Mission Space Archives

Top 5 Flying Rides at Walt Disney World

July 15, 2012 by Jodi Leave a Comment

I’m starting a new series of Top 5’s today, and we’re starting with the flying rides. Let’s see if you agree with my faves!

Alrighty, here…we…gooooo!

1) Peter Pan’s Flight – A popular Magic Kingdom draw, happy thoughts and pixie dust power this adventure. Climb aboard a pirate galleon for a fanciful flight from the Darlings’ London home to the Lost Boys’ haunts of Never Land. There’s often a long line—and long FastPass waits—for Peter Pan’s Flight, but according to my kids, it’s a must-ride attraction, because it completely immerses you in the Peter Pan movie.

Did you know? While the popular girls’ name Wendy was in use by the late 1800s in England and the United States, it was popularized by the 1904 play by J.M. Barrie.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Attractions, Do and See, Original Articles, Parks & Resorts, Rides, Tips &Tricks, Top 5/10, Walt Disney World Tagged With: animal kingdom, disney, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Epcot, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Magic Kingdom, Mission Space, Peter Pan's Flight, soarin, star tours, Star Wars, Top 5 Flying Rides at Walt Disney World, TriceraTop Spin, Walt Disney World, Yosemite National Park

How To Tour the Parks – Visiting Epcot in a Wheelchair

May 14, 2012 by guest blogging 1 Comment

Epcot is a great park to visit if you are a wheelchair user. Most of the attractions are accessible in some form and many allow you to stay in your wheelchair thanks to accessible ride vehicles. Here is a look at the accessibility of the major attractions.

Spaceship Earth

Spaceship Earth is one of the few attractions that you enter through the exit. When you arrive let the Cast Members know that you need the accessible ride vehicle. The ADA ride vehicle has a wider door. It was at the same level as my wheelchair so I was able to slide in and out pretty easily. The Cast Members can also slow down or stop the attraction if you need extra time entering or exiting.

Ellen’s Energy Adventure

Ellen’s Energy Adventure is located at the Universe of Energy. The pre show is in a theater but there is no seating. I recommend hanging out in the back since the floor is sloped. Once the movie is over you enter the room with the ride vehicles. The ones located in the back have a ramp that folds down so you can remain in your wheelchair. Cast Members will help you into the ride vehicle if you need assistance. Keep in mind that this attraction lasts about 45 minutes so plan accordingly.

Mission: Space

Mission: Space is another attraction that you have to transfer to experience. One of the simulators has a bench that makes transferring from your wheelchair a little easier. The bench rotates out allowing you to transfer onto it and then it rotates back into the simulator. Once the ride is over the bench will rotate back out allowing you to get into your wheelchair. I’ve tired it with and without the bench and using it really does make the process easier. Just alert a Cast Member that you need to use it before entering the pre show area where you see the safety instruction video.

Test Track

I don’t know if this information will change after the Test Track refurbishment but this is how it worked before. If you are unable to step in and out of the ride vehicle you can load in the seat belt check area. A Cast Member will take you to a small lift that will take you down to that area of the attraction. You can then pull your wheelchair up to the car, sit on the side, and then lower yourself into the seat. Getting out was a little more difficult but my husband just helped me up onto the side of the car and then I was able to get back into my wheelchair.

The Seas with Nemo & Friends

The Seas with Nemo & Friends has a wheelchair access vehicle so there is no need to transfer. Just let the Cast Members know when you get to the loading area that you would like to stay in your wheelchair. You will probably have to wait a few minutes for the accessible ride vehicle to cycle through. Once its there, a Cast Member will lower a ramp for you.

Living with the Land

Living with the Land has a separate wheelchair entrance that is to the right of the standard queue. There is a special boat that allows you to stay in your wheelchair. Loading and unloading is really easy.

Soarin’

You have to transfer to experience this attraction but it is pretty easy. Make sure to let the Cast Members know that you need to sit in the front row. The seats sit higher than my wheelchair so my husband usually helps me. There are arm rests on each side of the seat if you need to use them.

Journey Into the Imagination with Figment

Journey Into the Imagination has a wheelchair access vehicle. A Cast Member will lower the ramp for you and help you up if you need it.

Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros

The Gran Fiesta Tour has a wheelchair boat almost like the ones at it’s a small world. But on this boat your wheelchair sits higher than the seats next to you. Make sure your breaks are working properly on your chair because they don’t put any sort of bumper behind your tires.

Maelstrom

I haven’t ridden Maelstrom in a while. The disability guide says that a transfer device is available. I would just speak with Cast Members about the process. I am going to attempt to try out the transfer process in June. I’ll let you know what I find out.

