TR: A Night in the Wonders of Life Pavilion

[robbalvey]

The imagineers would be happy hearing you say that. The point of Dinoland is to be tacky.

 

Whether or not you agree with the theme (I agree its a real cop out of a theme), the look is intended. I had to laugh when I read a post somewhere that stated Disney (cheaply) placed the coaster on top of old parking spaces. In actuality, those parking spaces were created AFTER the coaster was built.

See, it's funny....because even though this is what was "intended" I know that the Imagineers, had they actually had a budget to work with in the first place, would have most likely NOT opted to do this in the first place.

 

But when you're presented with the challenge of "We need a new area....really quick....include a big thrill ride....oh, and BTW, here's fifty bucks to do it with...." you try to make the best of it.

 

--Robb

[jedimaster1227]

See, it's funny....because even though this is what was "intended" I know that the Imagineers, had they actually had a budget to work with in the first place, would have most likely NOT opted to do this in the first place.

 

But when you're presented with the challenge of "We need a new area....really quick....include a big thrill ride....oh, and BTW, here's fifty bucks to do it with...." you try to make the best of it.

 

--Robb

 

Dinoland was intended as a filler land through and through. Like Mickey's Toontown Fair, the land pulled in more people than originally expected, prompting for each land to be given the permanent treatment (though on a low budget). Dinoland got Primeval Whirl while Mickey's Starland was renamed Mickey's ToonTown Fair, recieving a full upgrade including its own roller skater, the Barnstormer. I don't ever consider anything temporary with WDW anymore for one main reason that I have learned about over time: everything Disney makes to be temporary ends up with high enough numbers for a small upgrade so that it can be kept permanently.

 

The latest that I see this theory applying to is Pooh's Playful Spot (on the real estate of our old 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea lagoon). It is already pulling in its target audience throughout the day, prompting Disney to keep it.

[cfc]

The only thing I would salvage from Wonders of Life is Cranium Command--it was actually fun, whereas Body Wars was a pretty bad simulator.

 

Ate lunch there once, too--awful.

[BarryH]

Personally, I'm hoping Wonders of Life will become the "Land of Pixar Shorts." We'll have "Luxo, Jr.: The Ride," Knick Knacks in the gift shop, One Man Band show, and Geri's Game: How to Play Chess Like Big Blue.

 

[mcjaco]

^ Don't even joke. Pixar is flowing out of every Disney park as it is....yuck.

[ParkTrips]

I am surprised this TR has gotten 3 pages of replies without tits.

[jedimaster1227]

I am surprised this TR has gotten 3 pages of replies without tits.

 

Well now...aren't you kind...

[mcjaco]

*Sigh* I'm not going to get into a semantics argument with you over this but needless to say.. Coaches corner and the activity monitors have been closed since metlife dropped sponsorship due to the tie-ins that they both contained. If you want to see it act as a relief for other attractions then visit it during the week from xmas-new years when the park is extremely busy. You will see lines which are generally longer than Imagination.

 

Yeah, what he says! With long lines as M:S and TT, it will be a welcome relief in the coming weeks. You can't go in for 20 minutes, count people and make off handed remarks about how it's not getting good attendance figures. Especially when the peak of the season isn't upon the parks just yet.....

[socalMAN123]

This place was closed when I visited this summer. Even though I was sad, it looks like I didn't miss much.

---Brent

[USRoadTripper]

I was in the Wonders of Life three times this past week, and I agree and disagree with a lot being said in this thread.

 

I really didn't find most of it to look as bad as this TR made it out to be. You can pretty much make anything look bad if you only take pictures of the bad stuff! Yes, there were lots of things closed, and yes there were lots of things that didn't look up to Disney quality standards. But there were still plenty of things that were more than presentable in my opinion. I didn't see any problem with Cranium Command and Making of Me (aside from the fact that they are both old, with grainy films, but those problems were there long before the recent closures). Body Wars did seem to be rougher on this trip than in the past, but still gave a good ride for an old ride with grainy film And aside from a couple of stray lightbulbs out in some signage, the Sensory playhouse seemed to be completely working.

 

On the other hand...I really don't think the pavilion as a whole is up to Disney quality standards anymore. Eventhough the three main attractions were up and running just fine, they look very dated, use very unimpressive technology, and generally don't look quite right next to the other cutting edge rides in the park. Plus, having so many things closed for one reason or another is just very bad show. Pure and Simple, the merchandise outlet, the Wondercycles, Coaches Corner, Frontiers, the MET computers, the Anacomical Players theater...it's all just sitting there closed up or not working. It just looks bad in my opinion.

 

A few CM friends of mine still work there, and they all seemed to believe that this is the last time the pavilion will be open, though no one had heard anything official. I had a wonderful time working there, and a wonderful time saying my goodbyes. But I'm not too sad to see this pavilion go because I'm very excited about what Disney can do with that space in the future.

 

-Julie

[BeemerBoy]

Thanks Julie. Your's was the "wrap-up" report I was hoping to see. Although I didn't get to see the exhibit in it's current state with my own eyes, what you said, and what I've seen in this thread have made me wholeheartedly agree with your assesment of the place. More than anything else, it's just very "un-Disney" to open an attraction that is not fully functioning. On top of that, as you said, being as dated as it is just doesn't flow well with it's next door neighbors.

 

It's also sad in a sense that Wonders of Life is one of the last remaining examples of great edutainment. Like all the other pre-thrill ride attractions in Future World, it was exactly what Epcot was created to be....a unique and pioneering way of educating while entertaining. And considering the amount of health issues the world deals with these days, it would be nice to see Disney contiune to simply update the exhibit as necessary, in an attempt to educate in a fun and entertaining way.

 

I'm realistic though. Unfortunately, the desire to grab the younger crowd's attention, and more importantly, that crowd's parents' money, will probably win out in the form of another Pixar ride.

[YoshiFan]

I wonder how many people will be in the Wonders of Life pavilion during Christmas and New Year's week. Anyone care to go during the busy times to see how many people are there?

 

Just an update

 

I was there yesterday and though not officially Christmas week it's close and I have to say I was shocked about Body Wars. The wait board in Future World said 10 minutes. The real wait? 0 minutes. No one was around and no one was in the queue. I got to the end of the queue and there were only 4 other people in line. Only 1 operator was working and he was on the phone and I heard him say "I got guests" (like he was surprised anyone was in line). We didn't watch the film before boarding, he just let us right on. It was strange only having 5 people on the ride. I didn't bother with the rest of the attractions but there were probably less than 25 people in the whole place.

[BarryH]

^Hmmm...it doesn't seem to be dispursing the crowd much then.

 

Maybe during this busy week, we'll see 8 people riding Body Wars!

[jedimaster1227]

I too was there yesterday and again, Body Wars was empty. Cranium Command had 5 viewers total. The most busy attraction was The Making of Me.

 

Barry, have you been advertising the show on any of the other forums you post your videos on?

[BarryH]

^Hey, the Making of Me is a good place to take a nap! It sure beats the France movie.

[jedimaster1227]

^Hey, the Making of Me is a good place to take a nap! It sure beats the France movie.

 

Vive la France! It actually doesn't beat France's movie, but it sure beats China's movie. It also is much more interesting compared to the Tin Toy Story exhibit that has been in Japan for 7 years.

[YoshiFan]

Body Wars had a standby wait of 20 minutes today (according to the sign board). Cranium Command was posted at 5 minutes. MK and AK were filled to capacity and Epcot was packed. In comparison, Test Track standby was 150, Mission Space standby was 140, Nemo was 50, and Soarin was 160 standby.