Chapter 17:Learning the EPCOT Way

It was time to head over to the Imagination! pavilion and ride Journey Into Imagination with Figment. The ride has changed many times over the years, and I believe the last time I rode, Figment was not part of the attraction. I remember the ride going through multiple scenes, each showing the importance of our senses. When I rode this trip, Figment was there to ruin that trip about half-way through. So, we approached the double pyramid shaped building, and saw the line for the attraction being 5 minutes. Not even. We walked through the decent sized queue with no other person in sight. The queue is nicely themed as the "Imagination Institute", and holds the offices for each of the professors who work inside, one of which we are about to meet. We finally reached the entry ramp and saw there there were people actually riding the attraction! Wow! Anyway, it was no time before we entered out red car part of three in a train. We pulled out, and entered the the first stage of the attraction. Here, Dr. Nigel Channing introduces himself, wants us to discover how our five senses can help develop our imagination. Figment, the little purple dragon comes around, and wants to go along for the journey. Dr. Channing rejects, but Figment doesn't take no as an answer. The ride advances through multiple scenes, each showcasing a human sense. We go through each lab, sight, sound, smell...and Figment is there to ruin the prof's tests each time. After the dragon stinks up a storm in the Scent Lab, the professor calls off the tour. However, Figment invites us all to his house for an open house, and shows us how important our imagination really is. We glide through his house, but there has to be something wrong...it's all upside-down! This is when the professor comes to the realization that imagination is your world turned upside-down. After a ride through Figment's place, we return to the Imagination Institute. After we arrive in the final scene, the prof comes into agreement with Figment at last. We are left with Figment shouting "Imagination's a Blast!", and then get hit in the face with a strong wind, which I took as extremely unexpected. The ride ends with Figment's imagination taking over, showing him doing things only his imagination would let him. As the prof and Figment sing the "Imagination" song, our red vehicle comes to a half in front of the exit doors. We get off, and head into the "What If" Labs after this one crazy, wacky ride.

My opinion on this crazy adventure through the world of imagination? It's a fun, witty ride, but is it one of the best in EPCOT? No. It's a fun ride that rarely will have a line, and it's a good ride to do while waiting for a FastPass to be ready. It's not a must-hit at EPCOT, but it can be a fun ride for the kids. I'd like to see something better come out of this attraction, however. Imagination! is one of the least popular pavilions in EPCOT. I think it's about time they update not only the attraction, but the pavilion as a whole. Anyway, last word on Figment? It's a fun ride, but has a lot more potential. And my expert advice on this attraction? It's an attraction the whole family can ride, but some of the effects might be frightening for the little ones. Anyway, moving on, we spend some times in the Kodak "What If?" Labs, which were all right, but these could use a nice updating as well. After about 5 minutes, we left, and decided to head back over to the Land, as our Living with the Land Surprise FastPass was just about ready. We made the quick walk over and re-entered the Land for the second time that day. We made our way to the bottom level, which was again packed with people. They seriously need something to control foot traffic down there. Soarin' wasn't ready just yet, so we went to the other side of the lower level and Living with the Land. Since regular FastPass was not available LwtL today, we were lucky to get that surprise FastPass. We showed our passes the the Cast Member, and entered the FastPass queue. It was only about 5 minutes until we got inside our boat, and note that this is before they replaced Cast Members with recordings. With that, we made our journey into the ride's first scene.

The first half of the ride is just an educational look at different areas of the Land that we live on. First we'll make go through a rainforest, which has a terrible storm going through. The recording (this part of the ride has always been a recording) informs us about how important the rainforest is for our planet, especially with the amount of oxygen it produces. It's saddening to see rainforests being cut down across the globe...they are such an important part of our lives, and by cut them down, cut are only hurting ourselves. In the next area, we encounter a scorching desert. With the little water available, everything that lives in the desert has to make due with what they have. It's interesting to see how wildlife lives in the desert, it's something you would think is impossible. The next scene is a showing of the American farm. Obviously, the land has a huge effect on how farming works, or doesn't work. You need good land to work with, and needs the right indegrients for things to grow. After the prairie scene, we enter a barn-like building with many picture screens, and learn how large human effect on the land is. We can definitely take the land for advantage, and must learn how to "live with the land", doing things to benefit human beings and the environment itself. After this scene, it's time to head in the research lab to discover how they are working to live with the land.

The Cast Member now takes over as our trip through the labs begin. In the first lab, we get a look at the many tropical plants growing inside. You'll see many different types of plants and fruits in here, including bananas, the java apple, the blue pumpkin, and many different types of spices. It's always interesting to see what they're growing inside this lab. Chances are there will be something different every time you ride. In the next area, we get a look at some of the fish living inside a heated lab area. There's a ton of different kinds of fish in there, and you'll even find the good old American Alligator. Luckily, they are all safely secured in a tank! We move on through the fish area and into the next lab. Here we get a look at some of the more innovative crops growing inside the labs, such as the giant (these things are huge!) pumpkins and the nine-pound lemon! Moving along, we'll get some more truly unique ways to grow crops, like the tomato tree and one of the coolest things you'll see while in the labs, the Mickey Mouse shaped pumpkin, which is grown through a certain molding! After this, we move on into the final area of the many labs, which features plants grow through aerial environments. It's truly amazing how they come up with these ideas, and how well they work. I always love this area of the attraction, it shows how innovative we can be with crops. Some of the things growing in there are truly special, especially that Mickey shaped pumpkin. Anyway, we move back inside to finish our adventure on Living with the Land. The ride ends with many pictures of people living with the land, which is what this attraction is all about. After the short sequence, we're back at the platform inside the pavilion and get off our boat when it finally comes to a complete stop. Living with the Land is always one of my favorite attractions at EPCOT. It's an extremely educational attraction, plus you get a look at something that is truly REAL and going on right now. The dark ride area of the ride is a great lead-in into the labs, which is definitely the highlight. This is an attraction that you can't miss at EPCOT, it's one of the few educational attractions left! My expert advice for this attraction? Put this one on your hit-list, especially if you're looking for an educational experience. This is also an attraction that anyone can ride, so you have no excuse for missing out on this ride!

After a great Living with the Land ride, it was time to move on over to the other side of the lower Land area. This is one of the attractions I was most looking forward to, and now the time was here. Soarin', here I come!