As our Epcot Center's Cancelled Attractions series starts to near the end we are making sure we acknowledge as many canceled attractions in Epcot as possible, from every pavilion in Future World and World Showcase. So today we journey to a Future World Pavilion we have yet to mention in this series, Wonders of Life. If you missed any previous entries in this series be sure to check here.
Honestly, the basic makeup of Wonders of Life didn't go through many changes in its development. It always was going to be a round building with two main attractions in buildings off the side of the main building. One would have been a show and one would have been a ride. Today we are talking about an early proposal for the ride.
Originally when this pavilion was being planned, the ride was to be an elaborate dark ride almost in the style of Disneyland's Adventure's Through Inner Space called The Incredible Journey Within. This would have taken guests on a journey through a human body and its many organs teaching how they work.
But this plan would die along with the ride it was to be the spiritual successor to. Disney began developing simulator technology in the 1980s, first using it for Star Tours, replacing Adventures Through Inner Space. This ride proved an immediate smash success.
At this point, Disney was looking for any way to add a thrill ride into Epcot as fast as possible, and they turned to the Star Tours technology to do this.
The basic concept of The Incredible Journey Within was transformed into Body Wars, a more intense ride using the same system as Star Tours, and the idea of a dark ride through the human body was never built.
While it was never built, this ride had a sizeable impact on Epcot. It developed into the park's first thrill ride and the first major simulator attraction in all of Walt Disney World. While it may no longer be around, this ride made a large impact in Epcot and Disney world history, and it all started as a dark ride through the human body.
Would you have preferred a dark ride through the human body to a simulator? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to go here if you missed any other articles in this series. Also make sure to come back every Tuesday for new entries in this series, including next weeks article, The Original World Showcase Design.
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