Maleficent And Figment, Beyond The Gates Of Epcot

Dragons have been at Epcot at Walt Disney World in Florida since the park was known as EPCOT Center. Epcot's mascot, the purple dragon named Figment, made his first appearance in the Journey Into Imagination attraction in 1983. Originally, Maleficent as a dragon (from Disney's 1959 film, Sleeping Beauty) would have made a cameo appearance on the ride.

I think it's time to finally bring Maleficent to the Journey into Imagination with Figment ride, as part of a re-imagined attraction. While we're at it, how about going back to the original Figment character design, which looks quite a bit like Maleficent.

The new Imagination ride could pit the original version of Figment against Maleficent. It could also feature some of the elements of the proposed attractions for Beastly Kingdom at Disney's Animal Kingdom. This would have focused on imaginary animals from around the world, like the Sphinx, Griffins, Dragons, Gargoyles, and a Unicorn. The Quest for the Unicorn labyrinth planned for Beastly Kingdom would have had all these creatures in a lush garden setting. Epcot is very famous for its International Flower and Garden Festival. Epcot would be a great place to celebrate imaginary creatures from around the world, with the Imagination Pavilion right on the border of World Showcase.

Journey Into Imagination originally starred Audio Animatronic characters Figment (voiced by Billy Barty) and Dreamfinder (voiced by Chuck McCann) in a fun, creative (and in some places, a bit scary) dark ride through the world of the Imagination.

For 1999, the ride was changed into Journey Into Your Imagination. The animatronic characters were dropped. The elements that made the ride innovative, like the cars splitting off and following an extended scene with a flying airship, were eliminated. The ride was even less popular than the original version. I wonder why.

For 2002, the ride was changed again, and became Journey Into Imagination with Figment. Figment animatronics returned, but Dreamfinder did not. The incredible flying airship sequence (I still don't know how they did that) failed to return.

The current Journey Into Imagination with Figment attraction never had much of a wait during my August 2011 visit to Walt Disney World. Figment used to be a very popular Disney character in Florida, but I don't know if he is anymore.

A small bit of merchandise, like this 2008 "One Little Spark" baby Figment pin from Walt Disney Imagineering, can still be found in some shops.

Maleficent is a very busy dragon. You can find her at Disney's Hollywood Studios, which is not too far from Epcot. Maleficent appears in the nighttime spectacular, Fantasmic!

I've never seen the Florida version of Fantasmic! I got this pin at Disney's Boardwalk Resort.

Dragons have lived at Epcot's World Showcase, too.

Surprise in the Skies was a daytime show at Epcot, presented at World Showcase Lagoon.

This show was promoted for Walt Disney World's 20th Birthday in 1991.

It featured dragon boats, kites, fireworks and large Disney character balloons. I never saw this show. I know this show had a balloon of Disney's Robin Hood, though I haven't seen what it looked like.

Surprise in the Skies was actually a re-worked version of a show called Skyleidoscope.

Note the Viking Goofy balloon, which was introduced for Surprise in the Skies in 1991.

Walking around World Showcase can make you tired. If you happen to be staying at one of the Epcot Resorts, you can leave the park through the International Gateway (between France and the United Kingdom) to go back to your hotel to relax.

In this picture, you can see the top of the Walt Disney World Swan (left) and in the middle, the Walt Disney World Dolphin. I took this picture as I was walking from Epcot to Disney's Yacht Club Resort. On this day (Saturday, August 27th, 2011) I went to Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disney's Animal Kingdom and Epcot.

Here we can see Disney's Boardwalk Resort, and in the background, the top of the Walt Disney World Swan.

It is fun to explore Disney's Boardwalk Resort at night. There's some great shops and restaurants here. Disney's Boardwalk Resort opened in 1996.

Disney's Yacht Club Resort is beautiful at night! This resort, and its neighbor, Disney's Beach Club, are very popular, and it is easy to see why. I discovered that there are quite a few people that spend a great deal of their vacation time at these resorts. Day or night, there were people enjoying activities here.

