Art of Disney.

As well as the usual Disney souvenirs, there are more expensive ‘collectors items’ available for purchase at the Disney Parks. We had a quick look around ‘Art of Disney’ at EPCOT, which had some very cool pictures & figurines for sale. We didn’t buy any, but it was fun to look.

Imagination!

This was originally called ‘Journey Into Imagination’ & had been updated from when I originally went to Disneyworld. Back then (in the early 1990s) it there was the pavilion) & the Captain EO 3-D film created by George Lucas & starring Michael Jackson as the title character. When Cheryl & I returned on our Honeymoon, Captain EO had been replaced with another 3-D film, Honey I shrunk the Audience, staring Rick Moranis as Professor Wayne Szalinski & Eric Idle as the Imagination Institute chairman, Dr. Nigel Channing. There was also a cameo role by a 3-D snake, which tries to attack the audience after they have been shrunk. This film was still playing, & to be honest, was a bit past its sell-by-date with the numerous 3-D movies that you can see at any ordinary cinema (although the close up of the snake’s fangs was still pretty realistic).

There was a new ride about imagination with Dr. Nigel Channing & Figment, the Dragon, & a ‘hands-on’ interactive area at the end of the ride. This included a gift shop with some cool items for Cheryl & Beth (as they both like scrapbooking). We bought a few Disney themed paper punches & photo albums & had them delivered directly to our Disney Hotel so we didn’t have to carry them round with us all day – Result!

The Seas with Nemo & Friends

When I first visited Disneyworld, this attraction was called ‘The Living Seas’. When originally completed, in 1886, it was the largest manufactured underwater environment in the world. You entered the attraction at ground level & after watching a short film about how the oceans were created, you travelled to ‘Sea Base Alpha’ in a simulated ‘Hydrolator’ (underwater elevator). You then rode through an underwater, glass, tunnel to the main exhibit area where there was free access to the aquarium.

This has now been revamped as ‘The Seas with Nemo & Friends’. You still enter the attraction at ground level but now take your very own ‘Clamobile’ to the aquarium. The clamobiles take you through the ocean with Marlin, Dory, & other Finding Nemo characters that are all searching for Nemo (who has got lost again). You travel through the coral reef where Marlin the Clownfish is searching for Nemo. Towards the end of the reef, you meet up with Mr Ray & his students before coming across a group of jellyfish. Then a crazy Anglerfish comes out of the darkness & chases you down towards a huge submarine wreck in the middle of a minefield with Bruce, Chum, & Mako the sharks swimming about, reminding Bruce that, "Fish are friends, not food! The clamobiles the get swept up into the EAC with Nemo, Crush, & Squirt, before arriving at the aquarium.

We had a walk around, looked at loads of fish & other sealife in the huge aquarium & then lined up for ‘Turtle Talk’ with Crush the turtle. To pass the time, the entrance to this attraction was next to an open topped tank containing stingrays that you could pet & watch swim & jump. Turtle Talk was really cool (&, I think, Cheryl’s favourite attraction)! All the children sat on the floor in front of a huge screen (which looked out into the animated Ocean) with parents on the bleachers behind. When Crush arrived, he taught the children how to talk turtle – it’s like radicaaaal duuude. He then asked them some questions & would describe the child that he wanted to answer to the assistant in the room. After a while, he swam off & came back with a red & white striped bikini top around his neck as if he was wearing it. He then asked the children what it was, as he seemed proud of his find! When none of them answered he asked the parents & a woman told him what it was, to which he answered, "so it’s a totally chick thing?" When everyone chorused yes, he turned bright red & quickly swam off only to return looking really embarrassed! The most impressive thing about Turtle Talk was that despite Crush being animated, and not knowing who was going to answer or what they were going to say, there were no delays in his voice & his expressions matched exactly what he said – very interactive & totally cool!

Test Track

This is another simulation ride, but this time instead of being a computer simulation like ‘Mission Space’, it is an actual ride around a vehicle test track.

This was originally the ‘World of Motion’, which was a ride through various animatronic displays showing how travel had developed. At the end of the ride you exited in a GM based ‘Autorama’ car show complete with vehicles on stage that were revealed similar to when a new car is unveiled for the first time.

