EPCOT

TOURING
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Epcot with Kids I
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WDW At Large

AT A GLANCE...
Attractions
Characters
Restaurants
Shopping

FUTURE WORLD
Club Cool
Innoventions
Journey into
   Imagination
Mission: Space
Spaceship Earth
Test Track
The Seas w/Nemo & Friends
The Land
--Soarin'
Universe of Energy

WORLD SHOWCASE
Mexico
Norway
China
Germany
Italy
American Adventure
Japan
Morocco
France
United Kingdom
Canada

ENTERTAINMENT
IllumiNations:
   Reflections of Earth
IllumiNations Boat
    Cruises
Innoventions Fountains
Live Entertainment
-- Off Kilter

SPECIAL EVENTS
Flower & Garden
   Festival
Food & Wine Festival

HOLIDAYS
Candlelight
   Processional
Epcot Storytellers
Holidays Around the
   World

TOURS
-- Around the World on a Segway
-- DiveQuest
-- Dolphins in Depth
-- Epcot Seas Aqua Tour
-- Gardens of the World
-- Undiscovered Future World

SPECIAL REPORTS
AllEars®
Features
Chocolate Around the
    World
Far East Finds a Home
    in Florida - The     Japan Pavilion
Exotic Treasures Found
    in Morocco
Ice Dreams and Rice
    Creams at Norway
Mission: Space - To Boldly
Go Where I Will Never Go Again
Not Just Kid's Stuff:
    Cranium Command
Re-Discovering Future World
Shopping Around the World

ARCHIVES
Captain EO
Food Rocks
Hidden Treasures Tour
HongKong DLPreview Center
Kitchen Kaberet
Kristos
Lord of the Dance
Millennium Celebration
Millennium Village
Muppet Mobile Lab
Person of the Century
Shockwave!
Skyleidoscope
Surprise in the Skies
The Power of Blast!
Tapestry of Dreams
Tapestry of Nations
Wonders of Life

1982 Guide Map

OTHER THEME PARKS
Animal Kingdom
Disney's Hollywood Studios
Magic Kingdom

Disneyland
Disney's California
    Adventure

Universal Orlando Resort

INTRODUCTION

The Journey into Imagination Pavilion, sponsored by Kodak, has been a part of Epcot since it opened and it probably has changed more than any other pavilion in Epcot.  The last changes were a direct result of guest displeasure with the reworked Journey into Your Imagination Ride which debuted as part of the Millennium Celebration October 2001. In June 2002, Figment reappeared (in more than just a cameo) and folks are enjoying the attraction once again.

ATTRACTIONS

There are three attractions in the Journey into Imagination Pavilion: Honey I Shrunk the Audience (Not To Be Missed) and Journey Into Imagination....with Figment, and the What If Labs.

Journey into Imagination... with Figment- Reopened June 1, 2002!

Andrea McKenna reports: We went to the soft opening (May 31, 2002) and rode 4 times. The Imagineers were there tweaking it, so every ride was slightly different. Then we rode it again twice at the official opening.

Most of the queue is the same, with the addition of a portrait gallery of Inventor of the Year winners, which includes Dr. Nigel Channing, Dr. Wayne Szalinski and Dr. Brainard from "Flubber." There are Figment videos on the screens overhead, and sometimes there was a soundtrack and other times there was nothing.

The ride loading and unloading areas are unchanged. Inside the ride, you go through "labs" for studying the senses--Sight, Sound and Smell. One never gets to Taste and Touch, as Figment has made the rest of the "Open House" a disaster. Figment then invites everyone to his own open house, which is the upside down house redone in Figment's taste and style.

I won't give away any of the surprises in the ride, but there are a couple of nods to the original ride. One is an office door marked "Dean Finder" (I thought Dr. Finder would have worked better, personally,) and the old film of Figment somersaulting is shown on his TV in the upside down house. "One Little Spark" is prominent throughout the ride, albeit with new lyrics. Figment's new voice is different enough to be noticeable, and nowhere near as good as Billy Barty's Figment.

The new ride is light years better than the last incarnation, but nothing will ever be as good as the original. The newest version is still too short, and has some timing problems. If you are in the front car, you barely have time to catch a glimpse of the finale, but if you're in the last car, you miss the setup for some of the scenes. Hopefully they'll be able to work out the kinks soon. Meanwhile, it's still better than the dreadful Journey Into Your Imagination. At least people weren't getting off the ride with that puzzled "What the heck was *that??*" look that was so prevalent with JIYI.