You can't go swimming in this water, but Disney's Yacht Club and Beach Club have a big pool/water play/water slide area called Stormalong Bay. Movies are shown on the beach every night (see the movie screen in this picture). Toy Story 3 was the movie shown on this night.

In keeping with the futuristic theme, Epcot Resorts are staffed with Robot Butlers, Robot Maids, and Robot Chefs.

When asked, Resort Staff will deny that they are Cyborgs created by Walt Disney Imagineering.

Staying on Disney property has some huge advantages. There's Location, Location, Location for one. They are also beautiful resorts with friendly people.

I think these Disney Resort logos are cool. This roster is from the early 1990s, and there have been some additions and changes since then. The Disney Inn was a Snow White themed resort. I have stayed at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort (it was nice!). I've visited Disney's Polynesian Resort (for the luau show). I've visited, but not stayed at Disney's Dixie Landings Resort (it was not open when this ad was made, but it eventually just became part of Disney's Port Orleans Resort).


The Walt Disney World Resort is huge. It's two times larger than the island of Manhattan. Can you find the Epcot Resort area on this map?

The Resort is about the same size as San Francisco. There's quite a bit of Walt Disney World that I've never seen.

Disney's Yacht Club and Beach Club opened at Walt Disney World in 1990.

How does the New England theme fit Epcot's World Showcase? Well, from Epcot, it is accessed between the United Kingdom and France. It's NEW England. Yes, that's my explanation.

I had never seen the Epcot Resort area before. It is beautiful, and a destination itself.

If you plan on spending a lot of time at Epcot or Disney's Hollywood Studios, this is the place to stay.

Map out a day of fun at Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resorts.

Disney's Yacht & Beach Club Resorts were designed by Robert A.M. Stern.

The Walt Disney World Swan and Walt Disney World Dolphin, designed by Michael Graves, are located within walking distance to the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts. They opened in 1990.

With their giant Swan and Dolphin Statues, these resorts are hard to miss. You can even see them in World Showcase.

The Swan and Dolphin are not owned by Disney (though it looks like they own the hotel's mascot "characters").

The Swan is operated by Westin, and The Dolphin is operated by Sheraton.

On Sunday, August 28th, 2011, I visited Epcot, Downtown Disney and the Magic Kingdom.

For my Epcot visit, check out Epcot: Space Elephants On Parade And Horizons, The Movie.
After I went to Epcot, I returned to Disney's Yacht Club Resort to catch the bus to Downtown Disney.

Downtown Disney has seen many changes over the years. It used to be known as Walt Disney World Village. The Walt Disney World Village was my first Disney experience, way back in 1981. This trip did not include a visit to The Magic Kingdom or any other place at Walt Disney World, due to a family member getting sick. I would finally get to a Disney Park in 1983 (The Magic Kingdom and the nearly brand-new EPCOT Center).

Dragon Maleficent has made Downtown Disney a new stomping ground. You can find her outside the LEGO store.

You'll also find other Disney Characters here constructed out of LEGOs, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Toy Story's Buzz, Woody and RC.

This part of Walt Disney World has always had a big character shop. For many years, it was called Mickey's Character Shop.

This particular store is long gone. However, there are multiple Disney character shops in Downtown Disney now. You can visit the World of Disney, Once Upon a Toy, and D Street to name a few.

The Dad in that picture is holding a shopping back that many people probably remember.

Yes, I still have a postcard-size version of this great bag.

Look at the cool Giftz sold at Walt Disney World in 1994.

During the early 1990s, the plural of a word looked edgier when the "s" was replaced with a "z."

Pleasure Island was the place to go at Walt Disney World for liquor and lambada dancing.

Pleasure Island opened near the Disney Village Marketplace (now called Downtown Disney) in 1989.

