Disney Parks: Wonders of Life and Body Wars
This is part of an ongoing, informative essay series on Disney Park Attractions
“Wonders of Life” opened in January of 1989, and man was it great. The reason it didn’t open with the park was because there wasn’t a sponsor, and without sponsor money, the dream couldn’t come true. Soon MetLife came along and decided to sponsor it so they got to work right away. They were planning on housing different shows such as “Tooth Follies,” a rotating theatre show that is similar to the carousel of progress, a film on birth called the “Joy of Life” show, and a dark ride taking you through the body. When MetLife decided to sponsor it, they scrapped tooth follies and the rotating show for a show about the brain since the rotating show took up too much space and Tooth Follies was only in one part of the head. The show the “Joy of Life” was replaced with another film called the “Making of Me” which had also centered around birth and conception. There was one shop that sold fitness gear and one quick service that served healthy salads and sandwiches. Along with that there were interactive studios set up such as the wonder cycles which would display a video on the screen as you cycled, the sensory playhouse testing the five senses, and audio antics that would play audio and video illusions for the guests. The dark ride was going to take you up close and personal with the body and organs, but the animatronics for the organs would be too big and would break down a lot, so they scrapped that idea and brought up Body Wars.
“Body Wars” was a similar ride to Star Tours that used ATLAS technology, a simulated experience attraction. It was thought of when Star Tours was released in California and since it did so well, they decided to make another ride that is similar. The ride would take the riders into the body after making them the size of the cell. The captain is played by Tim Matheson, his name being Captain Braddock. The riders go into the body to retrieve Dr. Cynthia Lair, played by Elizabeth Shue, who was on a research trip to examine white blood cells, once the group finds her she will be pulled into a capillary. The group would have to find a way to retrieve her by going past the heart and through the right ventricle and into the lungs. When found, Dr. Lair would be attacked by a white blood cell and the ship will shoot her free with lasers. After that the riders will be returned to normal size outside the body.
Now, doesn’t that seem fun? Maybe a ride you would want to go on next time you’re at Disney? Well, that’s too bad because body wars was closed in 2007. After MetLife dropped the sponsorship in 1989, Disney stopped putting money into the pavilion. Each attraction starting closing slowly starting with shows. Everything was progressively closing as time went on, when the whole pavilion was closed signs and queues still remained and skeletons of the attractions was the only thing left. Signs for Body Wars remained for a few more years and the ATLAS technology for the ships you would ride in is now used as parts for the Star Tours attraction. Some video has been released as to what Body Wars looks like in 2016. The pavilion is still there today, and it is being used as a convention center for the food and wine and garden festivals in Epcot. Now it is only a lifeless hull of what it used to be.