The Walt Disney Corporate held its 2025 Annual Assembly of Shareholders on Thursday, March 20, 2025. All over this, CEO Bob Iger showcased Disney’s “easiest marriage of remarkable creativity and groundbreaking technological fulfillment” that units the corporate aside, whilst sharing highlights of the remaining 12 months and having a look ahead at billions of bucks of investments within the years yet to come. Most significantly (through a ways), he discussed the way forward for Figment.
A few times once a year, old skool EPCOT fanatics get new hope that perhaps Walt Disney Global will after all get round to doing the best factor and reimagine Adventure into Creativeness. This submit main points the newest construction within the decades-long saga of hope and heartbreak as WDW diehards not-so-anxiously anticipate Figment and Dreamfinder being restored to their former glory.
The largest came around a decade in the past, when there have been credible rumors of a year-long refurbishment that ended up being derailed when Frozen was once a ruin luck and Frozen Ever After fed on that finances. Maximum lately, Disney Legend Josh Gad made a public plea all the way through his Candlelight Processional website hosting tasks for Imagineering to present Figment a trip that does him justice. Sooner than that, there was once a chain of movies Disney Parks posted wherein Figment visits the Walt Disney Studios company headquarters and Walt Disney Imagineering campus. The movies appeared to be teasing one thing, however over twelve months later, and it’s been crickets since.
Personally, I don’t consider Walt Disney Global goes to announce Adventure into Creativeness 4.0 with Figment and Dreamfinder anytime quickly. I’ve already began eager about my predictions submit for the 2025 Vacation spot D23 tournament round Exertions Day, and regrettably, it received’t be making the listing. Very best case situation at this level is a press release on the 2026 D23 Expo.
Nonetheless, there are a couple of topics I’ll in finding any excuse to document on with out fail as my very own type of protest or a power marketing campaign. Amongst the ones are the Cinderella Fortress Dream Lighting fixtures, Evening Parade at Magic Kingdom, Lighting fixtures of Wintry weather at EPCOT, Restoring Impressions de France, Saving MuppetVision, and the Adventure into Creativeness Reimagining.
Walt Disney Global is without a doubt now not at all times attentive to fan comments and proceedings, however they’re occasionally and in the best instances. All of the ones qualify, so we’ll proceed to push for this stuff even though the probabilities of luck are low. It beats doing not anything. Which brings us to nowadays’s replace, which is in fact significant for a couple of causes.
All over the query & resolution portion of the 2025 Annual Assembly of Shareholders, Disney CEO Bob Iger was once as soon as once more requested about the way forward for Figment. The query particularly requested whether or not the corporate would imagine the usage of Figment in different spaces of the corporate outdoor of theme parks, corresponding to a film according to the nature? (Even the BDX Droids pictured above reportedly nodded sure, that he will have to.)
Right here was once Bob Iger’s reaction:
“That is my twenty fourth shareholder name, my 18th as CEO…and I feel the query of Figment has been requested about 15 instances. I name him ‘just right ‘ole Figment.’”
“We all know that Figment is well liked by shareholders on account of the truth that they ask questions on him always,” Iger joked. “However we additionally know that he’s standard at EPCOT, the place you’ll meet him and enjoy Adventure Into Creativeness.”
“I’m going to invite our ingenious groups to make some type of sequence or short-form movies of Figment. Clearly he’s extra standard than only a walk-around persona.”
Whilst this appeared like an off the cuff reaction, it most certainly wasn’t.
Via his personal admission, Bob Iger has been requested about Figment on ~15 of 24 shareholder calls. Regardless of the real quantity, that’s a majority of them. Iger is a meticulous planner, and would virtually indisputably be widely prepped at the questions he may obtain with the intention to give just right solutions, steer clear of misspeaking, and so forth. And a Figment query is set as inevitable as one about Disney returning to circle of relatives values or no matter, so he’s unquestionably scripted and rehearsed solutions to each.
