Sum of All Thrills simulator ride at Walt Disney World Epcot

Guests ride the Sum of All Thrills simulator ride at Epcot, during the grand opening of the attraction at Walt Disney World, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009. The giant robotic arm --the KUKA RoboSim 4-D Simulator-- powers the riders' experience, in which guests custom design their own thrill ride using math and science principles, and then ride the simulator.

Walt Disney World opened an attraction which allows guests to design their own ride, then experience it on a giant robotic arm simulator.

“Sum of All Thrills,” sponsored by Raytheon, is the first ride in Epcot’s Innoventions pavilion.

The ride begins in a design room. On a touchscreen computer, visitors pick a vehicle shape and determine how fast the ride should go based on ascent, inversions or corkscrews.

The information is saved on a magnetized card strip and fed into the simulator, where visitors experience the track they just designed. The cards are imprinted with numerical identifiers kids can use at home for a Raytheon educational Web site with more math and science problems.

This appears to be a far more sophisticated version of the popular “Design a Coaster” simulator in Downtown Disney’s DisneyQuest.

T. Rowe Price to sponsor Epcot exhibit

T. Rowe Price Group is hopping onto a new financial attraction at the Walt Disney World Resort in Central Florida. T. Rowe Price said Monday it will sponsor a new interactive financial education exhibit at Innoventions at Epcot inside Walt Disney World.

The exhibit — The Great Piggy Bank Adventure — is slated to open May 19. The game is designed for a whole family to play.

Once inside the exhibit, visitors set financial goals, learn about savings and work on ways to keep up with the cost of inflation and diversify their investments. “Empowering parents to initiate discussion of the topics of saving and investing with their children is more important than ever before,” said Edward C. Bernard, T. Rowe Price Group vice chairman, in a statement released Monday.

The Baltimore-based money management firm declined to disclose the financial details of the sponsorship.

New Ultra-Interactive Attraction at Epcot Immerses Walt Disney World Guests In the High-Tech World of Disney’s Kim Possible

(Disney press release) LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Aug 22, 2008 — Epcot guests at Walt Disney World Resort will be treated to a brand new, highly interactive attraction inspired by Disney Channel’s Emmy Award-winning animated series, Disney’s Kim Possible. The new experience is slated to premiere in late 2008.

Using the latest technology, Disney’s Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure invites guests of all ages to become secret agents, teaming up with members of Team Possible to save the world from various comical villains and their mad inventions.

As guests embark on this international adventure, they will receive an official “Kimmunicator,” at kiosks throughout Epcot. The interactive, handheld device is designed to help them maneuver through the mission.

Using state-of-the-art technology, the interactive device connects guests with a variety of Kim Possible characters who provide clues to stop villains from taking over the world. The highly interactive devices also allow guests to control top-secret equipment hidden inside the World Showcase pavilions, creating an ultra-interactive adventure jam-packed with mystery and excitement.

My first ride on Mission: Space

So I’m on the line for my first time on Mission: Space early one fine Epcot morning a few years ago. My wife decided to sit this one out because of all the horror stories she read on the internet about people tossing their churros all over the space capsules, and for some reason she didn’t want any part of that particular Disney magic. (This was before the milder (green) side of the ride became available.)

There’s no one on the line but a tall 20-something guy, a 55-ish woman whom I assume is his mother, and me.

We’re watching the preshow on the monitor where they’re trying to scare the hell out of us while working up our enthusiasm for the great time we’re about to have, when Mama says something to tall son in Chinese, tall son says something back to her in Chinese, and she waves her hand and clearly says (although I don’t understand Chinese): “I am so outta here.”

Mama then says to the castmember: “Which way out? I no ride!” The castmember points the way, and off she goes, leaving her son and me.

He turns to me and asks if I would mind if he were the captain since he already did the other jobs on this ride. I thought: “Great! At least there won’t be any churros in the lap on this trip”, and told him that would be fine.

Video: Epcot’s Mexico Pavilion

A Grumpy Old Fool Walt Disney World Minute (or two)

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