This was a lively place at night, and stayed open until the early morning hours.

This was something new for Walt Disney World. It was a theme park for adults.

I visited Pleasure Island in the early 1990s, when I was in high school. I loved the Comedy Warehouse, which was decorated with old Walt Disney World props.

I remember that I loved seeing Prince John the lion (from Disney's Robin Hood) on the parade drum on the wall here.

Jessica Rabbit could also be found on Pleasure Island. She's not bad, she's just drawn that way!

Jessica was a natural fit for Pleasure Island, and she had her own store called "Jessica's."

The idea of Pleasure Island was eventually discontinued, with the clubs closing down in 2008.

After having lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express and doing some shopping, it was time to head back to Disney's Yacht Club Resort, so I could catch a bus to the Magic Kingdom.

Remember when Walt Disney World turned 20? I remember when that seemed old. It doesn't anymore. At all.

This visit to the Magic Kingdom was pretty much a repeat of my first day at Walt Disney World on this vacation.

The first thing I did was visit Pirates of the Caribbean. I never had to wait very long for this attraction, as it can handle large numbers of people.

This Goofy pin is from the early 1990s.

Up next, I took a ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. A big, quick rainstorm hit during my ride, which made for a very memorable trip.

I later went on the Walt Disney World Railroad, and got a picture of some of the Audio Animatronic characters in Big Thunder Mountain's flooded town of Tumbleweed. I remember thinking the donkeys were real when I was a kid.

After my ride in the rain on Big Thunder Mountain, I went to the Haunted Mansion.

This nice Haunted Mansion was being sold at the World of Disney Store in Downtown Disney.

After the Haunted Mansion, it was time to use my FastPass for Splash Mountain.

Splash Mountain was brand new when Walt Disney World celebrated its 20th Birthday.

After Splash Mountain, I took the train to Main Street, and then went to Tomorrowland. I rode Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and Space Mountain. The park was getting very, very crowded.

I had a late dinner at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe in Tomorrowland. I had never seen Sonny Eclipse, the Audio Animatronic alien, perform. That did not change this time. Sonny was on stage, but not moving or singing.

It was kind of odd. The spotlight was on him, but he was just frozen.

I then went to Fantasyland, to say my final goodbyes to Snow White's Scary Adventures. At this point, parts of Fantasyland were roped off in preparation for the fireworks show (it looks like they spray the Fantasyland roofs with water). My last attraction of the day was Mickey's Philharmagic.

Before I left the Magic Kingdom, I had to stop in Adventureland to get a Dole Orange/Vanilla Swirl ice cream. This is my new Magic Kingdom tradition, and one that I share with many people.

SpectroMagic was the new Magic Kingdom nighttime parade for Walt Disney World's 20th Birthday in 1991. On this trip, Disneyland's Main Street Electrical Parade was shown at the Magic Kingdom. On this day, I did not see the Parade (I did see it on the first day of this vacation).

Day Five (Monday, August 29, 2011): The Vacation Ends

Before leaving Walt Disney World, I made the most of the morning by visiting the shops at the Yacht Club, Disney's Boardwalk, and the Beach Club.

One day during my trip, Halloween merchandise magically started to appear everywhere.

For some reason, I just had to get Werewolf Mickey. I got mine at Disney's Beach Club Resort.

By 11:00am, it was time to leave the Yacht Club and go to the Orlando International Airport.

If only I had flown Delta! Wow, that's service!

While I was at the airport, I ate lunch at the McDonald's in the Food Court. I had eaten there when I arrived in Orlando on the first day of my trip.

When Disney's Animal Kingdom opened in 1998, McDonald's heavily promoted the park. There was a set of Disney's Animal Kingdom Happy Meal Toys and there was a set of cups.

I had totally forgotten that I've had this AVATAR McDonald's Arch Card in my wallet since 2009. Maybe I could have used this at the Orlando Airport!

