Everything you need to know about fan-favorite character Figment

With all the hype regarding the Figment popcorn buckets at this year’s Festival of the Arts at Epcot, I wanted to focus on who this adorable little figment of our imagination is and his attraction over the years.

Figment Popcorn Buckets

Prior to the opening of the Festival of the Arts, Disney’s Tik Tok account released a five second teaser announcing the new Figment popcorn bucket. Immediately, fans were quite determined to get ahold of their very own Figment popcorn bucket.

The festival’s opening day proved to show the popularity of the popcorn bucket. Wait times for the bucket lasted up to seven hours. The popular buckets almost immediately became widely available through resellers on the internet.

The popcorn bucket retailed at $25 and also included multi colored popcorn. Guests were only allowed to purchase two Figment popcorn buckets at a time. Unfortunately, that did not little to make sure there was enough o last the entire festival. On January 17, 2022, a sign at the Pop Eats Booth noted that Figment buckets are no longer available to purchase.

Who Is Figment?

Figment is a small purple dragon that is a figment of everyone’s imagination. On March 5, 1983, the brand new attraction, “Journey Into the Imagination” opened at FutureWorld in Epcot. It introduced and featured both Figment and the Dreamfinder.

Figment has also appeared in a series of Epcot educational media short videos for schools and in two Marvel Comics’ Disney Kingdoms brand comic book series. These series have recently become popular once again.

Well known Disney Imagineer and Legend Tony Baxter created Figment. To learn more about Baxter and his contributions and achievements at The Walt Disney Company, read Jaelyn’s article HERE.

Baxter is known to have named Figment after watching an episode of Magnum P.I. and hearing the protagonist from the show remark, “Don’t tell me (the goat is) a figment of my imagination. Figments don’t eat rare tropical flowers.”

Who Is the Dreamfinder?

One cannot mention Figment without introducing his better half and creator: the Dreamfinder.

The Dreamfinder is a jolly wizard-like scientist who educates Figment on how to use his imagination. He is responsible for creating Figment by gifting him “two tiny wings, large yellow eyes, the horns of a steer, a crocodile’s snout and the childish delight found at a birthday party.”

Disney’s famous music composers, the Sherman Brothers, composed Figment’s “One Little Spark” theme song.

First Figment Attraction

The Journey into Imagination with Figment has offered three versions of the dark ride attraction.

In the original attraction, Figment was voiced by Billy Barty. The second version was voiced by Corey Burton. Finally, the current version of Figment is voiced by Muppeteer Dave Goelz.

Originally opened on March 5, 1983, the attraction began with an omnimover vehicle that took guests into the clouds. This eventually led to the Dreamfinder who introduced himself and explained that he uses his Dream Mobile or Dream Catcher to collect dreams and ideas to create new things.

After creating Figment, the two of them begin to imagine more to fill up the “idea bag.” After it has become full, they must empty it into the “Dreamport.” The attraction took guests through the Dreamport’s storage room which were several other rooms representing Art, Literature, the Performing Arts, and Science.

At the end of the attraction, the Dreamfinder told Figment and the audience that imagination is the key to unlocking the hidden wonders of the world. The ride then entered the final show scene. As the riders’ pictures were taken, they saw Figment surrounded by several movie screens of him being a scientist, a mountain climber, a pirate, a superhero, a tap dancer, a ship captain, a cowboy and an athlete.

Dreamfinder, who is behind a movie camera, gave the riders one last inspiring message and told them to use their newly found sparks of imagination in the ImageWorks and the on-ride photo was shown on a screen next to the camera.

This version of the attraction closed in 1998.

Journey into Your Imagination

Journey into Your Imagination opened in 1999 and closed in 2001. Based off of the 3D attraction Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, the new Figment attraction now took a tour of the Imagination Institute where guests were test subjects for the newest Imagination Scanner invention.

The attraction was hosted by Dr. Nigel Channing, played by Eric Idle. The attraction began with guests going through the scanner and finding out that the riders have no imagination. Guests were then taken to different labs testing Sound, Illusion, Color, Gravity and Connections.

For the finale, guests rode through the Scanner once more to find that their minds had been radiantly filled with ideas. This version of the attraction received numerous negative critiques as many guests noted that Figment was no longer a prominent character in the attraction. Furthermore, the Dreamfinder had been eliminated completely.

The attraction closed in 2021 for its third renovation.

 Journey into Imagination with Figment

The third version of the attraction opened in 2002 and is the current version of the attraction.

Once again, the Dreamfinder is absent. However, Figment has a larger presence in this version. Additionally, the classic song “One Little Spark” is played throughout the attraction again.

The attraction takes guests through the Institute which houses five labs based on the five human senses. Dr. Nigel Channing of the Imagination Institute takes guests through the Institute’s open house. Soon after, it is Figment that takes over the entire open house in his own creative way.

The end of the attraction invites guests to be creative at ImageWorks which can be found as guests exit the ride. The What-If Lab is an interactive exhibit area and includes interactive musical and digital exhibits.

Figment’s Representation in the Parks

It is no surprise that merchandise is dedicated to Figment. It consistently sells very well during Festival of the Arts, Flower and Garden Festival, and Food and Wine Festival.

During the Flower and Garden Festival, Figment has his own topiary! During the Festival of the Arts guests can find Figment in the Paint by Number wall and the scavenger hunt.

What’s not to love about Figment? He’s adorable, isn’t he? He always personifies the importance of never forgetting to have an imagination, even as adults. My family and I always look forward to riding Figment’s attraction.

Here’s to hoping that the Dreamfinder will find his way back into the attraction so that he may continue to go through his bag of ideas to inspire us all in more ways than one!

Are you a fan of Figment? Which attraction do you prefer of the three versions? Let us know in the comments on Facebook and in our Facebook group.