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The Dreamfinder Matters (The Vanished Moral of JOURNEY INTO IMAGINATION) | ExploraStories

The Dreamfinder doesn't live here anymore...
The Dreamfinder was an important staple in the earliest days of EPCOT Center. As the admirable host of the classic and original Journey Into Imagination attraction, he showed Walt Disney World guests how to capture and expand their dreams... and they did in ways they could have never imagined. Long since evicted from an ever-changing Epcot, today we explore this one-of-a-kind visionary and his seemingly forgotten significance.
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Пікірлер: 41

  • @dreemfinder
    @dreemfinder Жыл бұрын

    Correct in every measure.

  • @HappyPlaceExplorers

    @HappyPlaceExplorers

    Жыл бұрын

    If the Dreamfinder says so, then it must be so!

  • @EM-ec4jo
    @EM-ec4jo Жыл бұрын

    The Dreamfinder should absolutely come back. They have a winning attraction on their hands and they need only look to the original to know how to execute it. It doesn't have to be a 1:1 of the old ride, merely follow in its footsteps.

  • @HappyPlaceExplorers

    @HappyPlaceExplorers

    Жыл бұрын

    Yes! I believe a modern take on the attraction, with modern technology, (perhaps even with a modern creative-centric sponsor) would do wonders!

  • @jbrock547
    @jbrock5476 ай бұрын

    I went to Disney World around 1986 and vividly remember the Dreamfinder as one of the most unique sights that, to me, screamed Epcot Center (before they removed Center). The Dreamfinder ship will stay with me forever.

  • @bethhaneyart
    @bethhaneyart Жыл бұрын

    I could not love this more! Bravo bravo bravo 👏🏻 🎉 You have managed to express every thought and emotion I have had about the original Journey into Imagination. I truly hope this video will be played in front of ALL the top Disney executives! Do they not realize who was filling those long lines for the popcorn buckets? It was the OG fans of the original Journey ride! They all were there in the 80’s when Figment became their hero because they wanted to create just like he did. I love Figment but I know he wouldn’t exist without the Dreamfinder. They are a team. I bought my Figment stuff animal when I was a kid, back in the summer of 89, because I wanted to be the Dreamfinder and have Figment in my arms to inspire. We’re a team, better together. 🙏🏻 Please let Disney remember. 🙏🏻

  • @HappyPlaceExplorers

    @HappyPlaceExplorers

    Жыл бұрын

    Exactly! Everybody loves Figment (the idea) and wants to display that through purchasing expensive popcorn buckets and branded merchandise, but I think business-minded-Disney would be surprised to see how enthusiastic we would be about more Dreamfinder products, just simple things that we could and WOULD literally line up and buy stuff for. Disney wants to lean into their popular "IP" by bringing it into the parks, seemingly sticking up their nose at the brilliant attraction IP they already have and SHOULD market. I love Disney content, but I'd be much more inclined to purchase Country Bears branded merchandise (or John Progress, or Tiki Room, or Spaceship Earth Phoenicians, or Admiral Bek, or Dr. Seeker, Dreamfinder or...), than Moana, Toy Story or Encanto, etc.. I know that's not the main point of your comment, haha, but I got lost on a tangent. The stores are where Disney blatantly puts their focus these days and they should use and explore that as an honest litmus test to see where a lot of consumer enthusiasm actually lies.

  • @bethhaneyart

    @bethhaneyart

    Жыл бұрын

    @@HappyPlaceExplorers I completely agree! The only other purchase I made that year in 1989 was one of the Country Bears! I love all the things you mentioned. I actually just painted a purse with Dreamfinder and Figment on it because you CAN’T buy one anywhere else. 😊

  • @theUselessProfessor
    @theUselessProfessor5 ай бұрын

    Dreamfinder can and should return. The core of Dreamfinder, Figment, and their message is eternal, and they can simultaneously evolve as characters. Give us a new, updated version of them who still invoke the spirit and philosophy of the originals. Create sparks of imagination that inspire amazing, marvelous new ideas.