I was given this as a Christmas gift. When AVATAR debuted in theaters, McDonald's promoted the movie with Arch Cards and with a set of interactive Happy Meal toys.

With the world of Pandora expansion planned for Disney's Animal Kingdom, I'm sure AVATAR will be seen at the Orlando International Airport in a big way in a matter of years.

While I was at the Airport, I made sure to check out the shops.

Here, I found some cartoon versions of Walt Disney World transportation vehicles. I was tempted to get them, but I decided to just take a picture of them instead.

I bought a couple last-minute souvenir items for co-workers at the airport shops. There are actually two Disney stores and two Universal stores here, and some of the merchandise selection is a bit different. There's also a Sea World store, too.

Soon, it was time to catch a plane and head back to reality.


Happy 40th Birthday, Walt Disney World! Roger Rabbit has a special Birthday wish for you. He wishes you would use him more often. He used to be everywhere!

Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom: A Mickey Mouse Review

If you visited Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom nearly 40 years ago, you may recognize the Mickey Mouse drama masks from the curtains of Fantasyland's Mickey Mouse Revue Audio Animatronic show. The attraction debuted at the Florida park in 1971, and closed in 1980. It was shipped to Tokyo Disneyland in Japan for that park's 1983 opening. The Mickey Mouse Revue had its last performance in 2009. In both Florida and Japan, the theater that housed the Mickey Mouse Revue now plays the Mickey's Philharmagic 3D show.

I found the Mickey Mouse mask pin set at a shop at Disney's Boardwalk Resort during my August 2011 vacation at Walt Disney World in Florida. I stayed at Disney's Yacht Club Resort from August 25th to August 29th. On this trip, I visited 6 Orlando theme parks in 4 days. How do you see everything in such a short amount of time? You don't.

Day One (Thursday, August 25, 2011): The Magic Kingdom

I woke up at 5:30 am to make sure I got to my 8:30 am flight to Orlando on time. I got to Disney's Yacht Club Resort in the early afternoon. The Yacht Club is a beautiful resort. I had not stayed on Disney property since 1994. It definitely has its advantages, and made the visit so much easier and pleasant. The front of the hotel has the bus stop to the Magic Kingdom and Downtown Disney. Walk out the back of the hotel and you'll find Disney's Beach Club Resort next door, plus the the walkways and boat launches to Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disney's Boardwalk Resort, and the Swan and Dolphin Resorts.

Before walking to Epcot to pick up my 3 Day Park Hopper ticket, and walking through World Showcase and Future World to get to the monorails to the Magic Kingdom, I had to make sure I had my Mears shuttle reserved for my trip the next day to see a certain wizard and his new world. On my way through Future World, I stopped at the Land and saw that Soarin' had a 70 minute Stand-by wait. Yikes!

I don't know what time I finally got to the Magic Kingdom, but I know it was sometime after 3:00 pm, because the Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade was heading for Liberty Square.

One of my favorite things to see on Main Street, U.S.A. is the great window displays in front of the Emporium.
I can still remember a window with a scene from The Fox and the Hound on my first visit to the Magic Kingdom in 1983.

Walt Disney's first animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, is a good way to start off the day at the Magic Kingdom.

I like that you can see Main Street in the reflections in the windows.

A Little Mermaid dark ride is currently under construction in Fantasyland.

For now, you can enjoy Ariel's adventures on Main Street.

Cinderella dances the day and night away.

Walk down Main Street to find Cinderella's Castle. You can't miss it.

Cinderella's Castle is even more spectacular at night.

One of my favorite souvenirs from this trip is a 1971 Map Magnet of the Magic Kingdom.

The park has changed quite a bit over the years.

Walt Disney World has some nice merchandise celebrating the resort's 40th birthday. I think it would have been great if they offered Disney character plush based on the toy designs from the Seventies.
It may be a nostalgia thing, but I have a soft spot for these retro 1970s stuffed toys of Mickey, Minnie and Pluto. These were made using a lot of hot glue. Today's plush toy technology could retain the appealing charm of the character designs and make the toys much more durable.

