One little spark just became one BIG D23 surprise!
EPCOT fans, this is NOT a drill.
After nearly three decades away from the attraction he helped make a Disney Parks icon, Dreamfinder is officially returning to EPCOT, and he’s reuniting with Figment.
Disney saved the surprise for the closing moments of Horizons: A Carousel of Progress at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, when Disney Experiences Chairman Thomas Mazloum announced that Walt Disney Imagineering is developing a new journey into imagination featuring Dreamfinder and Figment.
And considering fans have spent YEARS asking Disney to bring Dreamfinder back to the Imagination pavilion, Mazloum made it pretty clear that Disney has been listening.
Dreamfinder and Figment Are Reuniting at EPCOT
Figment isn’t going anywhere. But this time, he’s bringing back an old friend.
Disney confirmed during Horizons that Figment and Dreamfinder will reunite at EPCOT as part of a new journey into imagination.
Mazloum told the cheering D23 audience that Disney knows just how important these characters (and their history at EPCOT) are to fans.
“We know how important this is to you. We’ve heard you.”
Disney hasn’t revealed exactly what this “new journey” will look like yet, but the wording alone is pretty significant.
For decades, Figment has remained an important part of EPCOT. Dreamfinder? That’s a different story.
Who Is Dreamfinder?
If your EPCOT memories begin with the current version of Journey Into Imagination With Figment, you may be wondering why longtime fans are freaking out right now.
Dreamfinder was one of the central characters of the original Journey Into Imagination, which opened at EPCOT in 1983.
The whimsical inventor traveled aboard his Dream Mobile collecting ideas, sounds, colors, and other things that could spark the imagination.
And during his travels, Dreamfinder created a certain little purple dragon from pieces of his imagination. Figment.
Dreamfinder became Figment’s creator, mentor, and friend, with the pair guiding guests through an attraction built around creativity and the limitless possibilities of imagination.
For many longtime EPCOT fans, Dreamfinder and Figment weren’t simply attraction characters…they WERE Journey Into Imagination.
Dreamfinder Has Been Gone for Nearly 30 Years
Here’s why this announcement is such a big deal. Dreamfinder was part of Journey Into Imagination for 15 years, from 1983 until 1998. The original attraction closed in 1998 and was replaced by Journey Into YOUR Imagination in 1999.
That controversial version removed both Dreamfinder and Figment from their starring roles. Figment eventually returned when the attraction was reworked again into Journey Into Imagination With Figment in 2002. Dreamfinder did not.
So while Figment has remained one of EPCOT’s most recognizable characters, the duo that originally introduced guests to the world of imagination has been separated for decades.
Now, Disney says they’re finally getting back together.
Figment Never Really Left EPCOT
If anything, Figment has become MORE prominent at EPCOT in recent years.
Disney notes that the purple dragon continues to appear throughout the park, including his character meet-and-greet inside the Imagination! pavilion.
He’s also become practically synonymous with the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts, where he’s served as a focal character since the festival’s inaugural season in 2017.
And then there was that popcorn bucket. Figment’s now-infamous 2022 Festival of the Arts popcorn bucket sparked massive lines and quickly went viral, helping kick off another wave of Figment popularity.
Between merchandise, festival appearances, character greetings, and Journey Into Imagination With Figment itself, Disney has spent the past several years making it pretty clear that the little purple dragon isn’t disappearing anytime soon.
Now we’re finally getting the other half of the duo back.
But What Exactly Is Disney Building?
Here’s where we need to put the brakes on the Dream Mobile for a second. Disney hasn’t told us yet.
The announcement specifically says Disney is taking guests on a “new journey into imagination at EPCOT with Dreamfinder and Figment.”
However, Disney has not yet confirmed whether that means:
- A completely new attraction
- A major reimagining of Journey Into Imagination With Figment
- A different experience inside the Imagination pavilion
- Or something else entirely
Disney also did not announce a closure date for the current Journey Into Imagination With Figment or an opening timeframe for whatever comes next.
So while it’s VERY tempting to immediately declare that the original Journey Into Imagination is coming back, Disney hasn’t said that. At least not yet.
What we can officially say is that Dreamfinder and Figment are returning together for a new EPCOT experience centered around imagination.
And after almost 30 years without Dreamfinder? That’s already pretty huge.
Disney Says There’s MUCH More to Come
Thankfully, this doesn’t sound like the last update we’ll get! Disney specifically teased that there’s “so much more to come” regarding Dreamfinder and Figment’s journey back to EPCOT.
That means we’re still waiting to learn exactly what Imagineering is creating, where the experience will fit into the existing Imagination pavilion, what happens to the current attraction, when construction could begin, and—perhaps most importantly — when we’ll actually get to see Dreamfinder and Figment together again.
But for longtime EPCOT fans, this D23 announcement is something they’ve been waiting decades to hear.
Keep checking back with Theme Park Scope for the latest Dreamfinder and Figment updates, Journey Into Imagination news, EPCOT construction, Walt Disney World announcements, and everything else revealed during D23.
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