It
is my very great privilege this week to share, for the first time, a
post by a guest author! The author in question is in fact my sister,
who created the blog banner, took some of the photos I have used for
illustration, and even comments here from time to time. She is not
usually as wordy an Armchair Imagineer as I am, but on this occasion,
inspiration struck.
Lately,
I’ve been seeing more and more complaints coming from those who
frequent Walt Disney World, talking about what a bad move it was to
put Nigel Channing of the Imagination Institute in charge of Figment,
originally from Journey to Imagination. The Dreamfinder had been
ousted, and Figment’s personality had changed as a result, taking
him from childlike to bratty.
Considering
I never got the chance to experience Journey to Imagination, I have a
strange attachment to Dreamfinder and Figment, possibly because Epcot
(back when it was E.P.C.O.T.) opened during my lifetime, so I got to
hear about these amazing and marvelous things when they were brand
new.
On
a related note*, Disneyland’s Tomorrowland has been directionless
for decades. Every makeover they’ve attempted has failed to pull it
together in a singular theme, each attraction focusing on its own
goals and paying no mind to everything else going on in the land, or
else the makeover being just a facelift that did nothing to really
tie it all together. Recently, Seasons of the Force has ended (thank
goodness), so even the facade of pre-Star Wars Land Land is gone.
(Granted, it still houses Star Tours, Star Wars Launch Bay, Star Wars
- Path of the Jedi and Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple, but that
does not an overall theme make.)
The
other day, after reading another blog post complaining about Figment
vis a vis Nigel Channing, I grumbled to myself, “Well, if Walt
Disney World doesn’t want Dreamfinder, we’ll take him at
Disneyland.”
And
then, it was as if Dreamfinder himself handed me his Idea Bag, and
from it, I pulled the glorious retheming of Tomorrowland.
The
original thought was to take back the Carousel Theater after Galaxy’s
Edge opens up on the far side of Frontierland. In an ideal world,
they’ll move Star Tours over there as well, which will open up some
high profile real estate right at Tomorrowland’s entrance, which
will also allow for a new (or recreated and revamped**?) attraction
to find a home.
For
the Carousel Theater, I propose they get it carouselling again, and
create a new rotating show based on Dreamfinder and Figment. Have
them take us on an adventure of the imagination that shows the
marriage of magic and technology, thus introducing the idea that
Tomorrowland is a science-fantasy themed place. If Dreamfinder’s
machine can pull ideas out of thin air and store them in the Idea Bag
for use in creating new things, then why can’t something magical be
happening in this futuristic setting, which allows the incorporeal to
be used by the corporeal to create technology? It’s not that far a
stretch beyond what they’ve already got going on.
They
can even shoehorn this idea onto already existing attractions. How
are we able to breathe in space in order to enjoy this rocket ride
through the stars? How is it that we were turned into toys in order
to shoot at other toys? How are we, humans, able to understand what
all these fish are saying? Simple! Imagination! Using this basic
theming, reiterated through merchandise and signage throughout the
land, it would open the doors for new things that wouldn’t feel so
forced or out of place.
For
a while now***, I’ve thought that the Autopia could do with a
Wreck-It Ralph overlay, turning the landscape into Sugar Rush Racers.
My premise for that is that, during the course of the queue, the
Guests are digitized into the videogame world, which allows them to
take a scenic drive of Sugar Rush. The cars could be fueled with corn
ethanol (which I understand smells like cookies!), and the very idea
that people can be turned into videogame characters goes back to this
imagination-run-technology idea.
I
guess that, overall, it seems to me that if they’re going to
abandon perfectly good characters and allow very popular lands to
fall into disarray, perhaps they should start considering using them
together to create a better future. Tomorrowland used to be a place
that encouraged creativity in order to solve problems, and by
encouraging said creativity again, they could get future generations
to think outside the box, becoming interested in science and the
environment, and actually build a better tomorrow.
*
No, really, it’s related. I’m getting there.
**
*cough Adventure Thru Inner Space cough*
***
Okay, since 2012
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