Underscoring this level is that he particularly discussed the Figment meet & greet. Until he simply came about to cross through it on his talk over with to Walt Disney Global remaining week (in doubt because the staff escorting him would’ve taken him to what they sought after him to peer–and Adventure into Creativeness would now not qualify), he most certainly wouldn’t know that meet & greet even exists.
The Figment meet & greet was once introduced on the D23 Expo sooner than he returned, and debuted as a part of Vacation spot D23, which he didn’t attend. On the possibility of declaring the most obvious, persona meet & greets are under the CEO’s pay grade. So he would’ve been briefed in regards to the life of this meet & greet, and integrated it into his resolution.
Assuming it was once scripted and rehearsed, this additionally manner a few different issues.
The primary is that the Figment function movie through Seth Rogen is useless. If it weren’t, Iger would’ve discussed that as a substitute of Disney+ shorts or a chain. This wouldn’t be even remotely unexpected. For something, that film was once by no means formally introduced and it’s been over two years since we’ve heard the rest about it. In between, Disney has scale back considerably on streaming manufacturing.
To not be the bearer of unhealthy information, however I’d danger a bet the entire “Magic Kingdom Universe” deliberate for Disney+ that was once introduced again in 2021 is useless. However c’mon, it’s 2025 and there haven’t been updates on virtually any of that…did we in reality assume it’s nonetheless taking place?!
Extra lately, we’ve discovered that Jon Favreau is writing and generating a Disney+ are living motion/animated hybrid sequence about Oswald the Fortunate Rabbit. That is rumored to be a part of the director’s bigger-picture plans for a Mickey Mouse Cinematic Universe. In all probability Figment will sign up for that?!
Extra hopefully, Iger’s feedback being scripted and rehearsed additionally probably manner he’s now not simply going to invite the creatives a few Figment sequence or shorts. It manner one thing is already being explored or, expectantly, within the early phases of lively construction.
Iger is aware of phrase travels rapid and that Figment fanatics like me are a rabid bunch. He’s going to be requested about Figment subsequent 12 months, and the 12 months after that, and so forth., and my other folks aren’t going to be glad if he comes again in a 12 months and say: “Aw shucks, I attempted my highest, however the ones darned creatives stated there’s completely not anything ingenious we will do with Figment, world mascot of youth surprise and creativeness. Sorry dorks.”
That may represent an impeachable offense (CEOs are impeachable, proper?!). We geeks could be hitting up Nelson Peltz so rapid and begging him to restore his marketing campaign to revive the magic and so on. Additional reinforcing the perception that this was once deliberate and now not impromptu is Disney Parks temporarily posting about this on social media, reasonably than strolling again the feedback or ignoring them:
🚨 Figment replace! percent.twitter.com/DqXN4dWWVL
— Disney Parks (@DisneyParks) March 20, 2025
Much less hopefully, it manner there’s most certainly not anything coming quickly for Adventure into Creativeness 4.0 at EPCOT. Even if the query particularly requested about motion pictures and the corporate’s different companies, Iger would’ve taken the chance to tease a reimagined trip if it had been transferring ahead anytime quickly. Identical to he did with the Pandora enlargement at Disneyland lengthy sooner than it was once formally introduced.
As famous above, that is moderately unsurprising. Walt Disney Global is not going to continue with Adventure into Creativeness 4.0 as a result of control hung the ole “challenge achieved” banner with the outlet of Spirit Halloween Superstore CommuniCore Corridor. With that, they declared the overhaul finished, in spite of a lot of its introduced tasks by no means being completed.
This viewpoint was once kind of reiterated all the way through the hot D23 Expo. There have been lots of bulletins for Walt Disney Global, together with new lands and sights at Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. Every of those parks will, conservatively, see masses of tens of millions of bucks of funding at minimal. Magic Kingdom may moderately simply eclipse $2 billion relying upon the size and scope of its new lands.
