It's in the Details #8

  In this series, we'll be looking at details that are hidden all around you at the parks. The Imagineers do a great job placing in many hidden gems and things to try that one has to take a moment to notice, or explore. Many of these are obvious and in plain sight, and some are hidden quite well, you just have to know where to look.

  

  In this It's in the Details, we'll highlight a hidden item found in out of the way places. At the Backlot Express quick service restaurant, you'll find so many amazing props and details. While it is an eatery, it's cleverly disguised as a real backlot warehouse, where many items from a studio, or workshops may be located. 

  Among the hidden items is a relic from a past attraction; head to the left half of the restaurant and look up, over the office. There you'll find a fiberglass mold, lying against some pipes. It's the original mold for the famous hoverlift from the Horizons farm scene. Other items from attractions have been found among here as well.

Missed It's in the Details #7? Check it out here!

Disney Memories #4

In this series, we'll highlight some of our memories of Disney past. We hope you enjoy reliving old attractions, shows, and experiences with us!

With the rumors going around about the closing and refurb of the Imagination Pavilion, we thought we would take a look back at an old favorite duo.

Meeting Dreamfinder and Figment!

The original Journey into Imagination attraction opened in 1983 and introduced a duo that quickly touched the hearts of many, Dreamfinder and Figment.  The original attraction revolved around dreams and imagination, taking riders through different rooms revolving around art, literature, performing arts, and science. Courtney and her brother were lucky to get to meet the lovable duo back when they did meet and greets in the pavilion!

Unfortunately, the attraction was closed in 1998, reopening a year later without the loved duo. Figment could still be found in a few cameos, however, his role was greatly diminished. The attraction closed again in 2001, later reopening in 2002 with Figment having a larger role, but still without Dreamfinder. 

It's hard to say what will happen with the attraction if the refurbishment rumors are true. But we can only hope that our lovable Figment is still there.

 "two tiny wings, eyes big and yellow, horns of a steer, but a lovable fellow! From head to tail, he's royal purple pigment, and there, voilà! You've got a Figment!"

What memories do you have of the original attraction? Did you ever get to meet Dreamfinder and Figment? Share below! 

Miss Disney Memories #3? Check it out here!

Limited Time Magic - World's Smallest Movie and Cinco de Mayo

World's Smallest Movie Ever Made

On May 7th, and then again on May 9th, EPCOT Innoventions hosted a special presentation at the IBM Station, on the recently released A Boy and His Atom, the Guinness World Record World's Smallest Film, released the week prior. You can see the movie here:

Hosting the presentation was the Principal Investigator, Andreas Heinrich. It was held as a special program, also in connection with classrooms around the country. He gave a short presentation on the mechanics and theory behind how it was done, as well as showed a short documentary on it. Afterwards, there were questions, and he pulled out an iPad with an app to remotely work the microscope that had made it possible, and allowed guests to see it in action.

We had arrived after it started, and were unable to get in, but that never stops Derek. He went to the other entrance to watch, and Heinrich invited him in. Derek also asked several questions, and apparently was eager enough for Heinrich. One question prompted a jump on stage to try out the microscope himself. He's also on the broadcast video of the presentation. For participating  we were given Woolly Willys, as a model for the work in action, an IBM button, and Derek got a rare A Boy and His Atom Team shirt. There was a lot of detail and information, but rather than bore you, here is the site for you to check out yourself:

http://www.research.ibm.com/articles/madewithatoms.shtml

Cinco de Mayo Celebration

After the presentation we checked out the Limited Time Magic for this week, Celebrate Cinco de Mayo. This was held in the Mexican Pavilion. There were dancers and musicians to celebrate the occasion. However, the main attraction was the Three Caballeros! Panchito, Donald and Jose were great to interact with. Panchito was quite the joker and Jose was very interested in the ladies. Donald was a little jealous of the attention the two other birds were getting! It was a great character meeting and we also got Limited Time Magic autograph cards!

Our Autograph Cards

It's in the Details: Mission:Space Part 1

In this series, we'll be looking at details that are hidden all around you at the parks. The Imagineers do a great job placing in many hidden gems and things to try that one has to take a moment to notice, or explore. Many of these are obvious and in plain sight, and some are hidden quite well, you just have to know where to look. All of them are done to enhance the guest experience, or as a tribute, often to previous attractions, for discoverers to understand.

For the first post, we'll highlight some of the details one can find at Mission:Space. As it's the first post, we'll highlight several, but we'll spread the future out with one to a post.

Mission Space Part 1

Right as you enter, there's an accurate model of the moon, with markers representing various landings by the USA and USSR on its surface. There's a placard explaining the colors: Red for Apollo 11, Blue for Manned missions, and White for Unmanned.

The attraction was created with references to the 2000 Disney Film, Mission to Mars. They were meant to be supplemental, the attraction a basis for the film. As such, you'll find many references and actual props from the film, such as this model of the spacecraft.

Previous to Mission:Space, was the much loved and missed attraction, Horizons. The debate over Mission:Space and the doom of Horizons rages in many places, but WDI was smart to include tributes. In the center of the (once spinning) living module (also from the movie), is the small icon of the former attraction.

 Check out It's in the Details: Mission:Space Part 2 for even more hidden gems!