Exploring the Other Water Features in the Imagination Pavilion

One of the first things you encounter when you approach the Imagination Pavilion in EPCOT is the famous Upside-Down Waterfall. For anyone seeing it for the first time, it certainly makes a great first impression. “Oooh, a waterfall!” you might say. But then you realize that something’s not quite right…and you suddenly realize that the water is flowing uphill rather than down! To be fair, it’s pretty obvious what’s going on, but nonetheless it’s a perfect introduction to a Pavilion where your imagination can run free…and can even turn upside down (as you see in Figment’s Open House). The Upside Down Waterfall is the largest feature in the Imagination Pavilion’s courtyard (or Picture Garden as it was formally known when it opened). It measures 25 yards across and incorporates 113 jets of filtered and recycled water to make it appear like the waterfall is running uphill. At the top of the structure is a large “standing water” pond, fed by water that travels up a concrete flume from the artificial canal in front of the Pavilion. When the Pavilion opened, Kodak (the Pavilion’s sponsor) pointed out in a press release that the waterfall would be Illuminated at night (along with the other attractions in the Garden), creating a setting that would be suitable for photographing during all the hours EPCOT Center was open. And ever since then it has been a favorite photo spot for professional and amateur photographers alike.

But the Upside-Down Waterfall is just one of many water features you’ll at Figment’s playground. We talked about the Pavilion’s most famous water feature, the Leaping Fountains, in a previous post, but there are still a few more hidden gems to be discovered here.

Photo courtesy Jamie Hecker, kmfphotography.com

Let’s begin with the Jellyfish Fountain, and a long-lost focal point that many people may not even remember. The Jellyfish Fountain is located in the upper pond located above and behind the Upside Down Waterfall. The fountain is 12-feet in diameter and features five jets that shoot water up to four feet in the air. At its peak, the water breaks off, resembling a flying jellyfish as it drops back into the pond (hence the name). But that’s just part of the story. Today you’ll find a wireframe sculpture of two pyramids, mirroring the larger pyramids of the Pavilion itself. You’ll be forgiven if you think those pyramids were there from day one, but that’s actually not the case!

If you were there in the early 1980s, a trip through your souvenir photo album will remind that there was once something else in the pond, something that’s barely mentioned today. This was a structure that resembled today’s pyramids, but seemed to be made of translucent honeycombs. To be fair, you might just assume it was an original covering that had long been removed, and may not have given it a second thought (if you remembered it all). But this was actually something completely different! The Jelly Fish Fountain was originally home to a structure known as the Curved Space System, an innovative concept conceived and designed by product designer and inventor Peter Jon Pearce. Pearce was an assistant to Buckminster Fuller (who popularized the geodesic dome and the term “Spaceship Earth,” inspiring the design of EPCOT’s iconic structure) and is the author of several books including “Structure in Nature Is a Strategy for Design.” According to Pearce, the Lexan plastic structure was a “nature-based, large scale, sculptural system that maps the geometry of a diamond crystal at approximately 16 billion times its actual size.” The structures were originally envisioned as playground climbing sculptures and were installed in parks throughout California and Japan in the mid 1970s and early 1980s. For many years, the Curved Space System served as a focal point for the Imagination Pavilion courtyard, and Michael Jackson even had his photo take in front of it (this was the same photo session that yielded the famous image of Jackson in the Rainbow Tunnel in ImageWorks).

So what happened to it? Mother nature. Although it was indeed a striking work of art, in the long run the elements took their toll. It was removed in the late 1980s when it began to calcify in the Florida climate.

Let’s now head over to the Figment Fountain. The what? Yes, you read that right. Figment once had his very own fountain! Of all the water features at the Imagination Pavilion, this one is probably the least well known. Tucked away between the Magic Eye Theater and the main attraction building, Figment once dominated the Picture Garden in the form of a three-foot tall topiary figure on a revolving turntable. The figure was surrounded by 60 water jets. Instead of a typical fountain though, the water here “bounces” up, inviting you to reach your hand out to see if you can catch a ball of water.

Unfortunately, the Figment topiary has long disappeared. New topiaries occasionally appear, though they are usually made of simple geometric forms. In addition, the fountains, once painted yellow, are now red. Interestingly, the building behind the Figment Fountain has been used for various purposes over the years, most notably as a camera and film shop when the pavilion opened. It has been used as a meet-and-greet location on occasion and today serves as a Disney Visa Cardmember Photo Opportunity location.

You can read more about the water features in the Imagination Pavilion in our newest collector’s book, Journey Into Imagination: The Definitive History. In addition to the courtyard, you can read all about the history, attractions, shows, characters, music, and more in this beautiful keepsake edition.

So the next time you visit, take some time to explore the courtyard and the surrounding gardens! Besides trying (yet again) to catch those elusive leaping streams of water, you just might discover something new. The only limit is your imagination!

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