Step into the golden dome of the Wonders of Life, Presented by MetLife. Today your destination is Goofy About Health—starring lovable Goofy.

Gawrsh!

This pavilion is so big, you might need a map to find your destination. There’s a big map on a pedestal just past the entrance to the pavilion.

According to the printed Guidemap that you picked up when you entered the park, there are ten attractions here:

Body Wars — Turbulent thrill ride through the human body. Health and other boarding precautions. Must be 3 years of age.

Cranium Command — Hilarious look at the workings of a 12-year-old’s brain with celebrity guests.

“The Making of Me” — Sensitive film on the beginnings of life. Discretion recommended.

AnaComical Players — Improvisational skits.

Met Lifestyle Revue — Health Survey.

Coach’s Corner — Pros judge your baseball, golf, and tennis swings.

Frontiers of Medicine — Research.

Wondercycles — Exercise.

“Goofy About Health” — Animation.

Sensory Funhouse — Test your senses.

Restaurant: Pure and Simple — Low-fat, nutritious waffles, sandwiches, salads, yogurt. Counter Service.

Shopping: Well & Goods Limited — Equipment for healthy living.

Sensory Funhouse may sound a bit risqué, and Pure and Simple may sound like an environmentally friendly cleaning product—but neither is the case.

As you look across the railing behind the map pedestal, you’ll see Goofy About Health nearby. You didn’t need the map after all.

It seems that the sponsor, MetLife, wants you to have a long, healthy life. That’s not only good public relations, it might also keep MetLife from having to pay out medical and death benefits if their customers adopt the healthy habits being promoted here. MetLife is short for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, a major health and life insurance company.

In truth, Goofy About Health isn’t one of the major attractions in this pavilion.

Body Wars, a simulator attraction with a film directed by Leonard Nimoy, is a big draw. Cranium Command—with a clever script, great character animation, a highly original theater show, and celebrity talent—is another. The Making of Me, an entertaining film that honestly teaches where babies come from, without any in-theater gimmicks, has a line to get in—but that’s because the doors only open between shows. If you’re lucky enough to catch the improvisational comedy of the Anacomical Players, you might be in for some good laughs.

You’ve arrived at the Goofy About Health theater. There’s never a line to get in, and there are always plenty of room on the benches. Although the eight-minute show has a beginning and an end, you can start watching whenever you want. Have a seat.

You’re in luck. You arrived right between shows.

The plot is simple. Goofy is a victim of the stress of urban living and his own bad habits. Goofy winds up sick in bed. According to the announcer, “The doctor diagnoses our friend’s illness as the dreaded, but all-too-common, unhealthy living.”

The doctor sings the “Unhealthy Living Blues,” with lyrics that include, “If you keep inhaling that cigarette smoke, you can get emphysema or cancer and stroke.” Heavy stuff for a theme park attraction!

Goofy decides to banish his bad habits. He gives up smoking, takes up all sorts of sports, and winds up happier and healthier. The End.

The story is told through recycled animation with a new soundtrack. Brief clips from around two dozen cartoon shorts appear on seven screen. The films were made over a period of 28 years, so Goofy’s appearance keeps changing. Sometimes Goofy even has no ears.

Okay, Goofy About Health isn’t an “E” ticket attraction. But it is entertaining, and there’s plenty of classic animation. If you’re pregnant or suffer from motion sickness, it’s a good place to wait while the rest of your party rides Body Wars. And, for everyone, it provides a chance to sit down in an air-conditioned space.

Goofy About Health opened at EPCOT Center (now Epcot) in October 1989, along with the rest of the Wonders of Life pavilion. When MetLife ended its sponsorship of the Wonders of Life by June 2001, most of the features of the pavilion, including Goofy About Health, continued to operate. Wonders of Life became seasonal in 2004 and closed permanently after the 2006 Christmas season.

The golden-domed pavilion is still there. It’s now an event center used for Epcot’s Flower & Garden Festival each spring and Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival each fall.

According to the Internet Movie Database, Goofy About Health included footage from 25 films: Mickey’s Amateurs (1937), Hawaiian Holiday (1937), The Art of Skiing (1941), The Art of Self Defense (1941), Mickey’s Birthday Party (1942), The Olympic Champ (1942), How to Swim (1942), They’re Off (1948), How to Ride a Horse (1950), Motor Mania (1950), Hold That Pose (1950), Cold War (1951), Tomorrow We Diet! (1951), Get Rich Quick (1951), Fathers Are People (1951), No Smoking (1951), Father’s Lion (1952), Hello Aloha (1952), Two Weeks Vacation (1952), How to Be a Detective (1952), Father’s Day Off (1953), How to Dance (1953), How to Sleep (1953), Aquamania (1961), and Goofy’s Freeway Troubles (1965).

You might be interested in two other articles about The Wonders of Life:

• Cranium Command at The Wonders of Life
• Erasing Wonders of Life
   

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© 2010-2011 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks

Updated May 13, 2011.

Wonders of Life dome: 1996 by Allen Huffman.
Wonders of Life interior: 1996 by Allen Huffman.
Wonders of Life pedestal map: 2006 by Allen Huffman.
Goofy About Health wall: 2006 by Brian Henry.
Goofy About Health sign: 2006 by Allen Huffman.
Goofy About Health stage: 2002 by Werner Weiss.
Former Goofy About Health space: 2008 by Werner Weiss.
Walt Disney Treasures - The Complete Goofy DVD cover: © Disney.