  • @edvaira6891
    @edvaira6891 Жыл бұрын

    I was so very lucky to have been an impressionable much younger goofball when this ride (and the rest of the Original Epcot) opened…I got to visit in 1983, 1985, 87,:twice in 1989, and once again in 1990 and 1991…before it started to be diluted…and neglected….and just tossed aside wholesale in the case of this pavilion, as well as World of Motion and, the biggest sin, Horizons….I miss them so much sometimes, with the pain that nostalgia just intensifies and echoes endlessly…Thank you for remembering the gifts of Rohn Schmidt (and, occasionally, even Joe Rhode, himself, for, of course he HAD to be one of those who inhabit the Dreamfinder!)…I have never forgiven Michael Eisner for allowing so much of what I loved about Classic Epcot to be tossed aside (and, as the rare creative executive, it was EVEN A WORSE SIN that this all happened under his watch, and, I would like to think, he might feel some sorrow or guilt about what happened to this ride)

  • @HappyPlaceExplorers

    @HappyPlaceExplorers

    Жыл бұрын

    I am always envious of your EPCOT-Center-In-Its-Prime Experiences. I so wish to have taken a single ride on any of those classic dark rides. EPCOT would be something so much more energizing and affecting today if it hadn't fallen for the "theme parks need to thrill the teens" philosophy Eisner was so into. As we can seem to observe today, all of those dark rides have exclusively fond recollections in their absence. Test Track, Mission: Space, even aspects of Journey Into YOUR Imagination, with tweaking, would be all even more outstanding attractions in the other three parks.

  • @jbrock547

    @jbrock547

    6 ай бұрын

    Do you remember a souvenir book that had the image of Dreamfinder in it? I think it had the image of the (then) chrome looking future car. I went in 1986 during spring break of my first grade year. At Epcot my brother got one of those rotating drums like in karate kid 2, and I got a western sheriff leather vest and chaps. I still have it today. Man the memories...

  • @edvaira6891
    @edvaira6891 Жыл бұрын

    Jordan, my old friend! It is Glorious to see you’ve returned with your unique look at the world intact! I have missed you and hope this is not your only project you choose to share with us! Hope you are well, as are your fellow explorers on the West Coast!

  • @HappyPlaceExplorers

    @HappyPlaceExplorers

    Жыл бұрын

    We are well!

  • @Elmerstudd007
    @Elmerstudd007 Жыл бұрын

    Oh my goodness you've returned! I've missed you guys so much! I'm a firm believer that The Dream Finder could find his place again... in a world that is somewhat lacking in imagination I almost think in an ironic twist that rehashing an old idea is what the park needs to give it that... one little spark. Now I fully agree that the current versions of the Journey into Your Imagination is..... a good place to get out of the sun, but I must argue that the last sequence of that ride is very well executed and was just a tiny glimpse of what potential the ride had. I understand why Disney has chosen to leave it in its current state simply because it's low maintenance and during busy seasons it proves to draw in tourists that don't know what stagnant attraction they are walking into... could I imagine a brand new attraction with Bing Bong teaching kids how to use their imagination, yes! Would I enjoy it, Probably. But I would rather them either bring back Dream Finder and Figment or just retire them completely and make an entirely new original concept and not one that relies on existing properties

  • @HappyPlaceExplorers

    @HappyPlaceExplorers

    Жыл бұрын

    I think Disney has recognized the distaste the current attraction has carried its entire time so any update/redo will be an improvement. Even if that is Inside Out. But they know what their core audience wants. They teased all the D23 guests this year by talking about the Imagination Pavilion’s storied legacy and how valuable it is… only to announce... a new Figment meet and greet. While I (want to) believe that the late 2023 timeline for this “meet and greet” suggests its going to be more than your typical character interaction, we’ll have to wait and see. Regardless, its a good path to go down. Ideally, the Dreamfinder is at the end. Disney sees and knows if they go back to the original concepts they can’t mess it up again. It has to be instantly lionized and long lasting. Perhaps, the best of both worlds would be to reinvent the Dreamfinder A LITTLE BIT (somewhat in the same way that the new Mickey shorts depart a bit from what we know the traditional Mickey to be) Recast the Dreamfinder... maybe with an actor we are familiar with. (a Martin Short type, perhaps…) and give Imagineering very little reins, let them work together to create what should be not only Epcot’s, but Disney’s signature attraction experience. But, of course, as you suggest, the best option would be to give Imagineers a blank slate and stand back.

  • @Elmerstudd007

    @Elmerstudd007

    Жыл бұрын

    @Happy Place Explorers if we are recasting Dream Finder I nominate myself or Disney Dan lol.

  • @FigmentJedi
    @FigmentJedi10 ай бұрын

    I've always interpreted the current incarnation of the ride as "Figment's Revenge". Fun when the memory of JIYI's terribleness was fresh, but just an incredibly dated joke now.

