Geeez, this thread was started in 2013. Is there a reason or strong rumor that it has been rekindled?
The strongest official word is that in an interview around the time the film came out, the directors (HUGE Disney park fans) pitched it to Imagineering as a replacement for Imagination. Whether or not WDI went with it or made any blue sky concepts is anyone's guess, but we know for sure the creators' preference is for the IP to go in that specific pavilion. Keep in mind that the director, Pete Docter, had his first official WDFA animating job on the Cranium Command preshow and is well aware of its former existence, so it wasn't as if he was unaware of WOL.
As for the IP argument that I've seemed to ignite again, I'm gonna throw this log on the fire because it's been hugely bothering me. Is Figment an IP or not? He's in Marvel comics, sells a bunch of merch and has been in all 3 JII incarnations. Sounds like another self-made IP to me. Of course, the purists will argue that he's original to the park itself but that's a strange way of looking at it. Figment gets a pass because he was grandfathered in?
It starts to get even loopier going down the rabbit hole. Horizons technically uses the Carousel of Progress IP, being a sequel. Kitchen Kabaret and Food Rocks used original characters, and the former had a HUGE merch selection and became its own cult IP. One of Eisner's first decisions was to put characters in the park due to guest complaints. If you want to go even bolder, the concept of retro EPCOT Center has become an IP in of itself, selling to nostalgic fans. It's a grey area that often finds itself blurring lines quite a bit even in Epcot's heydays.
We've crossed all of the "I can accept it, but that doesn't mean I'll like it!" points, so I have to ask: what left is there to accomplish? Just bitch and moan? Spit at the realism? I'm fine with people having an opinion, but at what point does the push at making a dialogue become moot? You of course can speak with your wallet, but that pales in comparison to all that Frozen and IO merch they can sell, not to mention the fact that IO and Figment can actually coexist. This is a movie where one of the main characters was an imaginary friend with an animal-like appearance. Hell, Figment even has an unspoken cameo. If all of the dialogue is going to be, "This looks neat!" followed by "NEVER!!!!".... what else is there to be said?
With WDW's timeframe this probably won't even happen within this decade anyways if it happens at all. So I guess we should just argue about semantics until the 2019 D23 Expo arrives and they announce the Imagination replacement due in 2024.
