Possibility 7: Topiaries? I'd Dig That.

Dear readers, while this year's Flower and Garden festival has drawn to a close a few weeks ago over at EPCOT Center, there is a rather interesting story behind a particular and possible topiary that for some of us, we really wish it exists right now.

Of course, for those who do not know the back story of how Wonders was pitched to become the convention center, let us spare a moment in the 2000s when the death clock was due to be scheduled for the Wonders of Life pavilion, with its drop in attendance rates, and the seasonal operation schedules put in place. Increasing obscurity led to the final nail in the coffin for its previous incarnation in 2007 (lest we forget), and sparked its destiny for a refurbishment (of surgical proportions) into a conventions hall for the festivals.

There has got to be a reason why I am writing about this little issue when very few people matter about it nowadays (nope, this is not the sound of forgetting and giving up, guys!) Over in Epcot nowadays, it is not uncommon to come face to face with topiaries of common Disney characters, but it is eyebrow raising to not find those bearing historical meaning to them (after all, before Epcot allowed Mickey and pals to greet guests after the mid 80s (give or take), they did have a few iconic characters - Figment, SMRT-1, and who could forget the "Boid" and Tiger the Robot?), let alone homage 'monuments' for attractions gone by. But since this blog is exclusive for a specific pavilion, this kind of limits my discussion of ideas to some potential 'bright ideas' that could serve as possible 'homage' topiary monuments to the pavilion's former incarnation...

So first up, we have Buzzy, our iconic Cranium Commando, who once took residence backstage in the Wonders dome, and took us in the inner workings of the brain and body, demonstrating the relationship between the two. While he wasn't as popular now (read: still obscure!) as he once was then, all I know is that... yes, he's the kind of person who makes mistakes, yes, he's naïve, look, I know he's not elite brain pilot material... but he makes up for it by not just getting to know the body crew, as well as making the best of a bad situation, he definitely knew how to use his head.

However, if Buzzy were to be on show, two others might have to be present. General Knowledge, known for his blustery temperament ("YOU! There in the BACK! Suck in that gut and WIPE that SMILE OFF YOUR FACE! The brain is SERIOUS business!"), could be present there as well, and even the lowly Hypothalamus could be by Buzzy's side. Add a plaque giving us not only their names, but also a little history lesson behind the forgotten stars, could probably make it all worthwhile.

Or if a Fantastic Voyage is more of your type, perhaps a B229 LGS-250 probe would probably draw in a few crowds, just like Body Wars did in its heyday. While there's not a lot of structural in depth information on how the body probes looked like, let alone a turnaround model existent, perhaps a B229 probe might be accompanied with a small plaque giving the history lesson on that attraction.

And then we have the typical DNA strand, the Tower of Life, once present as the primary monument for the Wonders of Life. While no longer with us, it would be a rather interesting structure to bring back the structure in topiary form; all you need is a few choice colours to coat each strand with flowers, and that is it. Or probably something small as a trimmed hedge of the former pavilion insignia.

Now that I am done discussing a few ideas, give or take a few, it's my turn to give you a question. If you were to nominate an icon/attraction/highlight to represent Wonders of Life in topiary form, what would it be, who would you pick, how would you represent it and why? Simply leave your answer in the comments section, or just drop by the Tumblr QnA page to answer as well.

Anywho, please note this article might be experiencing a few new additions as some topiary concepts might be developed. See you readers soon!