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Cranium Command / The Making of Me--someone set me straight!

Posted: Jan Tue 22, 2008 3:24 pm
by TheCheshireStitch
ok, so i haven't seen cranium command since i was 12 (13 years ago), and i've never seen the making of me (except for on youtube).

considering the fact that my hubby and i visit WDW 3 times a yr, i don't know why we never ventured near the wonders of life pavillion to see if it was open. i know it always says "open seasonally" on the map. i guess i just assumed it was closed.

anyway, i'm having a hard time figuring out if CC or TMOM are EVER open. one site said CC closed for good in 2005, another said it was open seasonally in 2006, and yet another said CC was open for the food and wine festival. it was unclear if they were just using the area for food and wine or if the show was actually operating.

anyway, so can anyone explain to me what's happened to these shows? are they ever open? if they are "open seasonally", when is that? thanks!

i really hope they're open, especially CC! i just watched it on youtube and i didn't even realize how many famous and funny people were involved in it! i guess i didn't watch enough SNL back when i was 12!

Posted: Jan Tue 22, 2008 3:40 pm
by princessara
last i heard the wonders of life pavilion was closed. some one else may know a little more then i do.

Posted: Jan Tue 22, 2008 3:42 pm
by TheCheshireStitch
yea, i know it's closed all or most of the time. that's what i'm tryin' to figure out :wink:

Posted: Jan Tue 22, 2008 5:18 pm
by YZFDonor
I was there in December 2006 and it was open.

Posted: Jan Tue 22, 2008 5:36 pm
by TheCheshireStitch
hm, well that's good to know that it isn't completely gone (or at least it wasn't then).

anyone know anything more recent? it'd be greatly appreciated.

thanks, yzf.

i'm guessing that it was open for the busy holiday season...i wonder if it's ever open for more than just a few weeks... we usually go in mid may, mid october, and early december.

Posted: Jan Tue 22, 2008 7:02 pm
by DisBeamer
Last I heard (before Food and Wine last fall), parts of the building on the inside were being dismantled. I'm -pretty- sure one of the things I heard being taken down was the Making of Me sign; I'll try to find a source on that. It may have only been down for that event. The rest of the main interior was being used for Food and Wine Festival events.

If I had to guess, I'd say neither show will ever run again. :(

Edit: This Mouse Planet Update from last year has a little bit more information, including some pics from inside the pavillion during last year's Food and Wine.

Posted: Jan Tue 22, 2008 7:26 pm
by Cheshire Cat
After seeing it during the food and wine festival, I'm pretty sure it's closing for good (at least as a Future World pavilion). All the signs were taken down and entrances were boarded up. Everything but the center area (Making of Me, Goofy's Health Show, and something else) was ripped out. The cafe was scaled bak to basically a small semi-circle for the food and wine festival. Even one section of the pavilion was completely remodeled to resemble the new DVC Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas.

It's pretty hard to imagine this pavilion will ever be open again, except for special events, and even then, it's not the attractions, just the pavilion itself. :cry:

Posted: Jan Tue 22, 2008 10:17 pm
by TheCheshireStitch
thanks for the info, disbeamer and cheshire cat. oof, what a bummer. ugh if only i had gone to see these attractions years ago, when they were still open. i wasn't as much of a "disney freak" then and went with people other than my hubby. ::sigh::

now i have to track down higher quality videos (than on youtube) of them. maybe buy one.

anyone else have any pics or info?

Posted: Jan Tue 22, 2008 10:33 pm
by Cheshire Cat
Here it is, the Food and Wine Pavilion :cry:

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g101/ ... 2_1725.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g101/ ... 2_1738.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g101/ ... 2_1733.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g101/ ... 2_1744.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g101/ ... 2_1736.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g101/ ... 1734-1.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g101/ ... 1737-1.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g101/ ... 1735-1.jpg

Something else I just realized looking back at these pictures is that the wrap-around mural is painted over too. It's been so long since I was in there, I guess i missed that when I was taking pictures.

Now I know what the first timers to Disney feel like when they see something they think is magical, but was 100x better before. Shame on me for forgetting the mural. :shock:

Posted: Jan Tue 22, 2008 10:52 pm
by TheCheshireStitch
thanks so much for the pics...even if they did bum me out! lol ;)

ugh i remember how full of life that pavillion was (pun intended!) it was always a bright, hopeful, fun place to me. i'm so mad that when i finally was old enough to go to disney on my own, often, it was closed most of the time.

my family went to disney every 4 years or so, and then went every year in a row for about 3 years. then my hubby and i got married and started going 3X a year...but by then, it was too late:(

thanks so much, though, for the pics and all the info!

Posted: Jan Tue 22, 2008 11:18 pm
by js3901
it was open when we went in December 2006 as well. But, only MoM, CC, and Body Wars were open, and there were VERY few people there (maybe 10 - 15 in the middle of the day. not right). But, it was reported on the forums (I'll look for the exact post) that the Wonders of Life pavillion is officially closed and removed from park maps. It was open breifly during the most recent Food and Wine festival as a small overflow outpost (to help remove traffic from World Showcase).

Posted: Jan Wed 23, 2008 12:36 am
by TheCheshireStitch
thanks, js. it's strange, because the new disney world website has interactive park maps, and the pavillion (as well as its attractions) are still on it. i wonder why they haven't removed them? it's so mean of them! lol...

Posted: Jan Wed 23, 2008 9:43 am
by js3901
TheCheshireStitch wrote:thanks, js. it's strange, because the new disney world website has interactive park maps, and the pavillion (as well as its attractions) are still on it. i wonder why they haven't removed them? it's so mean of them! lol...
I looked the other day, and they still haven't updated the name of MGM to DHS as far as some of the maps go. I think they're still in the process of removing everything.

Posted: Jan Wed 23, 2008 11:29 am
by TheCheshireStitch
ah...thanks. now i know not to get excited about going to them in may! oh well : /

Posted: Jan Wed 23, 2008 4:01 pm
by Leigh
Oh it was nice to see the photos of The wonders of life! Thank you for posting them. Cranium Command was so funny, and timeless really. I mean I suppose the clothes on the kid would start to look dated but the whole idea is fantastic!