For decades, some Disney attractions have seemed almost untouchable. Their history and connection to generations of park guests made major changes difficult to imagine.
Disney is now showing that even those classics can receive substantial updates.
One major project at Magic Kingdom provides a particularly interesting example. And while Disney hasn't announced anything similar for EPCOT, the decision raises questions about what could eventually happen to another attraction with more than four decades of history.
Magic Kingdom Is Modernizing a Disney Classic
Carousel of Progress isn't simply receiving a few cosmetic improvements.
Disney has closed the attraction for a major overhaul that will substantially change the experience guests see when it returns in 2027.
The attraction will still follow the familiar family through different periods of technological progress, but those periods are changing.
The first scene will take guests to the Apollo 11 era in 1969. From there, the attraction will shift into a 1980s Halloween setting before reaching New Year's Eve around the turn of the millennium.
Disney will take the biggest creative leap with the finale, which will show the family living in an off-planet future.
Another major addition will arrive before those scenes even begin. Disney is creating an Audio-Animatronic Walt Disney for a new introductory scene.
Rather than eliminating Carousel of Progress, Disney is effectively replacing its current version with a modern interpretation.
That Decision Could Matter Beyond Magic Kingdom
The Carousel of Progress project gives Disney a potential formula for other aging attractions.
Disney doesn't necessarily have to demolish an experience simply because its technology or storytelling has become dated. Imagineers can keep the basic identity while rebuilding the parts that need attention.
That could mean new Audio-Animatronics, refreshed scenes, improved effects, or different storytelling.
Several attractions around Disney World could eventually fit that approach.
One of the most obvious possibilities sits at EPCOT.
Figment's Attraction Has Already Been Reinvented Twice
Journey Into Imagination With Figment currently takes guests inside the Imagination Institute, where Dr. Nigel Channing attempts to explain how imagination works.
Eric Idle plays Channing, who guides riders through laboratories dealing with sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste.
Figment has other plans.
The purple dragon repeatedly interrupts the tour before eventually turning the experience into his own lesson about imagination. “One Little Spark” returns before the adventure ends.
But this isn't the attraction EPCOT guests originally experienced.
Journey Into Imagination debuted in 1983 with Dreamfinder and Figment. Disney replaced that version with Journey Into YOUR Imagination in 1999.
That incarnation didn't last long. Journey Into Imagination With Figment followed in 2002, bringing Figment back into a central role.
With multiple versions already in its history, another reinvention wouldn't be unprecedented.
Disney Could Build a Much More Modern Figment Experience
Updating Journey Into Imagination wouldn't necessarily require abandoning Figment.
Disney could take the Carousel of Progress approach and preserve the attraction's identity while replacing much of the current experience.
Figment himself could receive newer Audio-Animatronics capable of more expressive movements. Frozen Ever After demonstrates how Disney can bring newer figure technology into an existing attraction.
A new doctor or host could also replace Dr. Nigel Channing and give the Imagination Institute a different storyline.
Disney could make the laboratories more interactive as well. Guests could trigger effects as their vehicles move through different rooms, while Figment could interact more directly with his surroundings.
New projections, practical effects, lighting, larger sets, smoother tracks, and updated vehicles could further transform the ride.
In that scenario, Disney wouldn't be replacing Figment. It would be replacing the current version of his attraction with something built for a newer generation.
Figment May Not Be the Only Candidate
Other longtime Disney World attractions could eventually receive similar treatment.
Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros remains another EPCOT experience that Disney could modernize without abandoning its basic concept.
Updated figures, scenes, effects, and technology could refresh the boat ride while maintaining its familiar characters and setting.
Over at Magic Kingdom, “it's a small world” presents another possibility.
Disney could improve its Audio-Animatronics, lighting, effects, and individual scenes while preserving the attraction that generations of guests recognize.
Disney Hasn't Announced What's Next
For now, none of those projects are confirmed.
Disney hasn't announced a replacement or major overhaul for Journey Into Imagination With Figment, Gran Fiesta Tour, or “it's a small world.”
But Carousel of Progress establishes an important precedent.
Disney is willing to substantially rebuild a historically significant attraction rather than leave it frozen in time or remove it altogether.
If that same philosophy eventually reaches EPCOT, Figment's current adventure could become a natural candidate for Disney's next major modernization.