If you have any questions or advice you would like to share just leave a me a comment below.

How to Tour the Parks – Visiting the Magic Kingdom in a Wheelchair Part 2 (chipandco.com)
Accessible Attractions – The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (disneyonwheelsblog.com)
Can you use a Stroller as a Wheelchair? (chipandco.com)

How To Tour the Parks Visiting Epcot in a Wheelchair

Filed Under: Disabilities, Parks & Resorts, Planning, Tips &Tricks, Tips and Tricks, Walt Disney World Tagged With: attraction, Cast Members, Ellen's Energy Adventure, Epcot, Journey into Imagination, Living with the Land, Maelstrom, Mission Space, ride, soarin, Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Walt Disney World, Wheelchair, Wheelchair Accessible Attractions

Top 10 Rides to Avoid After You Eat

February 8, 2012 by Jodi 4 Comments

So you just stuffed yourself on a scrumptious meal at your favorite Walt Disney World eatery. If you’re on the Disney Dining Plan, you likely enjoyed a four-square meal and beverage of choice, right? What you need is a nap, but what your family wants is a ride!

Do NOT “walk this way” when you are stuffed to the gills:

1) Rock ‘n Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith—A tour of G-Force Record Studio is cut short when the band Aerosmith takes off for a show. They take Guests with them, though, in a super stretch limo. Each “car” pumps 32,000 watts of onboard audio through a 125 speaker, 24 sub-woofer sound system and accelerates from a zero to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds with the force of a supersonic F-14. Three inversions offer a unique view of Los Angeles: upside-down! [Disney’s Hollywood Studios]

2) Mission: SPACE—Designed in consultation with 25 NASA experts and five astronauts, Mission Space is a flight training simulator that allows passengers to experience space travel without ever leaving Earth. Green offers a milder ride but still rough on a full tummy. Orange is full throttle, utilizing a multiple-arm centrifuge that spins and tilts to simulate speed and 2.4G gravitational forces—more than twice the force of the Earth’s gravitational pull. [Epcot]

3) Mad Tea Party—Climb into one of 18 tea cups set up for The Mad Hatter and the March Hare’s “Unbirthday” party and take a wild, dizzying adventure. Each ride vehicle has a wheel in the center that lets you control the speed of spin. The faster you turn the wheel, the faster you spin. The faster you spin, the faster you may learn what a “protein spill” is. [Magic Kingdom]

4) Twilight Zone Tower of Terror—According to legend, the once glamorous Hollywood Hotel hosted stars of the silver screen during Hollywood’s Golden Age until Halloween night 1939, when a violent storm struck the building, whisking 5 unfortunate souls “beyond the fifth dimension.” Guests board the “fright elevator,” which goes up, then down, then maybe up again…or down. Random drops depart the 13th floor and are determined by the Tower itself. [Disney’s Hollywood Studios]

5) Star Tours—This recently reimagined attraction features 54 ride sequences, offering motion-simulated 3D journeys aboard a Starspeeder 1000. Each ride is a different experience. You might flash through space at warp speed, zip past trees on the Wookiee planet Kashyyyk, weave through wrong-way traffic on the city-planet Coruscant, slide down treacherous slopes on the snowy planet Hoth, or just hang on for several other thrills before landing and safely delivering the spy to rebel headquarters. [Disney’s Hollywood Studios]

6) Space Mountain—This classic Magic Kingdom coaster is an all-time fan favorite. Climb the 180-foot mountain then blast off into deep, dark space through twists and turns and past shooting stars and black holes. Two separate tracks, the Alpha and the Omega, mirror each other as they hurl rocket ships through the cosmos at 28 miles per hour. [Magic Kingdom]

7) Cyber Space Mountain—This virtual roller coaster, custom built by you at Downtown Disney’s Disney Quest, can be as tame or as wild as you wish. Bill Nye the Science Guy directs the computer design. When you’re done, jump in a simulator and ride your creation in full 360° motion—rocking, tilting, rumbling along the “track” you created. [Disney Quest at Downtown Disney]

8) Expedition Everest—Legend of the Forbidden Mountain—The 199-foot “snow”-covered mountain adds a second “wienie” to Animal Kingdom Park. Board a runaway tea train and plunge into dark hairpin turns, careening forward and backward around and through this breathtaking Himalayan Mountain peak in effort to escape the mountain’s guardian Yeti, a phenomenal Audio-animatronic beast standing more than 18 feet tall that, when working, has an arm thrust equivalent to the force of a 747 jumbo jet. [Disney’s Animal Kingdom]

