Dreamfinder returns: a new Journey Into Imagination is coming to EPCOT
Disney closed its D23 Experiences showcase by confirming a new Journey Into Imagination for EPCOT's Imagination Pavilion, reuniting Figment with Dreamfinder. Host Neil Patrick Harris delivered the reveal on stage, framing the return of the classic character as a promise kept.
Disney saved one of its biggest EPCOT announcements for the final moments of the D23 Experiences showcase: a new Journey Into Imagination is coming to the Imagination Pavilion, and Dreamfinder is coming back with it. The reveal, delivered through showcase host Neil Patrick Harris, reunites Figment with the red-bearded inventor who first introduced him when the pavilion opened in 1983.
Key details
- What: A new Journey Into Imagination attraction featuring Figment and Dreamfinder
- Where: Imagination Pavilion, EPCOT, Walt Disney World
- Announced: Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase at D23, as the event's closing announcement
- The reveal: Delivered on stage with host Neil Patrick Harris
- Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgv9rUdh0UA
How the announcement played out
Disney staged the reveal as the button on the entire showcase. As the presentation wrapped, Harris pressed Disney leadership on a deal he said was struck before the show: "You made me a promise. You swore if I were to host this show, you would restore my favorite animatronic character of all time to his former glory. Behold!"
The answer came back directly: "Yes. We are taking a new journey into imagination at Epcot with Figment and Dreamfinder." Disney Parks posted the moment to its official YouTube channel with the caption "Taking a new journey into imagination at EPCOT with Dreamfinder and Figment."
Why Dreamfinder matters
Figment has stayed on as EPCOT's unofficial mascot for four decades, but Dreamfinder has been absent from the attraction since the original Journey Into Imagination closed in 1998. The rides that followed kept the purple dragon and dropped his creator, a change fans have asked Disney to reverse ever since. Announcing the pair together, and framing the moment around restoring an animatronic "to his former glory," signals the new version is a deliberate return to the pavilion's original premise rather than another overlay.
Disney has not yet shared a ride-through description, an opening window, or a closing date for the current Journey Into Imagination With Figment. Those specifics will likely follow through the Disney Parks Blog's D23 coverage as the project moves into development.
What this means for EPCOT visitors
The Imagination Pavilion has been the most visible candidate for reinvestment at EPCOT for years, and this confirms it is finally getting one built around the characters fans actually asked for. Guests who want to ride the current Figment attraction in its present form should plan to do so before a refurbishment timeline is announced. GenieGrove will track the ride's development as Disney releases concept art and dates.