Originally, I wanted to go to the Haunted Mansion first, but because of the parade, I went to Adventureland.

There was no wait for Pirates of the Caribbean at all. This classic attraction (updated to include Jack Sparrow and other characters from the films) can handle large crowds. I made sure to get some pressed pennies on this trip.

Pirates of the Caribbean first appeared at Disneyland in California in 1967. It was not originally planned to appear in Florida. Instead, Frontierland was supposed to get a section called Thunder Mesa, which would have included a mine train and a cowboy themed Pirates style water ride called Western River Expedition. Magic Kingdom guests demanded to see the Pirates attraction featured on the Disneyland TV show, so in 1973 the Pirates arrived in Adventureland.

Thunder Mesa wasn't built, but the Big Thunder Mountain mine train opened in 1980. Western River Expedition wasn't built, but Splash Mountain was added to Frontierland in 1992.

After Pirates, I grabbed a Fastpass for Splash Mountain (the Stand-By wait was over an hour) and headed to the wildest ride in the wilderness, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

After Big Thunder, I took the boardwalk path near the Rivers of America to the Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square.

The Haunted Mansion recently got a new optional interactive queue line. I did not see this queue on my trip. I am glad it is there to soak up some of the crowds.

Before this vacation, I had never bought any Vinylmation stuff. I love this Haunted Mansion clock pin.

I think I like these pins more than the actual Vinylmation figures.

Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion has a fun new ending, featuring interactive Hitchhiking Ghosts.
I don't remember which Ghost I got.

It was time to head back to Splash Mountain. This is a big log flume ride based on the Brer Rabbit stories featured in the 1946 Disney film, Song of the South.

The host/narrator for this attraction is Brer Frog.

Brer Frog greets riders on the first lift hill of Splash Mountain.

The logs climb high up Splash Mountain, offering a good view of the park, then drop into the Audio Animatronic world of Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox and Brer Bear.

Here we see Brer Goose fishing, singing the song "How Do You Do?". You remember Brer Goose from Song of the South, right? If you don't, that's OK. Most people haven't seen Song of the South. But Brer Goose wasn't in the film anyway.
Brer Goose, like many of the characters in Splash Mountain, is from a Disneyland show called America Sings, which played at Disneyland in California from 1974 to 1988. When America Sings closed, the animal cast found a new gig as supporting characters for Disneyland's Splash Mountain.

Brer Bear and Brer Fox get outwitted by Brer Rabbit.

Splash Mountain is a special attraction to me because I know one of the Imagineers who worked on it. I even got a tour of the place before the ride opened!

Brer Frog sings "Everybody's Got a Laughing Place" while lounging on Brer Gator.

There is a jumping fish character in this scene that I have only seen working once (in 2004). I did not know it was there, so seeing it was a surprise. The fish wasn't working this time, either.

The log drops into total darkness, into a beehive, then drops us into the Laughing Place. Then Brer Fox catches Brer Rabbit.

Brer Fox can't keep his big mouth shut. Literally. This figure was broken.

Brer Rabbit is in trouble! The vultures are circling as we climb the last lift hill for the final big drop into the Briar Patch.
At this point, the ride shut down and the work lights came on. Some of the boats were stuck at the very top of the drop. Luckily, we were only stopped for a short amount of time.

Splash Mountain empties into a gift shop, which had some cool items. On this trip, I took pictures of merchandise that I liked, but knew I wouldn't be buying.

Here's a great shirt featuring one of Splash Mountain's Vultures. The Vulture character is one of the animals from Disneyland's America Sings show. The Vultures were in the Headin' West sequence of America Sings, and they sang "The End of Billy the Kid."

As you plunge down Splash Mountain's final drop, your photo is taken.

This photo frame is a great place to display your special souvenir.

