From Well and Goods: A Rare Literary Find

Readers, it is an interesting and surprising moment during the blog's history, that evidence of any promotional or memorial for the Wonders of Life pavilion is existent. What started with another lazy-headed eBay search has landed me into an eBay listing for a souvenir book, titled "Experience the Wonders of Life", a promotional souvenir book.

This book has been sold over on eBay, accessible right here.

According to the listing details, it reads as follows

Pictures and descriptions of all the attractions in the Yesterland "Wonders of Life" pavilion at Epcot, including: Body Wars, Cranium Command, The Making of Me, Goofy About Health, The Sensory Funhouse, Anacomical Players and more. 32 pages, 11"x 9"

While the item has been sold, the listing contains a few sample pages and excerpts, but in appeal to how the book is composed, there are some spectacular photography work done by Wayne Eastep, and wonderful biological illustration work by Charles Bentz.

What's more, apart from a textual brief description of the attractions, exhibits and facilities, there are some informative aspects of the body covered in focus by the attraction itself - some top-notch illustrations, such as the brain and blood cells. have been included to give readers a little understanding of what's covered. Three of the pages, for preview purposes, are shown below, this time covering the attractions, as well as the contents of the pavilion souvenir guide:

I must say that this book is rather rare by today's standards, and is obviously/very likely to be out-of-print. However, given the adequate sample preview pages of the aforementioned book, this souvenir guide provides some relevant information, as well as a few attraction and prop photos never before seen (also, they are able to trigger some memories as well).

In my personal aspects, it could be plausible to do a resurrection of a book of this time, but given the Wonders of Life pavilion has been shut for five years counting, consider this:

• health issues and problems have been largely different now compared to then - while stress and health habits are still relevant, childhood obesity and health problems are reportedly on the rise within the population; even now, health remains a topic of interest.
• medical innovations have skyrocketed in progress, so it is useful to document them in reference to the attractions.
• the graphics design done in the early 90s is now a step off by today's standards - the fonts and colour schemes deserve a change.

This means not just an informational update, but there is a whole lot of interest (yes, interest) of the historical aspect behind the attractions - concept art and photographs, as well as backstories and legends behind the attractions. Add to the graphics design, as well as a growing need to introduce a young audience to this little piece of history, we'll definitely need an extra edition.

Anywho, with this find out of the way, we return to normal transmission...

Another Find for Well and Goods section!

Welcome back, readers, and in another find for the Well and Goods section of the site (interesting curios and long lost merchandise, give or take its existence) we have found one item that proves spectacularly of interest amongst curio hunters. The auctioneers that brought the Cranium Command sign to a new home have also brought out an interesting find, this time, something smaller...

You guessed it, a prop certificate from the crew at MET Biotech, as seen on eBay

Microscopic Organisms and Short Circuits...

Welcome back, readers, and in this issue of What the 'WT-'? on our blog, here's a snazzy image from a Google+ page which showcases what Body Wars once documented on the 5 minute ride:

What you're looking at is actual footage, taken from a blood sample in a petri dish. According to the image above, the round objects are the red blood cells, the black dotty objects are bacteria and the shape-shifting object going through them is a white blood cell. Sure, some of you may have seen this in biology class, but I have decided to bring this up to the attention of everyone else here.

In the spirit of this blog, if anyone is familiar with the Cranium Command universe, it's basically reimagines our brains as a pilotable vehicle, to typically manoeuvre it through an entire day without overstressing it. Well, in the words of General Knowledge indeed. Of course, I understand the sensitivities between the genders are still raised hackles to some people, but apparently, if the battle of the sexes were literally cut-throat, it won't be literally hard to imagine the control panels as these:

Which was probably an interesting hypothesis in why they chose Buzzy to pilot a 12 year old boy, as it seemed easier, if the above image was true. For those who are familiar with Cranium Command, then spoiler alert... it doesn't go exactly as planned.