There is plenty of Figment-themed merchandise in the shop, and the limited edition pins were enjoying brisk sales. When we arrived this morning, the line for the pins was longer than the line for the ride! The ride was not mentioned on the Epcot map, so I'm assuming many guests weren't even aware it was there and open.

Honey I Shrunk the Audience

Without a doubt, one of the most creative 3-D movies of the late 1990s.  This is a 20-minute misadventure with the likes Professor Wayne Szalinski.  Professor Szalinski is about to accept the Inventor of the Year Award, however, he had a little mishap with the remote for his hoverpod and he's flying out of control around the Institute. As part of the award ceremony, Professor Szalinski will demonstrate his Dimensional Duplicator and Incredible Shrinking Machine.  You too will be shrunk as part of the misdirected laser beam. There are some super special effects, including feeling the wind from the hoverpod when the Professor flies into the theater.

What If Labs

At the conclusion of your journey you enter the Kodak What If! Labs (similar to the Image Works that was on the 2nd floor of the building). The What If! Lab experiments were fun. You can still conduct the orchestra, but this time a la the new millennium. Other interactive experiments included stepping stones that create sounds and a special mirror that distorts your body. I played with some of the experiments and had fun. I noticed lots children enjoying this interactive section. You can also send email postcards home from here, some with other-worldly special effects!

Epcot Attractions At A Glance

DINING

There is no place to eat in the immediate vicinity of the the Imagination pavilion. However, next door at the Land there is the Sunshine Seasons food court and sit-down character restaurant, the Garden Grill.

Epcot Restaurants At A Glance
Menus From Around the World
Vegetarian and Other Special Diets

ENTERTAINMENT

For more information on Epcot Live Entertainment, visit Steve Soares WDW Entertainment Website.

TOURING TIPS

Honey I Shrunk the Audience is a VERY realistic 3-D motion picture.  If you do not like SNAKES, LIONS, or MICE, then you may not want to see this movie.  Parts of this movie are VERY loud and may scare young children.

If the wait time til the next show is too long (more than 15 minutes) get a Fastpass!

3-D "safety goggles" are worn in the theater to provide the special effects.

Sitting your child on your lap will help reduce the special effects they experience.

Journey into Your Imagination - There are 2 portions of the ride (one at the beginning and one near the end), where it gets pitch black and very noisy (from pouring rain to a loud train)!  Young children may be frightened by this.  See Comments below.

What If Labs! can be lots of fun, especially if it is not crowded.  Be sure to stop by the Email center and send home a postcard of yourself, Imagination Styled!

Be sure to check out the fountains outside the pavilion.

KIDS AND CHARACTERS

The What If Labs are a great place for kids to run around, touch things and get out some energy.

Be sure you read the Touring Tips (above) regarding things that may frighten children.

Figment sometimes appears in the small building to the left of the Honey I Shrunk the Audience entrance (the former Kodak camera store). Check your daily Epcot Times Guide for times and locations.

Epcot Characters At A Glance 
Character Meet and Greet FAQ!

SHOPPING

The Gift Shop immediately following the What If Labs has computer-generated photos taken with Disney Characters. There is some Figment merchandise in the form of mugs, T-shirts, key chains etc., as well as new Figment and Imagination merchandise. There are also some unusual etched Lucite gifts here -- the images they can etch into the material are really quite impressive! There are a number of Instant Photo booths by Kodak where, for $5, you can make your own Epcot Passport, Photo-ID Badge for the Imagination Institute, or picture postcards to send to friends and family!

INTERESTING FACTS

Based on the enormously popular Walt Disney Pictures -- "Honey, I Shrunk The Kids" (1989), "Honey, I Blew Up The Kid" (1992), and the follow-up "Honey We Shrunk Ourselves" (1997) -- the performance "on stage" at the Imagination Institute Auditorium features the original Szalinski film family: the invention-happy professor, his trusting wife, Diane, their sons, Nick and Adam, and their frisky dog, Quark. As in the films, Wayne Szalinski is portrayed by comedic actor Rick Moranis.

Dr. Nigel Channing is played by Eric Idle from Monty Python's Flying Circus.

"Honey I Shrunk the Audience" brings together all the special effects of the Szalinski movies but in 3D.

The Journey to Imagination Pavilion that opened with Epcot Center provided a "child's-eye view of imagination".  A spectacular 3-D journey in the Magic Eye Theater and the creative Image Works area were part of the original pavilion.

Honey I Shrunk the Audience replaced Captain EO starring Michael Jackson.