2. Body Wars

Beating Star Tours by just a few months, Body Wars was technically the first motion simulator built on Walt Disney World property. Both used the same technology, but according to guests and conventional wisdom, Body Wars offered the comparatively rougher ride.

Body Wars told the story of a company called MET (Miniaturized Exploration Technologies) that specializes in a a process by which doctors could be shrunk down to work inside a human body. Of course, on this day, MET is showing its technology to the public, beaming guests underneath the skin of a patient to examine a large splinter. This might surprise you, but things don't go totally according to plan.

The ride's film was directed by Star Trek alum Leonard Nimoy and featured Tim Matheson and Elizabeth Shue. When the ride first opened, its expansive queue was full to the brim, leaving guests with lengthy wait times. The experience, for most, was worth it – for many, it was the first motion simulator they'd ever ridden, and the wait was merely tangential. Over time, as the technology became generalized and duplicated, and as Wonders of Life slowly declined in popularity, so too did the line for Body Wars.

In its final years, it was made a seasonal attraction, opening only when the park reached peak capacity. And even then, it was mostly a walk-on.

1. Cranium Command

If there was one attraction at Wonders of Life that was ahead of its time, it was Cranium Command. Part-goofball comedy, part-after-school special, Cranium Command told the story of a teenage boy from the perspective of his brain – anthropomorphizing the various organs in the body, including the brain, the stomach, the heart, and so on. The show was directed by several former CalArts animation students, including Jerry Rees (director of The Brave Little Toaster), and was one of the rare shows at Disney that was as hilarious the first time you saw it as the twentieth. The pre-show was an animated segment introducing guests to a motley crew of Cranium Commandos, whose job it is to pilot human brains. The main experience was a combination of live-action film and audio-animatronic effects, put together to form a single stage show.

The attraction featured numerous celebrity appearances, including Charles Grodin, Jon Lovitz, George Wendt, Bobcat Goldthwait, and Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon. It was simultaneously touching, funny, educational, and charming. Even more importantly, it was a show that kids and parents enjoyed equally, each finding something about it to connect with.

No attraction at Wonders of Life has been subject to more rumors, however. The most widely spread rumor suggests that the attraction remains mostly intact, and that if it were slightly refurbished, it could run once again. Hopefully, that rumor is true, because even if we can't see it, it's nice to know one of Disney's most charming attractions is still, kind of, with us.

Interestingly, Pixar is currently hard at work on Inside Out, an upcoming film built around an incredibly similar concept to Cranium Command. The film features a young girl interacting with anthropomorphized versions of her emotions, played by famous comedians such as Amy Poehler and Bill Hader. It's currently scheduled for release in 2015, and if it's successful, will likely find its way into the Disney parks in some way. Could you imagine if we got something of a sequel to Cranium Command in Epcot?

Ultimately, the most unfortunate thing about Wonders of Life is that it is still standing. It's been retrofitted into an event space – something endlessly useful during Food & Wine or Flower & Garden – but in doing so, Epcot lost a sizable pavilion with nothing permanent to take its place. The great irony is that now, more than ever, people are concerned with their health and their fitness. Never has there been a better time for there to be a pavilion celebrating eating right and working out, so hopefully, Disney will one day bring back something in its place.

And, hopefully, it won't be that garish shade of teal.