And that's it for now for What the 'WT-'? on WOL4EVA. If you have found anything interesting fitting in the category of health and biology related things (that for some uncanny reason might remind you of the good old days in WoL), don't forget to let me know by leaving a comment after this entry, or on Google+.

Until next time, readers!

Behind the Scenes Treasure Trove

Welcome back readers, and this time with a couple of interesting images never seen before in regards to the Wonders of Life pavilion, thanks to a software application I have managed to get ahold of to my surprise.

Now most of you may have been familiar with the WDW Explorer, and basically, it was a CD ROM explorer activity that gave you some interesting information about Walt Disney World in Florida, and some of its iconic attractions and resort places that now lie with some of us in memory. Of course, only two editions of the CD ROM application were present (only notable difference is the absence of Animal Kingdom in the first edit), and as soon as the Internet became a popular research tool for the next holiday in WDW, plans for a third edition were discontinued.

Now most of you know that to date, the Wonders of Life pavilion has had the same fate of being shuttered (and buried) since 2007. For research reasons, here are a few photos in regards to the behind-the-scenes of some iconic attractions. it's a case of (in memespeak) 'pics or it didn't happen':

Behind the scenes at the Cranium Command theater. The stage has been finally constructed, and if you look closely, a shadow of the Buzzy AA, wearing the cap, can be seen on one of Bobby's eyes. This was taken during programming of the show controls and the AAs involved.

A behind the scenes photo of Elizabeth Shue (playing as Dr. Cynthia Lair) getting to grips with the giant splinter for the Body Wars film component.

Of course, for those who are curious of the construction of the Wonders of Life building will be surprised to discover, in the first picture, a tall spindly tower like structure designed to hold up the framework of the golden dome structure. As soon as the triangular joins of the dome were put together, the spindly tower was taken apart before moving on to build the interior.

Top: Putting together the dome structure.
Middle: Attaching the gold plated panels on the dome structure. Note the excavators inside the dome.
Bottom: The finalised pavilion, before installation of the archway

There you have it, a few shots regards to the Wonders of Life beginning to take shape. Of course, obviously, I do recall finding a photo of the Wonders of Life inside structures being built (the open theaters to house Goofy About Health and the Anacomical Players Arena), but it'll take forever to go through the archives to go find it. Oh well, back to delving

Also, I have heard word of, according to conversational sources, about the pavilion's main gift shop (Well and Goods) selling pavilion specific shirts (example, Cranium Command). So far, it's practically rare to find photographic evidence of those shirts, so for those viewing the blog and having a garment like that in particular, or any similar WoL specific merchandise from the pavilion's humble beginnings that you can recall having, then feel free to give me a shout.

And also, I have released a new set of wallpapers, this time, in daylight edition, just in time for the Southern Hemisphere Spring cycle. Hope you enjoy the new look, readers, and until next time!

What an amazing 11 months!

In case you didn't know, readers, this blog was opened almost one year ago on June 30th, in the tradition of future Imagineering blogs. While the blog was intended to become a box of essays, it has become a filing cabinet of possible Imagineering ideas if the pavilion be opened up to its former glory once more.
So to celebrate, I have found a photo gallery with some of the photos of the Wonders of Life pavilion taken somewhere in the 2005 or 2006 holiday seasons (or earlier).



And a whole lot more accessible if you click the photo above!

   Enjoy the offering, readers!

Possibility 2.5 - Try a Time Warp

In which I continue on with the subject, hands up if you recognise the quote and these two people of note:

"In those years we have some successes...	...and some failures..."

