The “World” According to Jack

Looks amazing! Thanks for sharing!

Wow, this looks pretty cool. I love the connection to math and science for kids. I wish Expedition: Everest had an emergency stop button for when it gets too intense!

Thanks Jack!

Jumpin' Jack!

This ride looks pretty cool. My Disney World "to-do" list just got a little bit longer.

- It's "interactive" like all the kids dig these days.

- And for the theme park commandos that are faint of heart (literally) like myself, I get my own emergency stop button?

Me likey mucho!

Dude, you earned you mouse ears long ago, but this fine blog entry ads to your legacy.

You da man!

Dave

Jack -
Thanks for the update. My youngest son is a Secondary Math Education major in college. He says the new Raytheon math program program is all the talk among educators, and his school will be looking at it in their education classes soon! We all are looking forward to experiencing this new attraction. Ethan (our son) says Raytheon is on the cutting edge of new math curriculum and can't wait to see what they have done at Disney World. Thanks for the great video. To quote Ethan, "Math ROCKS!"

jack do you think a old war horse like me could ride it ? i mean goofys barnstormer gets me queasy.

Jack's Answer:

My initial response is to tell you to avoid this ride. However, if you design a mild coaster, you might be okay. Also, the ride does have an emergency STOP button that you can activate if it becomes too rough.

Jack,

You have no idea how much this attraction pleases me. It so totally seems to fit in with Epcot's main mission statement of education mixing with entertainment, and making the whole thing interactive. This seems like Soarin' on steroids!

But a question: if a simulator like Star Tours makes me queasy, will this be okay? I usually do fine on the "mild" version of Mission Space, but I wouldn't mind trying out a slightly intense roller coaster simulation.

Fast Passes? Single Rider Lines? I find it fascinating that we don't know much about this ride yet. Disney really snuck this one under the radar.

Jack's Response:

When Disney opened Turtle Talk with Crush, they did not promote this new attraction to any extent. They knew the capacity was small so they didn't want to encourage more people than they could handle to seek out this show. I think the same thing is true with the Sum of all Thrills. The capacity is also very small and Disney doesn't want hoards of people cramming into Innoventions East.

There are no Fast Passes or Single Rider lines. This is not a "traditional" Disney attraction. This is more of a demonstration.

I still don't know who to recommend this attraction to. I have only ridden it twice, both somewhat tame experiences. But since the ride has an emergency stop button, I would tell you to "go for it."

Jack, I am really glad you did this. I usually don't go to this section of Epcot. This will be the first place we stop. Thanks.

Jack, I have been reading about this ride/experience for a little while now, and glad to see that it is finally here. I imagine that you are correct about the lines that will form once word gets out about it, which should be about now. :)

Definitely will be on our "to do" list for our next visit.

Thanks for the info!

We were lucky enough to be able to experience this attraction while at Disney. It was awesome and both of my children, ages 10 and 8, fell in love with it.

This ride deinately sounds like it has the potential to attain "E-Ticket" status! With this, Test Track, Crush, Mission Space, Soarin'....It's going to be tuff figuring where to go first!

As always, Jack, keep us posted on all things WDW!!

This sounds exactly like the DisneyQuest ride - even down to the screen to develop the ride.
Can you expound on the "more elaborate" ride experience?

Jack's Answer:

This ride is very similar to the Disney Quest ride. But the robot arm has a much larger range of movement. If you watch the video I create, you can see this. Given a choice, the Epcot version of this ride if far superior to the Downtown Disney version.

Jack,

Thanks for the review! I can not wait to experience this on our next trip. What a thrill for my son, who is science and mathematically inclined, to see the cool things you can do with the subjects! I LOVE that Epcot makes learning fun. I have always believed that if we show kids more practical applications of math and science, rather than traditional rote methods, more would enjoy the subjects!

Awesome job, once again!

Danielle

Thanks for the heads up on the new ride! Just wondering if it is a motion simulator ride or if it is actually a moving ride? Thanks!

Jack's Answer:

I'm not exactly sure what your question is. This is a motion simulator. If you watch my video, it will be crystal clear what this ride is all about.

You must be 48" to ride the ride at all and you must be taller than 54" to ride any design that is inverted. My children (both 48")designed a jet ride that did not invert, but really all they could see was sky. They would have preferred a different selection, but liked the ride overall. Also, you get to keep the card as a souvenir! On the back of the card is information about www.mathmovesu.com, which gives you additional activities on their website once you're home.

I cannot wait to ride this in November when I am at WDW with my family. This simulator looks AWESOME!! It will be the first ride we rush to. It's great to watch Epcot expand to provide more "thrill" rides for everyone.

Thanks for the review! I knew there was a math connection but wasn't sure about the details. Now hold on tight and let those parametric equations rip!!

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! That is amazing Jack, In 5 Weeks we will be at WDW and I'm sure my Husband and my Nephew will be sure to try this as will I. Thanks for the Video portion of your Blog it was amazing to watch how it all comes to life with the robot Arm. You always have such wonderful and informative blogs to read you are my Favorite. Hope to run into you at WDW 5 Weeks from today we will be Walking Down Main Street U.S.A have a great day Jack.

Man, I didn't know about this and I can't TELL you how pleased I am, about the ride, and the sponsorship.

Epcot is probably my favorite park, and I've long thought the Innoventions area was neglected and substandard. This attraction and the partnership perfectly captures what I think Walt wanted for this park.

Love it! Thanks Jack - can't wait to try it.

