Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Rides for older audiences

Big thank you to Amanda McCartney Gierman for being my first non-family member "fan" to come up and talk to me about the blog.  That made my day!


Like I said earlier, the first attraction you will encounter when you walk into Epcot is Spaceship Earth.  My suggestion is to walk past this and come back to it later in the day.  If you enter the park before 11:00 AM, there are 5 attractions that you need to choose from to head to first.  These are the attractions I am going to talk about today; they are the busiest rides at Epcot.


The outside of The Seas with Nemo and Friends

Having so much fun, we felt like dancing!


            The first of these is a great family ride: The Seas with Nemo and Friends.  This is another dark ride: you board your clamobile and are moved into position to be able to view the tanks (with live fish) and the screens projecting over the tanks (incorporating the Nemo-gang).  This is a fun ride for kids of all ages, but it is very popular.  You definitely want to make it one of the first rides of the day; if you get here too late, you will be waiting.  Also, fun fact: as you’re getting near the end of the ride, pay attention to the starfish, she is hilarious.  She is begging you to take her with you because she has to hear the song over and over again.

            When the ride is over, you will be let out inside a building that contains exhibits with facts about the ocean.  Picture opportunities abound; they have a large model of Bruce the shark and your kids can get inside of him.  If you head upstairs, you can take part in another ocean attraction: Turtle Talk with Crush.  This is similar to the Monsters, Inc. attraction at Magic Kingdom which is a movie theater style setting, with a show.  Crush interacts with the crowd, answering questions about turtles and the sea.

            Ugh, I hate admitting this to you, dear readers, but these next three attractions I have never been on.  Here’s my problem, I have a young child and these are not rides for young children.  Yes, WDW has a child swap, which is a great tool to use if you are traveling with a young child.  The whole family gets in line and each parent gets to take a turn going on the ride, while the other waits with the child.  However, hubby and I like to ride the rides together, so we never use the child swap.  So, I will tell you all of the research I have heard, but I have no personal experience.  I suck, I’m sorry…

            First off, is Test Track.  This ride has the dubious fame of being broke down more times than any other ride.  However, when it is working, it is apparently one of the most thrilling rides at WDW.  The idea is: YOU are a crash-test dummy.  Not only will you be subjected to extreme hot and cold (to test how the car will do, of course), you will also be subjected to 50-degree banked curves, all while going 60 mph.  This one has a FASTPASS, so grab one and come back.

            Mission: SPACE is a fairly new attraction, but has already had to undergo modifications.  The Imagineers worked hand-in-hand with astronauts from NASA and, apparently, made the attraction a little too lifelike.  There are now 2 versions to the ride: orange or green team.  The Orange team is a more intense experience, including forces on your body of 2.4G.  The Green team does not experience the pressure, so it is a better option for those prone to motion sickness.  You and your crew are going on a space flight to Mars, including take-off.  Each team member has a job: Navigator, Pilot, Commander or Engineer.  Each job actually entails work during the ride, to ensure a successful mission.  This ride also has FASTPASS, so take advantage!

            The last attraction is Soarin’ (which also has FASTPASS, yay!), a free-flying hang glider.  You will be lifted 40 feet in the air to soar over an IMAX projection screen that wraps 180 degrees around you.  The attraction even makes you feel sensory items: smell evergreens as you go over trees, feel the wind and smell sea breeze as you go past the Golden Gate Bridge, etc.  However, it is again not for small children.

2 comments:

  1. I can tell you from personal experience that the three rides you have not been on happen to be the three best. just saying.

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  2. Well, there ya go readers! Anecdotal proof that you need to get to Epcot TODAY and ride these rides! Thanks, Lanna!

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