After Splash Mountain, I visited It's a Small World.

The animal characters are my favorite part of the ride.

It was time for dinner, so I went to Pinocchio's Village Haus in Fantasyland. Visiting this restaurant is a tradition for me.

The menu here has changed a bit. This place used to serve burgers and fries, and now it has pizza and pasta. I got a personal pepperoni pizza. Yum!

Pinocchio's Village Haus overlooks the load station for It's a Small World.

I ate near that viewing location, by this mural. People were eating in front of the Monstro mural, so I did not take a picture of that.

I never knew this restaurant had a second floor!

You can eat inside or outside, upstairs or downstairs.

Here is the view from the balcony upstairs.

From here, you can see Fantasyland's expansion construction, Dumbo, Pooh, Space Mountain and the Seven Dwarfs shop.

One thing I had to do was say my goodbyes to Snow White's Scary Adventures.

I had experienced the original version of this ride, but not the 1994 upgrade.

The Witch played an important role in this attraction. Originally, Snow White was not even featured during the ride.

The version I remember was very dark. I think they really improved the experience.

I love the mural at the load station.

While waiting in line at Snow White's Scary Adventures, I got a picture of something you won't see much longer.

Here we see the Dumbo ride in front of the Beast's castle (the under-construction Be Our Guest Restaurant) taken from Snow White's Scary Adventures. Dumbo will soon move over near the Tomorrowland Speedway, and Snow White's Scary Adventures will become the location for a Princess Meet and Greet.

The line is moving quickly, and it's almost time to ride. Of all the Fantasyland dark rides, this line moved the fastest.
Before you board, you get a little preview of the ride, as the vehicles pass the Wishing Well.

After you board the vehicle, which moves rather quickly, you see Snow White.

The vehicles crash through some doors and enter the dark ride portion of this attraction, which is tough to photograph.

It's easy to get a picture at the end.

Dopey waves goodbye.

I'll miss you, Snow White's Scary Adventures!

Fantasyland had some nice pressed pennies of Snow White and two Dwarfs.

Snow White also has a gift shop, the Seven Dwarfs Mine.

Was this always the name of this shop? In a few years, Fantasyland visitors will get to ride a new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Coaster which will be located near this shop.

While in Fantasyland, I also visited Mickey's Philharmagic 3D film.

There was no time for the Tea Cups, but I had to get a pin of the Dormouse.

This character is in the middle of the action at Walt Disney World's Mad Tea Party.

Up next was Space Mountain in Tomorrowland. The wait time for this was not bad. The new games installed in the queue line seem to be well received.

Then it was on to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. My score was decent for once.

I look so serious here. I'm concentrating!

It was now time for Disney's Electrical Parade. I watched this from the Adventureland side of the Hub.

This is actually Disneyland's Electrical Parade, which was refurbished for Disney's California Adventure. Missing was the Dumbo's Circus segment.

When Pete's Dragon appeared, I heard several people in their twenties ask if Elliot was Puff the Magic Dragon or Mushu from Mulan. I had to tell them who he was. On this trip, I got a Hasbro Disneyland/Walt Disney World Park Series 10 Collector Pack. I felt the figures in the bag, and got a pack with Elliott, Summit Plummet (from Blizzard Beach), and the Expedition Everest coaster train. The Elliot Electrical Parade pin is from my 2008 visit to the Disneyland Resort, though I did see one for sale this time at Walt Disney World.

Here is part of the Pleasure Island Pinocchio unit of the Parade in front of Cinderella Castle, headed towards Liberty Square. I don't think this segment was in Florida's original Electrical Parade.
To finish off the day, I had an Orange/Vanilla Swirl Dole Whip at Aloha Isle in Adventureland. So tasty, and maybe the only thirst-quenching ice cream I've had.

Since Friday was going to be a big day, it was time to leave. I would return to the Magic Kingdom on Sunday, August 28th.

Up next: I'm off to see the British wizard!