Sunday, September 4, 2011

The Things of Commandos Past

For those who might be familiar with Disney theme park history, it is not uncommon these days for people to literally own a piece of the past... now handfuls of you may be familiar with sites such as MouseSurplus or anything else, and even sites such as eBay also serve as the trading post for memorabilia of attractions past. And as with the case of long lost attractions, Cranium Command is sadly no exception.

As I have reported during the blog's first year of operation, some of us may remember the Cranium Command sign that once went up on eBay (as mentioned in a previous article to do with Buzzy's legacy), but recently found a new home. Above was a screenshot of the eBay page selling the display sign, but what's different now is that the seller is now themeparkconnection, but still sells some interesting Disney related curios as well. (Notably, a few pins pertaining to the Wonders of Life pavilion's past - its insignia and one commemorating Body Wars have sold recently.)
Another of which are the interestingly rare patches that appeared to come from the Cast Member costume department - these costume patches apparently are the insignia in regards to the early designs for the Cranium Command uniform (during the days before the pilot's jacket and army pants). One on the left is the insignia as you'd expect, while another is a lesser known accompanying one - the three lightbulbs one above (as obviously synonymous with ideas and thought) and also a simplified Virtuvian man symbol and the expression "Mens sana in corpore sano". Translation? "A healthy mind in a healthy body."

Of course, some long lost fragments of the past have come and gone, and for some reason, due to my limited scope of searching for things, things can quickly disappear before I would ever notice. Even so, those without an eBay account won't be able to find any past evidence of products sold more than 90 days (3 months) ago. So you could say that these are actually a few lucky finds to be ever documented by a blogger.

But reality wise, as soon as the Wonders of Life begins to settle as a convention center for now, it looks like Buzzy might end up under the hammer one way or another. Or maybe not sold at all. But we'll never know, pretty much the same way he'll expect piloting a chicken in his past career... right?


On a brighter note (no pun intended), another blogger has just released a set of wallpapers in regards to the Wonders of Life pavilion, and from my view, I believe that the design elements of past and future (the bright colours from the brink of the 90s and the organic geometric elements as seen in modern computer wallpapers) are definitely an excellent way forward in regards to a totally new design concept (should a totally new WoL happen). And not to mention, a funfact from the site author:
In doing this one, it got me thinking about how cutting-edge the graphics and colors were for the time. You have to remember that even though it opened in 1989 it was in full development a few years beforehand. So the “graphic confetti” and florescent colors, that were so popular (especially with teenagers) in the early to mid 1990s, was actually foretold at the Wonders of Life.
There’s your “History of Color” lesson for the day:)

So, to E82, I salute you!

Anyways, returning to normal transmission in three... two...

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