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WonderWorks is a building in the shape of an upside-down building. In the late 1990s, it was designed and constructed to look as if it were slammed down (like Dorothy Gale's house in Munchkinland) on top of an old fruit-packing plant in Orlando. It was the eye-popping vision of Barry Frank, now one of the managing partners at Wonderworks, to grab the attention of passing tourists with a structure that you couldn't overlook. He worked with some of his colleagues to come up with the back story about how it got there: it was a science lab somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle, and a group of scientists working inside were trying to create or control a manmade tornado when it when out of control, picked up the building and dropped it here along one of the busiest avenues in Orlando. It's a wild story that fits the crazy attraction.Inside, the upside-down theme continues in the lobby, but after visitors pass through an 'inversion tunnel,' things are mostly right-side-up on the three floors where you'll find lots of high-tech simulators, computer-assisted games, and a variety of virtual reality machines and amusing devices help illustrate scientific principles while creating an energetic and unpredictable sort of fun. It's educational like a science center, but wacky like an amusement park too. A perfect place to spend a rainy day in Orlando.But the best part of the whole experience is the building itself, the newest structure we found that seems to continue the classic concept of Let's build something big and zany that will bring us lots of customers. It's definitely a splendid surprise if you don't know it's coming, and even when you're expecting it, it merits an awesome Wow.
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