How to Spend Your Time - The Easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit 2015 - page 116

munication techniques have changed with time. A classic. SCARY FACTOR Low. The ride is
dark, but there are no startling elements.
WHEN TO GO After 6pm or with FastPass+. EXPECT TO WAIT Peak waits of 30 minutes are
common. Expect to wait less than 10 minutes after 6pm. LENGTH 15 minutes. WHERE TO SIT
Each row seats two to three people. The view from the left is arguably better.
Jim's Gems
by Jim Korkis
At 165 feet in diameter, Spaceship Earth is the largest geodesic sphere in the world. It
is covered with 954 triangular panels of alucobond (anodized aluminum on both sides
heat-bonded with a polyethylene core in the center) and is supported fifteen feet off
the ground by six steel legs driven deep into the Florida bedrock. The Imagineers cre-
ated an unseen gutter about mid-point on the sphere to collect rain water and channel
it through the structure and its supporting legs to underground drains. In that way, the
rain water does not cascade down the side of Spaceship Earth onto the guests below.
Sum of All Thrills
RANKING Minor attraction. EMH No. FP+ No. TYPE Simulator. REQUIREMENTS 48” or taller
to ride and 54” or taller to add inversions.
WHAT TO EXPECT Guests design and, via simulation, ride their own rides. Guests first watch
a short pre-show video introducing the importance of science. Next is the interactive design
stage where riders design the intensity and ride elements, choosing from among a bobsled
for a tame ride, or a roller coaster or fighter jet for the most intense experience. Finally,
riders board a Kuka Arm simulator and experience their creation. SCARY FACTOR Medium.
Riders choose how intense their ride is. CAN WE HANDLE IT? Probably. The wary can design
a slower ride without inversions. Check the example ride vehicle first if claustrophobia is a
concern.
WHEN TO GO Immediately after Test Track in the morning or after 6pm. Usually closes at
7pm. EXPECT TO WAIT 20-30 minutes in the afternoon. LENGTH 20 minutes total with about
90 seconds in the simulator. WHERE TO SIT In one of the two seats right next to each other.
Test Track
RANKING Don't miss. EMH Morning, Evening. FP+ Yes. Second highest Tier 1 priority be-
hind Soarin'. Test Track is more convenient to get to in the morning and offers a single
rider line. TYPE Dark/thrill ride. REQUIREMENTS 40” or taller.
WHAT TO EXPECT After a 2012 renovation, riders are to imagine themselves to be “inside” a
computer simulation of a car being tested. Guests first design their own prototype automo-
bile at a kiosk. The design process takes about three minutes and riders choose what they
want their automobile to look like and whether they want to favor capability, efficiency,