You’re Not Alone #006
“Wiinders of Life”
I haven’t been inside Epcot’s Wonders of Life pavilion for many years. My memories of it are few and far between. One recollection that stands out, however, is of a baseball game that was featured very early on in the pavilion’s history as a part of the Fitness Fairgrounds. A guest would step into a ‘batting cage’ and stand in front of a large projection screen while holding an electronic bat. The idea was for the human batter to hit the ‘virtual’ ball being thrown on screen.
I remember this game specifically because I never played it. With only one booth and single occupancy, the line was always much too long.
I also remember this game because the technology blew my mind. This interactive experience wiped the floor with the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis of the time. A quiet yearning grew inside of me: I can’t wait until I can get one of my own.
Fifteen years later, as Epcot has lost some its promise and I enjoy my Nintendo Wii, it occurs to me that a piece of the ‘EPCOT future’ is indeed here! The game I longed for as a child is in my hands! Other than some of the gadgets* featured in Innoventions, it’s not too often that a ‘promised’ technology actually does make its way into pop culture and the mainstream. We may not be living in space or on the ocean floor, but we certainly are waving our Wii remotes in order to hit a virtual baseball. I can’t help but wonder if some of the fine folks at Nintendo hadn’t visited 90’s EPCOT.
As this week marks 25 years of continued inspiration for the generations, we may be able to chalk up the Wii as yet another reason the dream that once was EPCOT Center should be celebrated, defended and restored. If wii can dream it, wii can do it!
This observation also comes with a cry for help. Does anyone remember this baseball game? (Did it, in fact, exist?) Can anyone recall the name? Who sponsored/created it? And here’s the big one: does anyone have a photo of this exhibit? Any info would be greatly appreciated, if for no other reason than to prove my lucidity and solidify the point of this entry. Also, please share any other technologies you first experienced at Epcot that have made their way into our everyday lives.
If you believe in the need for an EPCOT and are continually excited when the promise of the future catches up to itself, you’re not alone.
–Chris
RetroDISNEY
“Celebrate the future of Yesteryear!”
*I saw my first widescreen TV at Innoventions ‘94 and remember wondering who would want a lopsided screen?
