Disney just delivered one of its biggest Figment announcements in decades, but guests may have a surprisingly long wait before anything actually changes inside the attraction.
During Saturday night’s D23 presentation, Disney confirmed that Dreamfinder will reunite with Figment at EPCOT.
It’s an announcement longtime fans have been waiting years to hear. Dreamfinder hasn’t been a central character inside the attraction since 1998, and his return signals a major new chapter for the Imagination! pavilion.
But if you’re expecting Journey Into Imagination With Figment to close in the next few months, that may not happen.
In fact, the attraction could potentially remain open until 2028 or even 2029.
Disney Is Bringing Dreamfinder Back
Disney’s announcement came near the end of its Disney Experiences presentation.
The company confirmed that Figment will stick around as Disney creates a “new journey into imagination” featuring him alongside Dreamfinder.
That’s significant because Dreamfinder helped define the original attraction.
Dreamfinder and Figment debuted with Journey Into Imagination in 1983. Dreamfinder remained part of the attraction until 1998, while Figment eventually returned and became one of EPCOT’s most recognizable characters.
Disney hasn’t revealed exactly what their new adventure will involve.
More importantly for guests planning future vacations, Disney didn’t announce when Journey Into Imagination With Figment will close.
Another EPCOT Overhaul Could Happen First
Figment wasn’t Disney’s only major EPCOT announcement at D23.
Disney also revealed plans to extensively reimagine Spaceship Earth.
The attraction’s current focus on human communication will shift toward the broader idea of human connection. Disney also intends to update the experience to cover the internet age and beyond.
Disney hasn’t announced a closure date for Spaceship Earth, either.
However, from what we’ve gathered, Spaceship Earth is expected to be the first of these two EPCOT projects to move forward.
We could potentially see Disney announce a 2027 closure, followed by an extensive refurbishment that keeps Spaceship Earth unavailable until sometime in 2028.
If that’s how Disney approaches these projects, it could push Figment considerably further down the calendar.
Figment May Not Close Until 2029
Disney could understandably want to avoid having both attractions unavailable for extended periods at the same time.
If Spaceship Earth remains closed through part of 2028, Disney could wait until later that year or even 2029 before shutting down Journey Into Imagination With Figment.
That could put a new version of the attraction on track for 2029, 2030, or perhaps even 2031.
Those dates remain estimates rather than anything Disney has announced.
But 2031 would provide an interesting target.
EPCOT opened in 1982, meaning its 50th anniversary arrives in 2032. Completing a major reimagining of one of the park’s most historically important attractions immediately before that celebration would give Disney another major addition to promote.
Figment Isn’t Going Anywhere
Whatever the timeline looks like, Disney has already settled the most important question about Figment’s future.
He’s staying.
Figment has been associated with EPCOT since 1983, and Disney describes the character as uniquely EPCOT and representative of the park’s identity.
Now Dreamfinder is coming back, too.
The current attraction’s days may ultimately be numbered, but that number could be much larger than fans initially expected.
Unless Disney accelerates its construction schedule, guests could still have several more years to experience Journey Into Imagination With Figment before Disney closes the doors and begins building its next chapter.
