it is, I love it. It is like a time capsule, showing many beloved attractions, some still with us, others changed or extinct, pavilion sponsors, and those terrific Epcot Center logos.



Some of the companies that were sponsors don't even exist any longer.


I miss Dreamfinder. Who am I kidding, I miss the whole original ride!


And perhaps my all time favorite ride, Horizons.



On the World Showcase side, the artwork is even more stunning.





There is even a preview for 3 nations that were planned, announced, but never made it.



Finally the book ends showing some of the workmanship that went into what I consider a Wonder of the World, Epcot.



Because of the wonderful photos, and a glimpse back at classic Epcot Center, this is one of my favorite pieces of Disneyana.

Epcot's Figment PVC Figures

A couple of weeks ago, I shared some Disney PVC figures I discovered at the Flea Market. I thought I'd share my entire Figment PVC collection today.

 

Back in the 90's, my favorite ride in all of Walt Disney World was Horizons. My next favorite ride was Journey Into Imagination. It has of course changed over the years, and definitely not for the better. But even in its current, much less imaginative state, we still try to ride every trip, just to see Figment, and sing "One Little Spark" along with him.

On my first trip to Disney World in 1992, I picked up the 6 figures pictured above. If I'd known how hard they would be to come by in the future, I may have ponied up the dough to buy them all.

The figure below seems to be one of the most common. It has a 1 at the bottom, does that mean it was the first released?

These next few, I've seen on eBay and antique stores, but few and far between.





The next one however, an Italian Figment, seems to be rare. I have seen a few doing Google searches, and there are other World Showcase pavilions represented, such as the United Kingdom, France, America, and Germany.



The search continues.