Yes, at the brink of 1989, it's not uncommon for the audience to raise a laugh at the appearance of Ernest P Worrel as branded one of the failures in brain piloting history. But nowadays, it's a case of 'bro, who is that guy, and what's his photo doing in there?'
Of course, the definition of failures has now changed rather dramatically between then and now, so perhaps a possible idea to illustrate the definition of 'failure'. Here's a possible candidate:

Okay, so it's not who is it I'm talking about, but a potential action that defines what General Knowledge means by 'failures'. This image, in which I explain why I chose this, is one of the most viral over the Internet, and in my opinion, I bet the next generation will react well with the image.
Of course, if you have any ideas for hilarious photographs that could serve as potential candidates for the 'failures' category among the brains, then feel free to post a suggestion here!

New DeviantArt Group OPEN!

Now that the silly season has begun to wind down, I am ready to recommence work on one of the first milestones since the blog's inception somewhere in June. You see, there are only a handful of people who know about the blog at the moment, and given that I am on a social networking site all of my own, I've decided to do something that no other blogger would have done...

The Wonders of Life, Eterna Club and Blog Banner

WOL4EVA has officially opened its first DeviantArt group, and basically, it's the main center for those who have been to the pavilion in its prime.. or maybe not. Here's just a description of what the club is all about:

In October 1989, the Wonders of Life was opened within the grounds of EPCOT Center, with an entertaining yet hopeful emphasis on health and life.
But before 2007, the most captivating pavilion has shut its doors forever.

Hence, this group WOL4EVA, named after the blog "Wonders of Life, Eterna"'s link.

This group is basically the gathering place for fellow deviants bearing strong memories of the EPCOT's Wonders of Life pavilion and its attractions during its prime, as well as those who not just see the potential in reopening the pavilion, but also taking a lot of imagineering work to bring it to the 21st century once more.

However, this club is only open to DeviantArt users only, and mind you, I'm not necessarily the person you'd find on FaceBook or Twitter, unfortunately. But by all means, this club is in its infancy, so if you have a DeviantArt accound, feel free to contact the club administrator here.

And that's not all: here's a music video to celebrate, because after all, readers...

Until next time!

Let me start with some statistics here...

To all of you blog readers, I am ready to start with a general essay of the Wonders of Life and the exhibits that used to be present there. Basically, the theme of the exhibit is basically on the bright side of life, health, medical technologies and everything in between, explained in an imaginative and attention-catching manner. And that's just the summary. I'm going to start with a few explanations of each attraction within the pavillion, as listed below:

The Making of Me:
This film is devoted to the miracle of how we all came into the world - the miracle of reproduction and birth. of course, normally people shy away from the topic (due to the fact it's sensitive, and there is definitely a sign that advises parental discretion), but according to those who saw the preview before the pavillion opened, it was described as "delightful", and is the educational film "required for elementary schools across the country", as well as a good conversation aid for parents to explain reproduction to their young.

Martin Short, who stars in the film, plays a young man in his 20s - representing the soul of a person who hasn't been born yet - he tells the story of how he came into the world, as he covers topics of how his parents were born - how they met, and how they decided to have their first child - him. The film also explains the biological scale of repriduction - the thousands of sex cells on the race to meet the egg cell (portrayed as very attractive), as well as actual footage of foetus/fetus-en-utero, complete with his experiences during nine months of development. All in all, this is brilliantly executed in terms of educational films, and in my view, this one worthy of being released on DVD (if that happens!)


Body Wars:
One of EPCOT Center's first thrill-rides was this on-the-fence-sitter - Body Wars, directed by Leonard Nimoy (you may remember him as Spock from the Star Trek series), and starring three actors well known at the time - Tim Matheson, Dakin Matthews and Elisabeth Shue (who also stars in Pihranha).

Body Wars is basically a hybrid of a theatrical-experience and a simulator ride, explaining one potential future of medicine - that medical professionals (and crew) would board one of four mentioned Body Probe Vehicles and, a la Fantastic Voyage, miniturized and beamed inside the bloodstream of a volunteer. The mission featured on the ride would be to bring Dr Cynthia Lair (immunologist played by Elisabeth Shue) on board the vehicle, but however, what starts as a simple mission becomes a ride through the heart, lungs and the brain.

