Why Is Disney Neglecting This RUN-DOWN Part of EPCOT?!

Could this area of EPCOT see some love?

Over the last few years, EPCOT has – – for better or worse – – been transformed by construction, with additions like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, and CommuniCore Hall changing the face of the park forever. However, one part of EPCOT was untouched by the construction… for now. 

ImageWorks — located on the second floor of the Imagination pavilion — opened in 1982 as an additional attraction to Journey into Imagination. Described as the “the creative playground of the future” at the time of its opening, ImageWorks featured numerous interactive exhibits including Dreamfinder’s School of Drama (which used a blue screen to insert guests into a movie under the direction of Dreamfinder), kaleidoscopes, vibrating mirrors, and an electric philharmonic.

In addition, ImageWorks was home to the Rainbow Corridor, a large tunnel of colored lights that has become one of the most iconic elements of classic EPCOT thanks to a famous photograph of Michael Jackson. 

While the original ImageWorks was popular, it met the same fate as Journey into Imagination, closing in 1998 as part of one of the worst (in retrospect) refurbishments in Disney World history. The area was completely walled off during the renovation, though according to most sources, much of the former equipment and elements of the attractions remain in place. 

A new version of ImageWorks, known as the ImageWorks: What-If Labs, was opened on the first floor of the imagination building. While the reaction to this was more favorable than to the Journey Into YOUR Imagination ride (famously, the ride was so derided that it was closed and refurbed into the slightly-less reviled Journey Into Your Imagination with Figment within a year) the new ImageWorks has never been all that popular. 

The area features interactive exhibits including Stepping Tones, Figment’s Melody Maker , Create A Figment, and a memory game. In recent years, the area has arguably become even less popular, as many of said exhibits have a tendency to break down. 

In the early 2020s, Disney did spice up ImageWorks by adding character meet & greets to the area, including with Joy from Inside Out and Vanellope from Wreck It Ralph. In 2023, the latter was replaced by Figment himself. With the departure of Joy for Hollywood Studios in 2024, only Figment remains. 

In late Spring 2024, we came across a construction patent Disney had filed a new permit for construction at the Imagination Pavilion. The permit is for “general construction”,  so it could be something huge… or something relatively insignificant. However,  based on the expiration date of the document, we’re thinking it might be something on at least the slightly larger side.  In most cases, a permit automatically expires one year from the date it was filed, but Disney specified a November 28th expiration date for this project.

All of this brings us to our idea: Perhaps ImageWorks could be refurbished to add some of the elements that were initially planned for the Play! Pavilion, the project that was announced to replace Wonders of Life in 2019, put on hold, and announced as being reevaluated in 2023. If nothing else, this would inject some life and new blood into the area. 

It’s curious that ImageWorks — and the whole Imagination pavilion — was left untouched throughout the whole EPCOT reimagining, and we would love to see something NEW installed  in the area. Stay tuned to AllEars for further updates on any potential new work at EPCOT. 

Something Is MISSING in Disney World, and Only EPCOT Experts Will Notice It

What would you like to see come to ImageWorks? Let us know in the comments below. 

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