9) Big Thunder Mountain Railroad—The “wildest ride in the wilderness” reaches speeds of 25-30 mph, matching that of the monorail, as it rumbles past gold mining tools on two-and-a-half acres of desert canyons and caverns. Those rough-and-tumble twists and turns can make a full stomach churn. [Magic Kingdom]

10) Dinosaur —Dinosaur! is housed inside the Dino Institute toward the rear of DinoLand, USA. Once you eek past Dino Sue, a 40-foot long, 20-foot high exact replica of the largest, most complete Tyrannosaurus rex fossil ever unearthed, proceed through the ride queue, strap into your Time Rover and hang on for a turbulent tour of the Cretaceous era to fetch a dinosaur before it and you become extinct. [Disney’s Animal Kingdom]

You look a little green. Feeling OK? Don’t worry, you’ll have fun, but you might want to take in a show first.

Filed Under: Attractions, Chip Panel, Do and See, Downtown Disney, Food, Original Articles, Parks & Resorts, Rides, Star Wars, Tips &Tricks, Tips and Tricks, Top 5/10, Walt Disney World Tagged With: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Dinosaur, disney, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Epcot, Expedition Everest, Jodi Whisenhunt, Mad Tea Party, Magic Kingdom, Mission Space, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Space Mountain, star tours, Walt Disney

What to do with a Test Track Junkie During the Rehab

January 21, 2012 by Chip 1 Comment

As most Walt Disney World fans know, the popular Test Track attraction at Epcot is going to be down for refurbishment from April 2012 to sometime in the Fall of 2012.

So, what are you supposed to do with the Test Track junkie in your party with the attraction down for the busy and crowded summer season?

Most of the people I have spoken to agree that Test Track’s biggest fans are usually under the age of 12. Not that adults don’t enjoy it, but younger kids seem to relish the attraction. Obviously, you need to prepare your Test Track junkie that the attraction is going to be closed. After the initial wave of disappointment is over, you can start planning your trip.

Other Epcot attractions to try:

The Sum of All Thrills in Innoventions East. This is a state of the art motion-simulator ride where you can design your own track layout. It seats two people per ride. You are enclosed in a large hood and cannot touch your face or upper body during the ride. You must be 48 inches tall to ride and 54 inches tall to invert (an average 8 year old should be able to ride but not do inversions).

Soarin’ in the Land Pavilion. This is a gate buster and will typically have a large wait with Test Track open. This is the first attraction you should hit for a FastPass at rope drop.

Mission: Space. This attraction is often critiqued, but it still offers plenty of thrills, especially for the Green Team which offers less spinning. You have to be 44 inches tall to ride.

Maelstom. Located in the Norway Pavilion, this five minute boat ride has a few surprises and drops, but nothing that requires a height restriction.

Epcot does offer other amazing attractions, but nothing with the same intensity and speed as Test Track.

Looking for other experiences at Epcot? Try some of these.

Behind the Seeds Tour at the Land Pavilion. This 45 minute walking tour takes you behind the scenes to see the future of food production. There is a charge for the tour.

Reflections of China and O Canada Circle Vision films. Both of these films surround you and offer amazing shots and scenes. People bypass them because they are just films, but they are spectacular and can offer multiple viewings to see it all.

Captain EO. Take a trip back to the future and enjoy this retro presentation of this 3d film. It is Michael Jackson at his height and a great way to relive some of the 1980s at EPCOT Center.

Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure. Perfect for any age, you can work your way around World Showcase looking for clues with the special Kimmunicator.

Kidcot Fun Stops. Situated in each World Showcase Pavilion, kids are able to meet cast members from their respective countries and make a souvenir craft.

George writes at Imaginerding and The Disney Navigator. He is also a travel agent with Pixie Vacations. You can email him at george@pixievacations.com for vacation help and planning.

Test Track Closes for New Name Change and Design Center (chipandco.com)
Disney and GM Renew Contract and Create Magic for Guests at a Re-Imagined Test Track Experience (chipandco.com)

What to do with a Test Track Junkie During the Rehab

Filed Under: Do and See, Events, Parks & Resorts, Planning, Rides, Tips &Tricks, Tips and Tricks, Walt Disney World Tagged With: Chevrolet, Epcot, General Motors, Mission Space, Test Track, Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort

Top 10 Extreme Rides at Walt Disney World

September 25, 2011 by Jodi 2 Comments

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith

With four theme parks and two water parks, thrill seekers are sure to find their happy place at Walt Disney World. Let’s take a look at 10 of the resort’s top extreme rides.

