October 19 - Body Wars

On this day, in 1989, Body Wars began sending Epcot guests on a rescue mission inside the human body. Body Wars was located in the Wonders of Life pavilion in Future World, which opened the same day. It had been the intention all along to have a pavilion which centered around health, but it took several years to find someone to sponsor (i.e. foot the bill for) its construction. Finally MetLife stepped up and the 100 million dollar pavilion took shape. Body Wars was part of a collection of now defunct classic attractions in the Wonders of Life which also included Cranium Command and The Making of Me.

The film part of the attraction was directed by Leonard Nimoy, of Star Trek fame, and starred Tim Matheson, Elisabeth Shue, Dakin Matthews and an uncredited Jane Curtin.

Body Wars was the first thrill ride for Epcot. Although it used the same ride system as Star Tours over in Hollywood Studios, because of its content, Body Wars tended to cause more motion sickness in its riders. Guests had to be warned that if blood and other bodily fluids made them squeamish, this wasn't the ride for them.

The journey guests took through the human body went through most of the major biological systems, including the heart and brain. The basic plot was that Elisabeth Shue had gotten stranded inside a test subjects body while conducting research and Tim Matheson was leading an expedition to find her and get her back out. All of this of course included shrink rays and other incredible technologies that allowed your vehicle to fight off white blood cells without causing further damage to the unsuspecting person you were inside of. Luckily, when your vehicle started running low on power, it turns out the human body is also an electrical generator that's easy to tap into, at least from the inside, and all turned out well in the end.

Sadly, when MetLife ended its sponsorship of the Wonders of Life pavilion in 2001, it spelled doom for Body Wars and the other attractions. Over the next several years, the area would be operated on a seasonal basis, meaning whenever Epcot got full and guests needed something additional to do. The last guests to save day did so on January 1, 2007. The building is still used occasionally for conventions and a presentation space during the Food and Wine Festival, but the simulators have been dismantled, the signage removed and the Body Wars have ended, fading into mere

stories we can tell our children.

Also on this day, in American history: Anna Lee Aldred