Test Track is completely the opposite of the original attraction, being a thrill ride where you actually get to experience the different aspects of vehicle pre-production testing. As you enter the attraction, you are directed through a workshop with evaluation tests, e.g., seat wear resistance, door testing, impact tests, & suspension testing. There is always a long queue for this ride, so we used the ‘Fastpass’ ticket option to miss most of the line.

When you reach the briefing section you are shown a video of the test track controller specifying what aspects of the vehicle will be tested – traction control, ABS, chemical & heat resistance (which a video showing what each aspect chosen consists of). He then tells the operator to choose a certain option (which she questions as to whether this is a good idea) while the video display shows a vehicle crashing (as the option is chosen).

You then pass through to the staging area where you enter the test vehicle. These are futuristic styled, open top cars, which seat six. Each row contains displays showing vehicle status & speed. The ride starts in the building where you undergo the series of tests. The vehicle first accelerates through a hill-climb, travels over different road surfaces to test the suspension, & then brakes with & without ABS. It then travels through the environmental testing areas – heat (110F), cold (10F), & corrosive chemicals (in this case just water, spayed through Mickey Mouse nozzles). The vehicle then starts to accelerate towards a huge crash test block which, at the last minute, opens to reveal a long straight outside the building where you accelerate to 65 mph before riding around a banked curve attached to the main building above the entrance.

As you exit the ride, you pass through the GM ‘Autorama’ with the latest GM cars on display (the new Camaro looked cool) & a Test Track & GM themed gift shop.

Mission: Space

This ride simulates astronaut training for the first manned mission to Mars on the fictional ‘X-2 Deep Space Shuttle’.

There are two versions of this ride, ‘The Green Team’, which is less intense training (Cheryl went on this one), & ‘The Orange Team’ which is more intense training (which Beth & I went on). Disney started to offer the two versions after a couple of people died after riding the simulator, although they died due to unknown, pre-existing conditions & not while on the actual ride itself. We didn’t know this before going on the ride & due to the significant number warning signs throughout the attraction cautioning that, "people who do not like enclosed spaces, spinning, or are prone to motion sickness should not ride", & other signs warning, "that this ride may cause nausea, headache, dizziness or disorientation, and that people prone to motion sickness, or who have a headache or an inner ear problem, or who have a history of migraines, vertigo or elevated anxiety also should not ride", Cheryl chose the ‘gentle’ version. I just thought that these signs were the usual overstatements for something that wouldn’t be that bad – after, all this was EPCOT, a Disney ‘family’ theme park?

The simulator starts with the usual pre-ride & video where the four riders in each group are assigned a role (navigator, pilot, commander or engineer) and given two tasks to complete during the ride (probably to take your mind off the nausea, sickness, & other general uncomfortable feelings during the ride). The ‘Autopilot’ will complete these tasks if the rider can’t – eek!

You enter your shuttle through a small door on one side, squeeze into your seat, & strap yourself in, tightly! At first, you can’t reach the buttons for your tasks but then the entry door is closed & no sooner are you plunged into darkness when the entire front of the ride swings towards you so that you are now practically jammed into the ride! The mission starts with liftoff, a slingshot around the moon for a gravity-assisted boost, a brief period of simulated hyper-sleep (to pass the time to travel to Mars) & the landing descent on the Martian surface. Since this is a training exercise, the mission contains, of course, contains several unexpected situations to add to the drama.

This sounds tame but OMG! The ride is actually a huge centrifuge, which spins you around at 2.5G! Since your capsule is totally sealed & all you can see is the massive screen in front of you (which displays the animation for the ride) you can’t appreciate the fact that you are crazily spinning around & just feel the huge positive G-forces when accelerating & negative G-forces when landing. Your capsule also tilts & pitches during the ride. I’m glad that I rode the full version of the simulator with Beth, but it took me about two hours to recover from the ride. According to Cheryl, when I came out of the ride I was sweating profusely & looked green, whereas Beth was jumping about & wanting to ride the simulator again! Still, I could have been a lot worse – when using the restroom after the ride, one of the other riders came in, went into one of the stalls & proceeded to be sick for at least five minutes.

Innoventions

Innoventions is a pavilion (comprising two buildings, Innoventions West & Innoventions East) which is based on technological advancements & their application in everyday life. The first time that I visited EPCOT, one of my favorite things in Innoventions was having my picture drawn by a robotic arm (this was 20 years ago). When Cheryl & I visited EPCOT during our Honeymoon, Innoventions was being refurbished, but we were lucky enough to get a sneak preview. This time we were able to fully explore the pavillions.

