Once upon a time, the great golden dome taught us about the inner workings of the body, in many interesting ways more than one. This blog brings you attraction history, reviews, and also possible Imagineering theories on how to bring the pavillion back to its former glory (one way or another). A source of memories, or a chance to look forward into the future... call it what you will!
Welcome back readers, and after an awful bloggers block, it's time to get back to the reviewing and investigation of other similar exhibits, around the world, that would have followed in the footsteps of the Wonders of Life pavilion (well, even if not directly).
For this article, not so long ago, an exhibit at the Pacific Science Centre in Seattle, Washington has opened a health-related exhibit, under the title Professor Wellbody's Academy of Health and Wellness, and basically the premise is that this fictitious schooling organisation was named after its founder, Eleanor Wellbody, who thought of how people would take charge on the adoption of healthy habits (in the fields of nutrition, sleep and physical activity), as well as the many numerous fun ways to share them. So, enter this exhibit, paying homage to the state-of-the-art academic institutions (or must I say, the numerous privileged schools of yesteryear), as the Pacific Science Centre explains in a paragraph...
“...this innovative and highly immersive new exhibit will bring guests of all ages into the imaginative world of Professor Wellbody, demonstrating how personal choices can positively affect our health and well-being. Seven-thousand square feet of hands-on inventions, gadgets, activities and experiences will present health as a life-long process of balancing exercise, diet, proper rest and hygiene.”
Apologies for my hard earned resources being stuffed into the informational site, but a big welcome back to the readers of the blog, and with some interesting news. While most of the readers recall a post mentioning proof of the existence of the Wonders of Life film series, and it took a lot of painstaking research to find any proof, written or image, to confirm that.
Not so long ago, I had bookmarked an eBay entry displaying such existence proof, but for those who are familiar with the Disney Educational Films panel, you may remember films being presented at the time in two formats – one in VHS tape format and the other in 16mm projector film. While a lot of things were going on at the moment, it was only as recent that I noticed the eBay entry was recently taken down due to expiration of the selling period (well, it was already sold, but it remained on the site until recently.) It was fortunate to finally have access to Google Caches that I have finally taken the pleasure to present the following screen caps.
Each of these faithfully have some in depth information pertaining to the people behind the films. Also, under observation, it is quite fascinating if you compared the Cranium Command attraction as it appeared in the pavilion (well, during operation) with the film. It was quite surprising they might have kept the Captain Cortex (albeit as a younger being, or a predecessor to Buzzy as much as I realised) as head leader, pun intended, in the films. So far, only visual proof of the bones and muscles film is present, but imagine the thrill if visual proof of the films on the nervous system, or the heart and lungs, would appear after a long searching safari.
If anyone remembers these films in elementary school, either via experience (have you seen them in the classroom?) of by word of mouth, please write to me via comments section.
Until next time, readers!
Apologies for the awfully long wait between posts, as there is a lot more work happening offline than online. However, as today is April Fools day, there was some deliberate planning put into one of the April Fools stunts happening within Wonders of Life Eterna. Ready?
Love it or loathe it, this is comparatively a very clever April Fools prank that has been shown to a select fanbase, and thanks to prior research, has been received well with giggles and all-around smiles. Even one viewer mentioned that the spoof adverts were also in tune with the subject matter of the informational site. Hopefully if all goes well, there will be the possibility of a few design tweaks on the informational site, in order to stay in tune with the blog.
If you know of any other stunts or pranks that WOL Eterna could have pulled, please mention it in the comments below. Or else you are drafted to pilot a chihuahua destined for beauty pageants. Your pick!
Apologies for the long absence as there is currently a lot of work on developing a purely informational website based on the blog, which will hopefully serve as an effective companion source. Currently translated into numerous languages, the site can be found here in English
Pease stay tuned until further notice for further updates.
Sorry guys, no write long time, and after some activity elsewhere, it is time I suppose to consider a look back at one of Epcot's current niche attractions, and a little about its history so far.
Last time Habit Heroes was mentioned on this blog (this is true!), it was when it was being blacklisted for its unintentional backlash towards the wide belted community (for lack of a generalised PC term), especially under issues of body image, bullying and even a failure to convey the message of keeping healthy – it was a rather viral campaign blogged around the web less that one tear after the attraction's soft opening. More obscurely enough (and this counts as shameless bluffing), the sweeping to light of day of Epcot's previous attraction equivalents, making for a conversational chaser with regards to what could have improved Habit Heroes from there. Hence the shameless bandwagon post here.
And now, one year on under loads of tweaking, there has been a tremendous overhaul between the two attractions as far as anyone has concerned. Believe it or not, only one YT user has provided video evidence of the previous attraction that has raised a few eyebrows (and loads of tempers), and next to it, the newer one.
Habit Heroes 1.0
Habit Heroes today
As obvious, they did lay off the duelling duo Callie Stenics and Will Powers, along with the extensive cast of villains personifying the common bad health habits (in which a brave contributor has managed to restore them here, here and here), as previously featured on the former multiple-role player game site. Now they have put together an entirely new cast of heroes each representing a positive healthy habit as follows: Agent Fuel representing nutrition, Agent Quench representing hydration and Agent Dynamo representing physical activity and drive. The villains in question are reduced to diminutive pests by comparison, but some reckon they do a better job at representing the consequences of neglecting good health habits represented.
What's more, the blueprint of the attraction is prominently displayed in the second incarnation of the attraction, and especially where things used to be. Here's the image comparing these differences:
Two blueprints and how we supposed it went. Any questions?
As far as it goes, the notable difference is that there is a little more interaction-involvement with the cast members compared to the previous show, and in this case, the end of the attraction involves a little more than a beginners scavenger hunt around Epcot, each involving the good habits featured. While mixed reviews persist pertaining to the latest incarnation of the pavilion (just not the same without the villains) all that matters is that Habit Heroes has finally wormed their way back into visitors hearts after under a year of correction.
Of course, as this blog still keeps the attraction predecessor Wonders of Life in its memories, it would have only been fair to have it bring back the pavilion from the dead (or at least save it from its eventual demise). Now that Habit Heroes has gotten over its weighty hurdles, what more can we ask?
In that case, let's offer some brains back into the workforce!
Okay, kidding here. But there's a lot of things going on at the moment, so best bet is to stay tunes. If there's a burning issue you want to discuss, please leave a comment to this article or shoot off an email, I'm happy to hear it from you. All ears. At ease!
