EPCOT walked away from D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event with two major announcements: a confirmed reimagining of Spaceship Earth and the return of Dreamfinder alongside Figment. Both came out of the Disney Experiences showcase at the Honda Center, and both point at the same idea Imagineering keeps circling back to for this park: imagination and human connection.
Spaceship Earth’s First Update in Nearly 20 Years
Spaceship Earth has not seen a major update in close to two decades, so any news here carries weight. On stage, Disney Imagineer Ali Rubinstein confirmed that the geodesic sphere is getting a reimagining that will bring the ride’s storyline into the internet age and beyond.
The attraction currently traces the history of human communication, from cave paintings to the modern era. Imagineering is broadening that focus to a theme that still feels EPCOT, human connection unmistakably. No opening date, closing date, or specific scene details have been shared yet, but the confirmation alone is the headline. Spaceship Earth has been an opening day fixture at EPCOT since 1982, and it remains one of the most complex ride systems Disney has ever built, with vehicles that spiral up through the sphere before reversing direction to come back down.
Figment and Dreamfinder Reunite at EPCOT
The bigger crowd reaction of the night, though, came at the very end of the showcase. Disney Experiences Chairman Thomas Mazloum told the audience, “We are taking a new journey into imagination at EPCOT with Dreamfinder and Figment.”
Figment never really left. The purple dragon has been doing meet-and-greets in the Imagination! Pavilion, headlining EPCOT’s Festival of the Arts since 2017, and starring on plenty of merchandise, including the popcorn bucket that went viral back in 2022. Dreamfinder is the one making the comeback. He guided guests through the original Journey Into Imagination attraction from 1983 to 1998 before disappearing from the park, and generations of EPCOT fans have been asking for him back ever since.
Beyond the reunion itself, Disney has not said what form this new chapter takes. Whether that means a refreshed attraction, a new scene, or simply Dreamfinder joining Figment for meet-and-greets has not been addressed.
Our Take – We were in the building for this one, and it was mostly song and dance. Nothing concrete came with either announcement: no dates, no real plans, no specifics. Some of it felt like a way to quiet the loudest critics and give the crowd something to cheer for rather than actual news.
That said, we are happy both of these are officially happening. Spaceship Earth is the one that matters most to us. Going almost 20 years without a real update and finally getting a confirmed reimagining, with a theme that fits where EPCOT has been heading, is worth being excited about even without a timeline yet.
The Figment and Dreamfinder news is trickier. We love seeing Dreamfinder come back, but there is no news attached to the news. Is the attraction changing? Is this just Dreamfinder joining Figment for meet-and-greets? Nobody knows yet. Imagineering will have to fill in the blanks, and we will be here when they do.