In the meantime, the one factor introduced for EPCOT was once a brand new front room inside of Spaceship Earth…which takes over a front room area. No longer precisely bold. Moreover, new main points had been printed about Take a look at Monitor 3.0, a trip being funded through Chevy Greenbacks. Suffice to mention, the amount of cash Disney will spend money on EPCOT over the following couple of years is next-to-nothing. The distinction between EPCOT and the opposite 3 parks in reality says all that must be stated. EPCOT isn’t the concern–it’s deemed “accomplished” for causes past me.
Nonetheless, I’ve taken a sacred oath to suggest for Adventure into Creativeness 4.0 on every occasion the chance items itself, so I’m going to continue with that, once more, right here. As we’ve stated repeatedly and for a few years, it’s time to reimagine the Creativeness pavilion (Figment referred to as–needs adjustments!).
That’s infrequently a daring statement–it’s been time for nearly twenty years. The remaining model was once just a band support, supposed as a handy guide a rough repair for the really abysmal moment model. That 3rd model–once more, a brief answer–is now the longest-running model of Adventure into Creativeness. (Let that sink in.)
It’s no secret that at the same time as diehard Figment devoted, we don’t love the present incarnation of the trip. It made our lists of the 10 Worst Enchantment Replacements at Walt Disney Global and 10 Points of interest That Have Elderly Poorly at Walt Disney Global. We did shield Adventure into Creativeness as one among a number of sights at EPCOT that you just will have to now not skip, which is a “arguable” opinion for the reason that enchantment really is divisive.
The present Adventure into Creativeness has low visitor delight rankings relative to different rides of its type. We’ve automatically remarked that first-timers confuse Figment for a Spyro the Dragon knock-off, which is in reality just a half-joke.
Until you’re a kid of the Nineteen Eighties or 90s who skilled the unique enchantment–which has been long gone for a ways longer than it existed!–or are a voracious shopper of Disney historical past movies, you most probably have 0 affinity for Figment and may also be perplexed through why the present persona has this type of sturdy fan following. (He doesn’t! It’s the previous Figment we like!)
The present Adventure into Creativeness enchantment and the pavilion as an entire are underutilized. The trip automatically is a walk-on or has a real wait time of beneath 5 mins. The theater has been appearing the Pixar shorts for some time now, which was once additionally supposed to be a band support following the elimination of Captain EO. At the side of Adventure into Creativeness 4.0, I will call to mind few higher touchdown places for MuppetVision 3D than the Creativeness pavilion.
Previous to the massive D23 bulletins, Disney management expressed a need to extend capability of the parks through reimagining spaces which are these days underused. There are a number of such spots in EPCOT, however with the exception of Wonders of Existence, I will’t call to mind any that experience as a lot attainable for soaking up extra crowds because the Creativeness Pavilion. Even with out precise enlargement, there’s such a lot untapped attainable with the Creativeness pavilion.
Adventure into Creativeness 4.0 will have to’ve been fast-tracked to debut sooner than 2027. Walt Disney Global wishes extra between now and when Tropical Americas opens to provide some semblance of festival to Common’s Epic Universe. It’s too overdue for that, so it will have to be a 2028 challenge. (Realistically, it’s extra like a 2029 or 2030 challenge, at highest.)
I additionally assume that Disney is incorrect in its evaluate that the half-baked EPCOT overhaul is “over.” I think that they’re already finding this by the use of attendance, and that pattern will most effective boost up as Epic Universe eats into the attendance of Animal Kingdom and EPCOT to disproportionate levels.
At that time, one thing will want to be accomplished, and the in all probability applicants are reimaginings. A number of are conceivable at EPCOT, as mentioned in our Checklist of What EPCOT’s Overhaul Wishes in Section 2. This is unsurprisingly crowned through JII4, but additionally at the listing are updates to different former Long run Global pavilions in addition to additions to Global Show off.
That is each my hope and my expectation. Walt Disney Global’s present 5-year plan requires minimum funding in EPCOT as different parks are the point of interest. I’m skeptical that’s in fact conceivable or sensible, and the corporate may need to divert a few of the ones sources from Magic Kingdom–a park wanting no assist initially–to EPCOT because it turns into obvious the park isn’t “fastened” from an attendance viewpoint.
