During a recent trip to Walt Disney World, I had the opportunity to ride Epcot’s newest attraction, Sum of All Thrills, sponsored by Raytheon. Located in Future World’s Innoventions East pavilion, Sum of All Thrills is an interactive attraction where guests “custom-design their own thrill ride using mathematical tools, an innovative touch-screen table and a robotic simulator” (Walt Disney World News). Since the attraction is just over a month old, I thought I’d take the opportunity to do a walk-through for my readers.
As you enter Epcot’s Future World and pass beneath Spaceship Earth, Innoventions East is on the left, the best entrance being the one immediately before the Electric Umbrella restaurant. Once inside, Sum of All Thrills is a few hundred feet ahead on the left; you can’t miss the attraction’s bright signage.
Sum of All Thrills - Main Sign
Before rushing to the queue, however, I highly recommend testing out the sample seats Disney has provided. Since the KUKA RoboSim 4-D Simulator was not created by Disney, the simulator’s seats are smaller than those on other attractions, it’s best to make sure you can comfortably fit before it’s time to enjoy your custom-made thrill ride.
Sum of All Thrills - Sample Seats
After waiting in the queue, guests approach a briefing room and are handed a swipe card by a Cast Member. If one or more members in the party is not 54 inches tall, a different color card is provided, prohibiting the party from designing a ride that includes inversions (guests 48-54 inches tall can create rides without inversions). Since the simulator has a hood that comes down to display ride video, there is likely a maximum height restriction but I did not see a specific number posted, just a message on the warning sign reading “the seating and restraints on this attraction may prohibit guests of certain body shapes or sizes from riding.” Eight parties of one to three people enter the briefing room to watch a video, starring two non-stereotypical engineers, that provides an overview of how guests will create their thrill rides.
Sum of All Thrills - Briefing Room
After the video, guests leave the briefing room and proceed to the design table matching the number they were assigned. Here, guests swipe their card and use the touch-screen tables to select their desired language (English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese or Spanish), party size (one, two or three people) and vehicle type (bobsled, roller coaster or jet). While the KUKA simulators only hold two people, parties of three are allowed, with the third person experiencing the ride in a separate simulator. I found it interesting that they don’t allow for parties of four since they would use the same number of simulators as a party of three.
Sum of All Thrills - Select Language
Sum of All Thrills - Select Party Size
Sum of All Thrills - Select Vehicle
After choosing a vehicle, guests are prompted to choose their first of three track pieces, displayed on the screen with the mildest on the left and the wildest on the right. Next, guests adjust the piece’s height and width using the ruler-like tool and the touch-screen surface and are prompted to test their ride. The touch-screen displays a video of the ride and (at least for the few times I’ve designed tracks) the vehicle fails to complete the track section. The video explains to the party that their ride vehicle isn’t going fast enough to make it through the ride. At this point, guests are instructed to use the dial tool to adjust the ride’s speed; speeds that are too slow or fast appear in red, while the range of speeds that is valid appears in green.
Sum of All Thrills - Choose a Piece
Sum of All Thrills - Adjust Shape of Piece
Sum of All Thrills - Test Physics of Piece
Sum of All Thrills - Adjust Speed
After testing their changes to the ride’s speed, guests repeat the process, selecting three more sections of track. If the completed track includes inversions, the touch-screen display will ask the guest to confirm that inversions are okay (inversion pieces will not be an option for parties including guests shorter than 54 inches). Once guests are satisfied with their attraction, they are directed up a short set of stairs to the simulator loading area. There, Cast Members instruct guests to remove all lose objects and store them in one of the several provided lockers. Guests using lockers need not fear that their things will be stolen, as they are given the key on a wristband to wear during their ride.
Sum of All Thrills - Confirm Upside Down Is OK
With guests now ready to ride, a Cast Member will borrow their swipe card to load their thrill-ride into one of the four simulators. After guests are seated in their simulator, the Cast Member instructs them to use the emergency cancel button in between the seats if they are at any point uncomfortable and wish to stop the ride. Then, the simulator’s hood, which contains the displays for the ride’s video, is lowered and the thrill ride begins!
Sum of All Thrills - KUKA RoboSim 4-D Simulator
Sum of All Thrills - KUKA RoboSim 4-D Simulator, Flip
At the end of the ride, guests are presented with a “sum of all thrills, ” a numerical calculation of their ride’s thrill level. I don’t know the exact logic behind the calculation, but it takes into account the track pieces chosen, their heights and widths and the ride’s speed. After riding Sum or All Thrills, guests can keep their swipe card and return to the attraction to re-ride the same track for up to six months.
Sum of All Thrills is an excellent addition to Epcot’s Innoventions East pavilion. It’s just the type of E ticket attraction that will draw guests into Innoventions and, hopefully, lead them to investigate the pavilion’s other great interactive experiences. My only complaint is that I don’t like having to watch the briefing room video every time I ride. Like the video shown at Test Track, it’s the same every time, so once guests are familiar with how to design their thrill ride it only increases the attraction’s wait time by forcing guests to spend a couple extra minutes in line. Other than that minor flaw, Sum of All Thrills is an excellent attraction that will keep me coming back to Innoventions every time I visit Epcot.
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