Disney never has bothered to fix the Imagination pavilion. And with COVID tossing out most of Epcot's overhaul budget, we are probably stuck with Nigel Channing and annoying Figment (which is character is just abhorred and rock-bottom for 18 years). It is outdated and stuck with Michael Eisner era dated tackiness.
Now I am seeing the attraction itself malfunctioning to the point where the sound in one of the scenes is not playing. The animatronics have gotten stiff.
The higher ups at Disney and Imagineering have failed to take notice how awful the pavilion has gotten. ImageWorks is also outdated. The Magic Eye Theatre just plays Disney/Pixar shorts, which is nothing imaginative.
If this ride does not close after the 2020s decade is over, this shows how Disney is incompetent with how they handle their theme parks lately. They choose to prioritize other attractions like Guardians, PLAY!, Ratatouille, Frozen Ever After, and an awful Beauty and the Beast Sing Along to share with Impressions de France instead of putting priority on a pavilion that is deseparate for an update.
We understand that Disney is running things on a shoestring budget until the economy recovers and with employees getting laid off and running under limited capacity, it is hard for Disney Parks and Imagineering to get back on their feet, even more until a vaccine arrives and masks are mandatory until Spring/Summer of next year.
But it bugs me that Disney is willing to keep the Imagination pavilion dated in its 2002 form until the ride system breaks down and keeps running to the point it is unsafe by OSHA standards.
Either broken beyond repair or end of service life. (I heard rumors SeaWorld decided to finally close the Wild Arctic ride after a 24-25 year run.)
If Disney updates all of Epcot and not the Imagination pavilion (even The Seas pavilion's Nemo book-report ride), this just shows that Disney doesn't care about updating the pavilion and Bob Chapek has failed to address it at the 2019 D23 Expo.
What will it take for Imagineering/Disney to update an inferior pavilion below the latest standards and advancements in storytelling and ride technology? (I mean, the 2002 CGI on Figment is dated and pre-dates Pixar's 1990s CGI.)
How do you want the pavilion to be updated in a desire to bring in more park guests. Just keeping it dated with other attractions will steer people away from it, or won't come back if they don't have new offerings.
I rather go to Guardians, Ratatouille, and PLAY instead of Nigel Channing’s Imagination Institute, which the theming surpassed Honey I Shrunk the Audience. The tie in doesn’t work. It seriously needs to be updated by 2030.