The first attraction that we visited was a simulation of a severe weather outbreak (storm/tornado). We were sat in a house looking out at the surrounding houses & watching how they were damaged by the weather. This was all in 3-D & was supplemented by light sound & rind/rain effects. The simulation was interactive with the audience selecting various different building materials to rebuild the house with, before the storm was re-run to see what effects this had on the damage (it was sponsored by an insurance company).

We visited Innoventions on more than one occasion when we were in EPCOT. There was a section on waste disposal & recycling where Beth got to make her own paper – cool!

Spaceship Earth

Spaceship Earth is EPCOT’s iconic structure & the first ride that you see after entering the park. It is an 18-storey tall, Geodesic Sphere which contains a time-travel themed ride showing how advances in communication have helped to shape today & the future.

The structure is nicknamed the ‘golf ball’, due to its similarity in appearance, but geometrically is actually a Pentakis Dodecahedron (made up from 11,520 Isosceles triangles, if it were a true sphere with interruptions due to doors and supports). Being a Water Engineer, I thought it was really cool how the sphere is drained by 1-inch gaps in the cladding (that you cant really see) which direct rainwater to a drainage system discharging to the World Showcase Lagoon. This prevents rainwater from pouring off the structure (& it really rains in Florida, so capturing all the water is pretty impressive).

When you enter the ‘golf ball’ you step on to a revolving platform which moves in time with the ride cars so that you can easily step into the cars (this method of embarking/disembarking is used for most of the Disney ‘ride’ attractions). As you make your way up through the structure, there are a number of animatronics scenes depicting communication through the ages (e.g., Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel, the first printing press, & the first message using the Internet). I have been to Disneyworld twice previously, & every time I have been on this ride it has been slightly different. There were now touch screens in front of each passenger in the car which were used towards the end of the ride when you inputted your choice for how you would like your future to be. A video was then played with your choices & your face superimposed on the character in the video – cool. Even cooler was that when you got off the ride there was a massive video screen in the after-ride activity area showing the world & you were shown on the screen depending upon where you said that you were from during the ride.

There were some other pretty cool attractions after the ride. Beth & I both had a go at a racing game before playing a game where you had to move ‘power pills’ into areas that needed power. This might not sound that interesting, but the game was motion controlled. It was projected onto the floor where you used metal detector shaped sticks to push the power pills around into areas needing the energy. Cheryl & Beth then played a game where you had to transform a talking skeleton into a ‘human’. This was done using a joystick to select the appropriate body part & then to control a crane which you used to lift each part into the correct position. Nothing out of the ordinary there except that the game was a ‘virtual reality’ style simulation on screen in full colour 3-D!

EPCOT

EPCOT was the first Disney Park that we visited & was probably my favourite park (just) from previous visits (due to the more ‘Techy’ nature & rides like 'Test Track').

EPCOT stands for ‘Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow’, or more realistically ‘Every Person Comes Out Tired’!

EPCOT was Walt Disney’s vision for a model community, home to 20,000 residents, which would serve as a model for future urban planning. The community was to have been built in the shape of a circle, with businesses & commercial areas at the center, community buildings, schools, & recreational complexes around it, & residential neighborhoods along the perimeter. Vehicular traffic would be kept underground (to separate residents from the potential dangers & environmental impacts generated by cars, trucks, etc) with transport for residents by travelators & monorails. Unfortunately, Walt Disney was unable to obtain planning permission & funding for his new Floridian community until after he had agreed to build the Magic Kingdom. He died before the Magic Kingdom was complete & so EPCOT (the city) never got built.

When the EPCOT Disney Park originally opened in 1982, it was called EPCOT Center as it was constructed based upon the visions that were proposed for the City of EPCOT. The Magic Kingdom is a ‘traditional’ Disney fantasy park (all princes, princesses & Disney characters), but EPCOT didn’t have a particular purpose. Disney ‘Imagineers’ were undecided on what the park should be so it ended up being a multi-purpose venue, exhibiting future technology (Future World) & international cultures (World Showcase).

Future World contains pavilions which explore science & technology related aspects & associated rides, such as: Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Mission Space, Innoventions, Universe of Energy, The Land, Imagination!, & The Seas with Nemo & Friends.

World Showcase contains authentic pavilions which represent 11 countries from around the World (in alphabetical order): Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Norway, UK, & USA.