Everybody’s favorite purple dragon will start meeting with guests at EPCOT quite soon, as Figment’s previously announced meet and greet will commence on September 10. The company announced the news at the end of their “A Celebration of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” panel at Destination D23
Figment Meet and Greet Starts September 10
The character as he will appear at the meet and greet joined Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products Chairman Josh D’Amaro and other Disney employees on stage to cap off the panel.
Disney announced that a Figment meet and greet would be coming to EPCOT “in 2023” in September 2022, with the timeframe being specified to “this summer” in March 2023. While no confirmation was given, many speculated that the meet and greet would occur inside the Imagination! Pavilion, as that’s where the Journey into Imagination with Figment attraction resides. Legitimacy was added to this theory when the Vanellope meet and greet inside the pavilion stopped being offered in August; curtains were placed around the former meet and greet area, and no official replacement was immediately announced.
Walt Disney World shared a first look at the Figment meet and greet location on their social media accounts following Saturday’s announcement; the dragon will meet with guests in front of a vibrant blue background that features the Dream Mobile piloted by Dreamfinder, a nod to the original Journey into Imagination attraction that occupied the Imagination! Pavilion from 1983–1998.
Figment will wear his yellow jacket with red striping as seen on his animatronic in the Journey Into Imagination ride.
Figment’s History
Figment debuted alongside Dreamfinder in 1983 as part of Journey into Imagination, which opened a few months after EPCOT Center’s opening. The ride demonstrated the beauty, power, and wonder of imagination to guests and was well-received, allowing Figment and Dreamfinder to become pseudo-mascots of the park.
Given EPCOT Center’s original goal of being an education-oriented experience, traditional Disney characters generally recognizable to parkgoers were not initially used in meet and greets or as walk-around attractions. Original characters created for the park were instead used in this role, with Figment and Dreamfinder being two characters that guests could interact with.
Figment has evolved into a park icon over the past number of decades, developing a strong fanbase as he appears on merchandise, in inspired desserts, and even in video games. He may soon even shift to the big screen, as a Seth Rogen-produced Figment film is even in development.
Proof of the character’s popularity is perhaps most prevalent in an early 2022 frenzy in which EPCOT International Festival of the Arts popcorn buckets depicting Figment consistently sold out. While proper Figment meet and greets have been previously offered at EPCOT, his upcoming meet and greet will be guests’ first chance to interact with the beloved imagination dragon in quite some time.
Are you excited about Figment’s upcoming meet and greet inside the Imagination! Pavilion at EPCOT? Let us know in the comments.
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