JH

Did this exhibit replace the Waste Management exhibit? I have two little boys who are very much looking forward to the garbage and recycling display. Our trip is 11/30-12/7/09. Thanks.

Jack's Answer:

Good news! Waste Management is still there - right across the aisle way.

Jack,

Nice review as always. The pictures and video really help with getting a feel for this attraction. I have a couple of questions about the process of designing and riding it. Since two people ride together, do they design it together as well? Or does one person do the designing and then someone else just joins them on the ride part?

Thanks,
Mike

Jack's Answer:

Both participants stand at the "drafting" table. One person can design the entire coaster, but it really should be a collaborative effort. Even though one person might be "pushing the buttons," input from both parties can be considered.

Do you know if this ride is open during the Magic Extra Hours in the morning or evening?

Thanks so much!

Jack's Answer:

I do not know if this is open for Extra Magic Hours, but I suspect it is not. Normally, Innoventions is not open at this time, so unless Disney makes an exception, I wouldn't count on it.

My husband rode this last week and loved it. It was later in the day,around 5:30, and there was only a 15 minute wait. The cast member said it is much more crowded in the morning. The evening we were there was an Extra Magic Hours night and no it was not open as Innoventions closed at 7:00:(

I have a Middle-Schooler who is taking Advanced Math, so I was very interested in finding out more about Ratheyon's math program. They have a website, www.mathmovesu.com, where kids can solve age-appropriate math and science problems. Once all the problems are solved, you take a ride on a virtual "RollerJetSled." My kids absolutely love it. The only downside is the app takes a long time to load. I have DSL and it took almost 2 full minutes.

When I went down to Disney this past weekend, I felt obligated to put Sum of All Thrills on my to do list because my boyfriend's brother works for Raytheon (he had nothing to do with designing the ride). Lucky for me, this obligation turned out to be a really fun attraction!

I designed a roller coaster, and even though it went upside down three times, it was not that intense. I was very restrained with the speed knob, and as someone who loves thrill rides, I would probably be more daring if I did it again. For those worried about the intensity of the ride, I remember being told at least twice that the ride I designed went upside down before being strapped into the robotic arm.

It truly did feel like a roller coaster, because in addition to the movement of the robotic arm,there was a monitor showing the "track" up ahead. I highly recommended it!

Just got back from a week in the parks and stumbled across this attraction. It was a lot of fun for my wife and me.

There isn't as much in terms of math and engineering as is suggested in the briefing video, but that's fine.

The experience is VERY smooth (hydraulic robotics, I think). We designed in as many times upside down as we could and it was great fun.

A great feature is the display screen in your "hood." In addition to seeing the path unfold before you (with loops, rolls, and drops), you also see the face of your companion in a small quadrant, so you can watch their face in b&w as they grin and as their hair flies with gravity. (And one wonders if your companion were to "take ill" what THAT would look like...)

The space is cramped, but that was fine with us. You have NO access to your companion (aside from the small b&w screen you are watching them on), but that's okay too.

Absolutely a 10 on the fun scale.

(Oh, and one more thing. There are lockers available as you are entering your capsule, so you can stash your camera, pocket change (in a provided bowl) and anything else. They give you a wrist band with key for retreival afterward.)

Jack: Thanks for another interesting blog and video. Loved the music with the video, too. Very inspiring. You have a real gift when choosing the musical selections to play with your videos. I like that you use music that is not as well known. You must have quite a collection of Disney music!

Thanks for this update. We don't usually spend a lot of time in innoventions since the kids are older. We loved Cyber Space Mountain. Can't wait to visit this in just 23 days.

Is there a weight limit on this? I am so looking forward to this, but am worried for my friend, he was really upset that he was not able to ride on the Segway.

Jack's Answer:

The warning sign mentions nothing about weight. However, it does say that because of the seat's configuration, certain body shapes and sizes may be prohibited from riding. The seats are form-fitting and I suspect that a larger person would not fit. Be sure to have your friend use the seat mockups outside the attraction before getting in line.

Great article. We just came back from Epcot last week and had a chance to ride this. My 9 year old daughter and I were taking in the Food and Wine Festival when I overheard a couple of people talking about this. I asked a cast member about it and he pointed us in the right direction. However, being later in the day the wait was very long and we decided to come back the following morning when the park first opened and try it then.

The next morning, we got right in (maybe the second or third in line) and tried it out. My daughter (who just made it pass the 54" height requirement for loops)and I opted to try a couple of mild options mixed in with a more wild one. We had so much fun with this that we went right back in line opting for all of the wildest options. By this time, the rest of our family came in and we tried it a third time, which was enough for me because I was starting to feel a little nauseous.

All in all, it was a great experience. The hands on approach really makes a difference in making each experience unique. I am always a fan of hands on experiences because ther's something great about putting control in your own hands (we're also big fans of the Kim Possible experience and "Where's the Fire?" at Innoventions). I would love to see more similar experiences around the parks.

I had read about this attraction prior to its opening, and was bummed it opened the week after our trip in October. So when we returned this past weekend, this was tops on the list. We rode it three times and every time the line nearly encommpassed the entire que area. Even so it took only about 30 minutes to complete the entire experience. My daughter is not much of a thrill ride person, so we started out very mild with the bobsled and eventually progressed to the roller coaster including inversions. She loved the roller coaster, and can't wait to go back and create a completely wild jet ride. I really liked how the training video emphsised all the cool things one can do using math and science. See algebra is important in the real world!