  • @ExtraordinaryPeoples
    @ExtraordinaryPeoples Жыл бұрын

    This is one of the best videos I've ever seen on this platform, and I don't say that lightly. You encapsulated everything I feel about the original attraction, what happened to it, what happened to EPCOT, and why it matters. On top of that, this video is not only deeply insightful, it's poignant and profound. I hope one day I can make videos a fraction as good as this.

  • @darkstrifequeen1458
    @darkstrifequeen14582 ай бұрын

    Disney please bring back the dream finder! He and figment are the og dream team!

  • @frostcloud18
    @frostcloud189 ай бұрын

    I'll take a line from a great movie. With everything that's happening, the things that are about to come to light, people might just need a little old-fashioned.

  • @christopherthedisneydude6621
    @christopherthedisneydude6621 Жыл бұрын

    Welcome back to KZread!!! You guys were missed!!! I can’t wait to see more!!!

  • @HappyPlaceExplorers

    @HappyPlaceExplorers

    Жыл бұрын

    Thanks, Christopher!

  • @MaryS2022
    @MaryS2022 Жыл бұрын

    This is a great video. I have never been to any of the Disney Theme Parks but I have fallen in love with Dreamfinder and Figment thanks to ride through videos of the original version of Journey Into Imagination, the Figment comic book series from Marvel, and the very cheesy Language Arts Through Imagination short film series. Dreamfinder and Figment go together like peanut butter and jelly and I hope that they are reunited in a 4th version of Journey Into Imagination. Also, do you think that Dreamfinder will appear in the upcoming Figment movie?

  • @HappyPlaceExplorers

    @HappyPlaceExplorers

    Жыл бұрын

    I am very curious to see what this Figment project turns into. Way too early to tell at this point as its just a treatment right now with no confirmation of actual production, but the creatives behind it are pretty reliable. I'm hopeful any film adaptation will include the Dreamfinder in some capacity. Ultimately, though, any ideal adaptation would require Disney putting some love back into the ride which I think is a win, no matter how the film may end up.

  • @MaryS2022

    @MaryS2022

    Жыл бұрын

    @@HappyPlaceExplorers I agree! Thank you for answering my question!

  • @jaminJ
    @jaminJАй бұрын

    we need Dreamfinder back

  • @TheOnlyJohnAbraham
    @TheOnlyJohnAbraham Жыл бұрын

    Yes! HPE returns with yet another fascinating subject. What a glorious day!

  • @HappyPlaceExplorers

    @HappyPlaceExplorers

    Жыл бұрын

    Indeed! While today the return is Happy Place's, perhaps tomorrow... the Dreamfinder? Can you imagine!!?

  • @betelman
    @betelman Жыл бұрын

    Bravo!!😃

  • @jkocher6973
    @jkocher6973 Жыл бұрын

    Great to see you back online. Nicely done.

  • @KentaroMiyamoto21
    @KentaroMiyamoto216 ай бұрын

    Kinda wish the classic was still operating. Realistically, imagination isn't something that science can accurately explain.

  • @briannepillion1793
    @briannepillion1793 Жыл бұрын

    I am so very happy you are back! I was getting ready to email or message you all and make sure all was well. Though we may not know each other, please know that we care about you all! Loved the video, and as always, you have shared something I never knew! Thank you for sharing and letting us know you are still alive!

  • @HappyPlaceExplorers

    @HappyPlaceExplorers

    Жыл бұрын

    Thank you! Yes, we are all well and alive, though a bit busy these days, haha. But we'll always have our toe in the water ready to take a Happy Place deep dive when the inspiration strikes.

  • @kevb7451
    @kevb7451 Жыл бұрын

    All, I can say is thank you.

  • @HappyPlaceExplorers

    @HappyPlaceExplorers

    Жыл бұрын

    Any time!

  • @jazziphoto4138
    @jazziphoto413811 ай бұрын

    The Dreamfinder was steampunk before steampunk was a thing.

  • @AuraLeafstorm

    @AuraLeafstorm

    Ай бұрын

    Steampunk existed in the 80s

  • @kevb7451
    @kevb7451 Жыл бұрын

    Disney has destroyed epcot, it is nothing but imaginative, unoriginal, and uninspiring today.

  • @HappyPlaceExplorers

    @HappyPlaceExplorers

    Жыл бұрын

    It could definitely benefit from some focus.

  • @yourmother897
    @yourmother897 Жыл бұрын

    I’m glad you guys posted again I missed your videos I hope you guys are doing good