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!
YAWWWN! It's good to come out of the most awkward hibernation period for this blog, and judging from the steady traffic for the blog's latest post (focusing on how to immortalise Inside Out somewhere in the Wonders of Life pavilion), it's still pretty much business as usual for Wonders of Life Eterna. But so far, funny things – especially in public service announcements and advertisements, some teeming with anatomical references of interest (and humour!) – have all been happening since our unexpected hiatus. But a word of warning to some readers: you may need another crash course in the Making of Me before you step further into this course.
Greetings readers as this blog finally wakes up from its unprecedented slumber, but it is with absolute emotional joy to pay congratulations to the already well-received film, Inside Out. Of course, I am very apologetic for the unexpected absence (I will write an in depth post on it soon, please stand by), but it is with great regard that I will explore some possibilities for bringing the emotional journey from the big screen to the big dome.
For those who are literally in the new, Inside Out follows on the five emotions - Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust, as they manage the many facets in Riley's mind - memories, personality, dreams and the like. Of course, it is also an adventure in itself, as the dominant emotions, Joy and Sadness, inadvertently find themselves outside of Headquarters and throughout the world of Riley's mind and its divisions. Where and how it ends, nobody wants to spoil, but the subject of growing up and facing new challenges - moving house, new relationships, etc. - is well orchestrated and approached.
As many people have realised, for those who have been looking at past EPCOT and Disney history, Inside Out has some uncanny links – as I have cited in the previous article Brainy Connections, Pete Docter is known to have worked on Cranium Command as the animator, and hence apart from extensive research with psychologists, and also his family experiences, has added to the influence of the exploration of the mind, and judging from how well received the film has become to date, the whole team has successfully done it excellently.
But let us consider the previous following food for thought (555!)... we know that Cranium Command focuses on the brain-body relationship, while Inside Out purely focuses on the mind... it seems that in the context of the Wonders of Life attraction, the two might be able to unite, crossover permitting, but already there is some talk on when and how to fully incorporate Inside Out for a possible ride in EPCOT Center.
Wonders of Life Eterna has been researching possible technologies, as well as individual thoughts on which new attractions or concepts would be considered useful to resurrect, or even renew in today's day and age. But already many, many people on the web are happily discussing many interesting possibilities. Although Wonders has previously written many strategical articles for Cranium Command's return (here, here and here), it's time to review forum talk going on the WDWMAGIC thread, "Inside Out Being the Focal Point on the now defunct Wonders of Life Pavilion", for starters. Of course, there are more, but let's say they are points for mind-stimulating discussions for fleshing out the attraction, but in this case, let's have Wonders of Life Eterna walk through each location, and figure out which Emotion, or even which location in Riley's mind, would fit excellently.
The Scope
When planning either a revival or a restructuring of a pavilion, especially in the context of an Epcot attraction, it is important to consider the scope of our nominated new settlers, the Emotions. In short, how much golden dome would we allow them to settle and occupy (but let's be democratic here). Some say that we leave Inside Out limited to only one attraction (which would be usually Cranium Command, due to the relationship with, yes, the head), while some believe that due to current success, that our fellow Emotions deserve full reign of the pavilion. But it all depends on the context of the attractions, and especially the desired focuses on each part of the movie, or better yet, which parts would emphasise the theme of, let's say, exploration of the human mind, or tying it to life and health somehow.
The Entrance
In the Wonders of Life pavilion, the first thing anyone would likely notice back then would be the iconic Tower of Life DNA strand monument - the visual draw to attract visitors through the pavilion's main two attractions - Cranium Command and Body Wars. But suppose that Inside Out became settlers of the entire pavilion, or maybe one attraction thereof. How would we attract people to the pavilion and invite them on a journey on the human mind? Or better yet, how would we sum it all up to be enticing enough to invite?
One visual example, as I included from a very visually imaginative armchair imagineer, has decided to imagine how the entrance is going to be. The main object focus, synonymous with the film, are the memory spheres from the film, and as the image provided shows, the entrance sign definitely fills the void of the entrance archway used in Wonders, many many years past since '89, before the pillar sign. In a visual sense, I find it rather appealing, and it would definitely be a visual draw and identity of the pavilion, had the Emotions moved in.
Which Attractions?
With the entrance covered, we need to figure out what attractions deserve to share the space at the Wonders of Life pavilion. Given that Wonders already has an assortment of attractions to attract and entertain guests, here are the types of attractions that best suit Inside Out making the pavilion their home.
Frontiers
In its previous incarnation, Frontiers paid tribute to the many advancements in medical innovations. But suppose we took the next leap forward into exploring the mind. We know of many aspects of the human mind, such as feelings, communication, ideas and anything else that makes us human. But that will not stop there. In fact, there are many aspects of psychology, especially in the medical terms - from neurodiversity (the autism and aspergers spectrum) to clinical conditions (depression, bipolar, and other related) or even technologies that can interact with our brainwaves and thoughts – the list would go on, and it would hopefully make for an interactive and intellectual companion for the other at actions as well.
Cranium Command
And it's inevitable for me to admit that, yes, Cranium Command, sharing its influence and its theme with the film, is sadly not safe from the invasion of the Emotions. But I'm not going to be pessimistic about it either. There are a couple of ways that Cranium Command could find new life somehow with the Emotions in the pilot's seat. One way would be to retool Bobby's head into Riley's - to have it entirely into Headquarters, and to have Joy at the helm of the controls. Joy would likely pilot Riley through many of the numerous adventures, and even call on at least one or more of her friends through the numerous screens.