MAGIC KINGDOM:
Space Mountain—This classic Magic Kingdom coaster is an all-time fan favorite. Climb the 180-foot mountain then blast off into deep, dark space through twists and turns and past shooting stars and black holes. Two separate tracks, the Alpha and the Omega, mirror each other as they hurl rocket ships through the cosmos at 28 miles per hour. *Height requirement: 44 inches*

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad—Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was originally designed to be The Western River Expedition, a boat ride through the American West with hiking trails and pack mules featuring a runaway mine train and housed in a large complex called Thunder Mesa. Though Walt Disney World did receive its own attraction in 1980, Big Thunder Mountain was installed at Disneyland first in 1979. The “wildest ride in the wilderness” reaches speeds of 25-30 mph, matching that of the monorail, as it rumbles past actual gold mining tools on two-and-a-half acres of desert canyons and caverns. *Height reqirement: 40 inches*

ANIMAL KINGDOM:
Expedition Everest—Expedition Everest—Legend of the Forbidden Mountain adds a second “wienie” to Animal Kingdom Park with its 199-foot “snow”-covered mountain. A runaway tea train careens forward and backward around and through this breathtaking Himalayan Mountain peak in effort to escape the mountain’s guardian: the Yeti. The phenomenal Audio-animatronic beast stands more than 18 feet tall and has an arm thrust equivalent to the force of a 747 jumbo jet. *Height requirement: 44 inches*

Dinosaur!—Dinosaur! is housed inside the Dino Institute, a large building toward the rear of DinoLand, USA. Dino Sue, a 40-foot long, 20-foot high exact replica of the largest, most complete Tyrannosaurus rex fossil ever unearthed, stands charge by the entrance. Once you eek past her, proceed through the ride queue, strap into your Time Rover and hang on as you travel back in time to fetch a dinosaur before it and you become extinct. *Height requirement: 40 inches*

Dinosaur!

EPCOT:
Mission Space—Designed in consultation with 25 NASA experts and five astronauts, Mission Space is a flight training simulator that allows passengers to experience space travel without ever leaving Earth. Each team member has a specific role in commandeering the cosmic vessel. Passengers may choose their intensity level: Green for a milder ride and Orange for full throttle. *Height requirement: 44 inches*

Test Track—Ever wonder how a car is tested before it reaches your driveway? Epcot’s Test Track takes six Guests per vehicle through a series of quality tests that cars undergo before being released for sale to the public. Test braking systems, environmental factors and crash through barriers…er, um, maybe stop before you collide. Take a lap around the track outside at 65 mph, the fastest ride at Walt Disney World, before exiting to a showroom floor. *Height requirement: 40 inches*

DISNEY’S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS:
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror—According to legend, the once glamorous Hollywood Hotel hosted stars of the silver screen during Hollywood’s Golden Age. But then on Halloween night, 1939, a violent storm struck the building, whisking 5 unfortunate souls “beyond the fifth dimension.” The hotel was left untouched after that disastrous eve. Guests board the “fright elevator,” which goes up, then down, then maybe up again…or down. Random drops depart the 13th floor and are determined by the Tower itself. Now if that doesn’t spook you, I don’t know what will! *Height requirement: 40 inches*

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith—A tour of G-Force Record Studio is cut short when the band Aerosmith takes off for a show. They take Guests with them, though, in a super stretch limo. Each “car” pumps 32,000 watts of onboard audio through a 125 speaker, 24 sub-woofer sound system and accelerates from a zero to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds with the force of a supersonic F-14. Three inversions offer a unique view of Los Angeles: upside-down! *Height requirement: 48 inches*

TYPHOON LAGOON:
Crush ‘n’ Gusher—The theme parks aren’t the only place to find thrill rides at Walt Disney World Resort. Head on over to Typhoon Lagoon for the white knuckle excitement of Crush ‘n’ Gusher. This water coaster defies gravity as its powerful jets pump water at 1,350 gallons per minute, propelling Guests down and up 420 feet of slide. Hold tight to your inflatable raft as you twist and turn through the chutes at speeds reaching 30 feet per second. *Height requirement: 48 inches*

BLIZZARD BEACH:
Summit Plummet—Take the plunge! The 12-story, high-speed drop from the top of Mount Gushmore, that is. The ride towers 30 feet above its mountain base and is built to resemble a ski jump. Riders do not really fly off the jump, though they do catch some air. The 8-second zoom down the 360-foot flume sends riders slightly over vertical then straight down and through a short tunnel under the jump at 50-60 miles per hour. It’s so exhilarating many “skiers” jump right up, adjust their wedgies and take the chair lift right back to the top. *Height requirement: 48 inches*