According to the countless visitors who once experienced this bumpy ride, you would have to put your seatbelts on, as the seats would jerk and jolt during the experience (hence the boarding precautions). Sure it is not uncommon for motion sickness to happen during the ride, but for those who enjoyed the ride, it's an experience they'd wish they would get over their motion sickness to ride again!


Cranium Command:

Another instant classic found at the pavillion - the military-operation equivalent of how the brain works, as explained by Commanding Officer General Knowledge (sounds toungue-in-cheek), who explains some well known facts about the brain to the sudience in the preshow. That is, until Buzzy enters the theater late, and is called up on stage concerning his punctuality.
In the next scene in the preshow, there is an interesting portrayal of the brain as an advanced machine - most likely as in the Air Force fleet, to juxtapose this correctly. In this case, Buzzy has been assigned to monitor a day in the life of a 12 year old adolescent boy - by piloting his brain! Of course, the adolescent brain is very iunpredictable, and it's definitely going to be a bumpy ride being the bumbling rookie pilot Buzzy is!

Photograph of Buzzy at Cranium Command: 2006 by Allen Huffman.

The show theater, which is basically a screen theater-cross-animatronics display, made to resemble the inside of someone's head. Of course, the show mixes some great facts of the brain, as well as dealing with the effects of stress on the body - in what clever way than to portray each organ in the body as a person doing a certain job (and the hypothalamus as the sadly overlooked robot, as he quotes 'No one ever wants to talk to me.') The show's significance is that the workers are played by actors who have previously starred in Saturday Night Live (successful back then in the brink of the 90s). No matter how dated you would think of this now, Cranium Command is definitely an instant classic, one that if the pavilion were to be reopened, would need special care to win back the hearts of those who lived Buzzy's antics of piloting the brain.


Goofy About Health:

What this show is about, it helps explain the scenario of adopting healthy habits, as shown in a scenario of Goofy, playing a victim of the stress of urban living, and prone to illness. This is definitely a throwback to the instructional videos (think How to Swim), especially with the narrator explaining every bit of the story (including the quote: “The doctor diagnoses our friend’s illness as the dreaded, but all-too-common, unhealthy living.” ) There is also a song featured in the exhibit - the Unhealthy Living Blues, in which I don't have the lyrics nor the actual (restored) song itself. (Oh wait, now I do!)

Of course, the theater diaplays excerpts of the classic short film featuring Goofy, made during a period of 28 years, so it's not common to encounter the various roles (and design changes) Goofy played during the time!)
This was also the opportunity for those who could not be able to ride Body Wars to wait for the rest who were at the ride.

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So I guess that's about it for the summaries for each of the attractions, each with the photographs taking you to another site - Yesterland, explaining the bygone days of EPCOT center's prized attractions, and what had just happened when the pavillion became a convention center... Sad to see a treasure gone!

But no fretting please, because it's my challenge to write an article on each attraction, and with all the information sources I am gathering right now, it'll take a lot of time (considering that I am a busy person searching high and low for information!) Of course, for those who have intormation, and would like to contribute for the essays, then feel free to leave a comment!

Speaking of which, there is a poll on the blog site, which would help select which attraction from the exhibit I should write an essay on first. For readers who subscribe/follow this blog, please tell your blog-friends, because the more votes, the better the decision on which to write first.

In the meantime, I would like to show you an interactive exhibit, which frankly, a similar approach be incorporated in the pavilion should it be opened. The exhibit, showing at the Museum of Science and Industry is called You! The Experience. This would kind of remind you of one attraction I have not covered - Frontiers in Medicine, but this one I would happily speculate is an up-to-date attraction hopefully trying to fill in the void where the 'future' part of the Wonders of Life would've been.

Until then, catch you later!

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*This article being written by a blogger, whose writing language is in Australian English, but also caters to American online readers by adding a word in their own country.