But another way would not only fuse the mind-body relationship a little higher, but let's say that Captain Buzzy (or a female counterpart!) would still be at the helm, looking after Riley, and even calling on the Emotions for help (on second thought, the Left/Right brain theory by now is no longer commonplace or plausible... sorry purists!). While Docter didn't want to focus on the actual "neural-flesh-and-blood" aspect of the mind (sorry, Docter), it is nice to see a potential crossover with Buzzy and the Emotions pilot Bobby or Riley (or whoever) happen in the theatre.
And with regards to these little thoughts on how our Emotions will make it quick to settle at least a part of Wonders of Life, however suitable for its worth, and hopefully give it the revival that might be of good use. But how it happens... let's say that Disney is hard at work looking at the numerous ways of potentially making this possible. So if anyone has some suggestions or thoughts, or even some opinions on their own, feel free to post in the comments below!
Until then, a good friend, whom I shall refer to as @robjyeo, has put together a brilliant infographic describing the schematics of Riley's mind as portrayed in the film, which will hopefully jog some of yours, too! Cheers!
Apologies for the unforeseen absence, but I have spectacular news with respect to the fate of the Wonders of Life pavilion... there is no official word on what's happening, but someone sent me news on the big move, in which I have happily pictorialised below:
Which begs me the question, which countries are interested in having the Wonders of Life pavilion as their new home? I wonder if cities such as Melbourne and Hannover are interested. And even wackier, how in the hypothalamus are we going to acquire fifty military helicopters to do the heavy lifting? The drop will probably be painful, too.
Feel free to discuss matters on this blog. You can also spark a discussion over on Twitter with the tag #WoLCopter. And be sure to check the new mirror of the informational site, WOL4EVA on uHostAll if you would like more information!
Keep an eye on the blog for further updates as it appears.
UPDATE: Wait, it seems that I have received another message pertaining to the massive relocation program, and it turns out that I misread it dramatically. It turns out that the news was meant to say the following: Due to its weight and absolute support on Epcot property, it is not possible to relocate the Wonders of Life pavilion primarily by helicopter alone. As the news was meant to be announced on April Fools day to boost morale, misreading the news just makes it a lot more humiliating.
But all in all, there is still hope in having the pavilion live on, worldwide, without having to lug it around the continent on helicopter (in which it would find it very heavy!) on a non-stop basis. Blogs and websites dedicated to keeping the pavilion's memories alive, even on social media, help to share the memory and discuss possibilities.
Possibilities, in which I will happily revive and keep running the blog, for the purpose of not only keeping the pavilion alive, but also share a little fun every once in a while.
I hope you had a safe and joyful April Fool's season!
Greetings again, from the blog currently in the freezer due to unforeseen priorities, but a lot has happened while Wonders of Life Eterna last posted during the holiday season. Some of us have heard of the day when the measles epidemic was first reported in Disneyland (Anaheim, California), and due to a surplus population of the unvaccinated, an epidemic is projected to be dramatically high.
And the debate is ever so high. Debates along the lines of vaccines being the root of debilitating diseases through to conditions (the autism-vaccine link has yet been destroyed thanks to safer vaccine developments), through to parents being overprotective of their children for the above reasons, and through to religious reasons. And with all this hitting the fan, as well as the world well fighting the war on Ebola (which has since ravaged, but remains contained in West Africa), this leaves Wonders of Life Eterna wondering...
How on planet Earth will Wonders of Life ever spread the message of vaccination? In this case, it would be a good idea to backtrack to the glory days of how Disney educated the masses on how to keep clear of infectious diseases, in the quest for better health. In this case, I might embed a few videos as cases in point.
Earlier (if my memory serves correctly), I have made mention of the early film "How to Catch a Cold", which focused on two characters - the Common Man, who is infected with the common cold, and Common Sense, the human conscience equivalent of none other than Jiminy Cricket, who educates Common Man on many aspects on the common cold - how a worn out body means someone is susceptible to catching a cold, through to how a cold can infect a neighbourhood in minutes, and how the body can fight off the cold, provided it is able to rest. Up in the 80s, the film was remade, this time with Goofy being the primary conscience for the young boy seen battling the common cold. Although campy by today's standards, I believe that the message remains the same... we are no match to common colds... or worse.
With regards to what would Wonders of Life would do on the subject of immunity, as well as the ongoing fight against disease, the more fitting question would be... what would B229 do? Body Wars could have expanded from being just a thrill ride to a whole-scale institutional exhibition on body systems and biomedical technologies (even though we have Frontiers in Medicine) to help open up the message to everyone. Also the premise of watching the immune system at work could be a great backstory for Body Wars as well; if the white blood cells dissolving a splinter on the ride were a sight to see, wait till we start watching them eat, attack and eventually build up resistance against attenuated (weak and useless to cause harm) viruses and pathogens from an effective vaccine treatment. Now that would be a thrill ride worth boarding (and being sick all over again). Even Captain Buzzy would be welcome to introduce us to the immunity crew as part of an open day exhibit, what do you think?
If you have any more ideas that would give Wonders of Life the immune boost it needs, you are welcome to leave a comment below. But since the vaccination debate is already heated up as it is, please be nice.