Disney is notoriously gradual to answer tendencies, so it’ll most certainly take till Epic Universe opens for that realization to happen. Whilst there’s substantial debate over whether or not Common’s new park will consume into Walt Disney Global attendance or a “emerging tide lifts all boats,” our expectation is that it’ll be slightly of each. That Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios will get advantages, while EPCOT and (particularly) Animal Kingdom will undergo. (The typical circle of relatives most effective has such a lot of holiday days to allocate to theme parks, and that quantity is beneath 4.)
Realistically, that places the earliest imaginable announcement of Adventure into Creativeness 4.0 on the 2025 Vacation spot D23 tournament at Walt Disney Global, which is able to happen over Exertions Day weekend. As discussed above, I doubt that’ll occur. It’s too quickly after Epic Universe opens, and in addition, I think Spaceship Earth or one thing going into the Wonders of Existence pavilion is the extra speedy precedence and decrease striking fruit.
Above all else, the explanation a reimagining of Adventure into Creativeness may and will have to occur is repairing members of the family with fanatics and certain PR. As pent-up call for continues to vanish, attendance drops and Epic Universe opens, Walt Disney Global will want the diehards greater than it did a couple of years in the past.
For Bob Iger, getting Adventure into Creativeness 4.0 greenlit will have to be a no brainer transfer. Despite the fact that it’s not going he himself is a Figment fan, Iger has demonstrated upon returning that he does care (reasonably) about visitor goodwill and fan disenchantment–however there’s a lot more paintings to be accomplished on that entrance. A lot more importantly (to him), Iger is interested by his legacy.
Then there’s Josh D’Amaro, who’s within the operating as a successor CEO. Enthusiasts have considered D’Amaro favorably over the previous few years regardless of all that’s came about, in large part as a result of Chapek has taken the blame–and D’Amaro is a lot more likeable. However the tides are beginning to flip–and that’s in spite of an enormous slate of D23 Expo bulletins. D’Amaro has but to end up himself (his observe document at this level is principally simply CommuniCore Corridor and Tiana’s Bayou Journey), and a reimagined Adventure into Creativeness may assist carry his inventory.
Bringing again Figment and Dreamfinder is a surefire means of undoing a large number of the outrage and emblem harm from the previous few years, quieting the proceedings and grievance. I will’t call to mind some other unmarried certain announcement that may outweigh such a lot of prior negatives ones. So much could be forgiven through fanatics within the blink of an eye fixed. We’d win, the executives who wish to bolster their statures would win. Everyone wins.
It’s already been a tight couple of years for Figment fanatics. We’ve gotten some nice products (that has bought like hotcakes), a super new e book, and the meet & greet stays standard. (Talking of which, I will have to most certainly get round to sharing pictures from Child Bricker’s first Figment stumble upon.) A brand new sequence on Disney+ could be some other small victory for Figment fanatics, and if Bob Iger follows thru on it, I promise to park Megatron in entrance of the tv for 12 hours in keeping with day (who these days isn’t allowed any display time), looking at it on loop to additional indoctrinate her into the Figment fandom. However we nonetheless want extra; Figment merits extra.
An overhaul of Adventure into Creativeness could be each a legacy challenge and one thing that may outline the another way underwhelming Global Birthday celebration group of the EPCOT transformation, tying it in combination right into a extra cohesive challenge. Figment would develop into the face and mascot of the new-look EPCOT, raising the another way underwhelming central backbone within the procedure. Walt Disney Global has accomplished sufficient dipping its ft into the pool to check the recognition of Figment. It’s past time for a redone trip.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you call to mind Disney CEO Bob Iger announcing he’s going to push creatives to make a chain or shorts about Figment? May this be a precursor to Adventure into Creativeness 4.0? Or is that this simply extra false hope for fanatics? Do you settle or disagree with our evaluate that now could be the second-most logical time for a Adventure into Creativeness overhaul? Any questions? Listening to from you is 1/2 the thrill, so please percentage your ideas within the feedback!
