Abandoned Cranium Command theater

[fermithekrog]

Hey guys! This past sunday I went to the Flower & Garden festival at Epcot (if you've never been, it's surprisingly fun), for the main reason that the old Wonders of Life building would be open and I've never been in there. As I was walking to the bathrooms, there was this hallway, me being the curious guy I am decided to walk down it (there was no signs, ropes, or CM's) and I found a bunch of what looked to be drywall on the ground, and a chair that was propping open one of the automatic doors that open at the shows at WDW. I looked inside, and found myself in the old Cranium Command theater! I knew what it looked like, because I've seen pictures and video, but never seen it in person. Even the little Buzzy AA was there, I'm pretty sure. I got a video with my phone (sorry for the sideways & the darkness, but you can see the general idea). Here's the video.

[MartianCrab]

Thanks for posting the video. It serves to illustrate how the core practices and beliefs at WDW have changed for the worse. It's just sad.

[Dizisit]

That was the first pavilion at Epcot we took the kiddos to on our first family trip in '01. What's become of it is simply heartbreaking.

[fermithekrog]

Yeah, I would have loved to go when it was open. I always heard Body Wars was awesome.

[Dizisit]

Yeah, I would have loved to go when it was open. I always heard Body Wars was awesome.

Yes. Yes it was.

[supernova]

Body Wars was essentially Star Wars, even down to the comet scene, which they tinted red instead of blue. That effect always annoyed me. But it was always my favorite pavilion, mainly due to the background music.

[NC_WDW_Daddy]

Like looking at a crime scene, I liked that attraction.

[kretzcr]

Body Wars was so-so. Cranium Command is probably the thing I miss most from the parks. The old SNL cast that did the show was awesome.

[supernova]

Body Wars was so-so. Cranium Command is probably the thing I miss most from the parks. The old SNL cast that did the show was awesome.

That's probably what I liked LEAST about the attraction, actually. It was too dated from the start, and really limited its shelf life. Try showing it in 2011 and it would be laughable. And not in the way the writers intended.

[Berdo]

I loved this pavilion so much. I've been on all the rides and still listen to the background loop on my iphone. Cranium Command was the best. It is dated but the nostalgia is what I like about it. Every time I watch it on Youtube, I feel like I'm 13 again.

[Disney.Gen.2.0]

Yeah, I would have loved to go when it was open. I always heard Body Wars was awesome.

It was. Awesome. Cranium Command was awesome too and very funny. I'm sad to hear that this pavilion is now closed. It was always one of my favorites. We took my son for the first time September 2010 and were looking forward to showing him Body Wars (he's extremely interested in anything to do with the inner workings of the human body) and were disappointed to see it closed.

[eeyore79]

i really enjoyed this whole pavilion!! remember the bikes you could pedal through mk? good stuff...good stuff...

[clj2]

What a waste. Shame.

Thanks for sharing, though...very interesting!

[BamaJenn]

The mess on the floor and the seemingly just tossed about show items etc. is just really sad. Funny though that with it all being closed, those pink neon lights were on. I wonder why.

You say you saw Buzzy (obviously hard to see on the camera). Was he just shut off sitting there? Was he in typical "off" mode, kind of slumped etc.?

As PP said, it'd make sense that he's between the pink lights as seen in this picture (borrowed from Yesterland):

[firemedic]

Yeah, it was slightly disturbing to see all the dry wall on the floor and the way the theater was just forgotten about. Disney could get all that back up and running if they really wanted to. Met Life pulling sponsorship shouldn't have had THAT much affect on the pavillion, IMO.