Oct 14 2009Build Your Own Roller Coaster Ride At Disney
No this isn't Roller Coaster Tycoon, this is real life! The "Sum of all Thrills" is a new ride at Disney's Epcot Center that allows children to design their own roller coasters and then ride them in a virtual reality environment with the aid of a giant robotic arm. I smell vomit! No, seriously -- I think a cat puked under the bed.
Epcot on Wednesday opened a new attraction called "Sum of All Thrills," which lets kids use computer tablets to design a virtual roller coaster, bobsled track or plane ride. After inputting their designs, kids climb into a robotic carriage that uses virtual-reality technology to help them experience the ride they've created.
"This is really the next generation -- where there's a lot more personalization involved" in the amusement-park experience, said Eric Goodman, Disney's lead project manager on the ride.
Cool. Of course, I question how much customization you'll actually get to do (I want 30 loopty-loops in a row!), or how much you should actually trust a child with anyway (100% of 0). Just saying, I have the feeling a lot of coasters are gonna end with a giant robotic arm slamming you into the ground repeatedly. YOU KIDS WILL NEVER BE IMAGINEERS!
Hit the jump for a better shot of the last thing you'll ever climb inside.
Disney debuts do-it-yourself thrill ride [cnn]
Thanks to e., whose children might actually design fun coasters thanks to the good genes and quality parenting.
Reader Comments
1. jojo - October 14, 2009 1:58 PM
first
2. JADE - October 14, 2009 1:59 PM
I would soooooo do that.
3. jojo - October 14, 2009 1:59 PM
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT I'M FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NICE
4. JADE - October 14, 2009 2:01 PM
JOJO ur an idiot
5. Timbo - October 14, 2009 2:21 PM
Jojo...I have to agree with Jade
You mea they're not going to spend millions to actually build it for you?
What a ripoff...
6. John - October 14, 2009 2:26 PM
Disney Quest already has like 8 of these things
7. GoSS Jerk no longer sterilized for your pleasure - October 14, 2009 2:36 PM
JOJO, Jade got it right there in 4
8. Fr0do - October 14, 2009 2:53 PM
Yeah John's right, I remember being 8 years old, designing what was promised to me as my dream roller coaster. Which came complete with exploding volcanoes and whatnot. Instead of thrills and third degree burns all over myself was a bloody nose from my fat uncle swinging his arm into my face during a corkscrew.
9. gizmoduck - October 14, 2009 2:55 PM
mine would go into space and then to the center of the earth.
all loops.
nbd
10. Michael - October 14, 2009 2:57 PM
Wow... for a company who's all about tapping Steve Jobs to re-design their retail sotres, you'd think they'd use a bit more "Imagineering" and design something NEW for the masses, rather than recycling some 10+ year old coaster simulator hosted by Bill Nye the Science Guy.
11. killerabbit - October 14, 2009 3:16 PM
Been there, done that. They had one of these at that arcade I visited in Canada.
12. Jaded Icon - October 14, 2009 3:19 PM
@ 4
Good call. I KNEW there was a reason we shared a similar name.
13. Dom - October 14, 2009 3:23 PM
I've been on it. You.itt
14. Dom - October 14, 2009 3:24 PM
Sorry, typo. It's awesome. It does loops and dives and it feels legit. It's intense. It was so fun
15. jaja - October 14, 2009 3:26 PM
rape :)
16. Victoria - October 14, 2009 3:49 PM
Don't joke about cats puking under my bed.
IT'S A SERIOUS PROBLEM!
17. Schuenator - October 14, 2009 3:57 PM
Disneyquest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hS9yl0uOE98
18. B - October 14, 2009 4:02 PM
@10 Yes! I'm glad to see a few more people remember this. I saw the headline and was like WTF that's been around for years. The one at Disney Quest honestly was the shit though.
19. Skandy - October 14, 2009 4:03 PM
I miss disney quest. It was awesome! Especially the Aladdin magic carpet ride.
20. Justin - October 14, 2009 4:07 PM
@19 DisneyQuest is still there, it closed for a while but reopened.
21. a dog - October 14, 2009 4:15 PM
There's a difference. The one at Disney Quest is LAME. Yuo design it and then the little pod flips you around. You DO NOT MOVE IN ANY DIRECTION. There is no sensation of motion. You just pivot and do somersaults. Please try to see the difference with this new one.
22. Closet Nerd - October 14, 2009 4:19 PM
@16 The cat we are taking care of at my house keeps shooting snot.
The little bastard shot snot all over my 'cotton mouth' shirt the other day.
23. rm - October 14, 2009 4:25 PM
'disney quest' in 'downtown disney' has had these for about 10 years...
24. Easily Amused - October 14, 2009 4:37 PM
"Oh my god! I'm suspended 10 feet in the air! This really IS like a real rollercoaster! Wait...wtf?"
I've got a better idea for this ride. Have the families stand in line for 2+ hours, give the kids full ability to design the coaster. And when it's their turn, have a big gorilla come and pummel the parents to death for letting their kids convince them to get in line for this piece of crap.
Sum of All Thrills is to Mission Space as Maelstrom is to Pirates of the Caribbean.
25. squeehunter - October 14, 2009 6:48 PM
Yeah, I did this like 8 years ago. It is not a good idea. Kids just hit all the buttons (I was 12 so that counts) and it's just banging you around the whole time. They have professionals to do this for a reason.
26. Squidly - October 14, 2009 8:43 PM
Not to burst your bubble or anything, but "Disney Quest" (the amped up arcade at Downtown Disney, has had those for more than 7 years.
27. guate6 - October 14, 2009 10:14 PM
Glad to see Disney's catching up. Wonder Works in Orlando, FL and Disney Quest in Orlando have had the "build your own roller coaster" (virtual reality) for many many years (at least 10).
28. squeehunter - October 14, 2009 10:21 PM
@27
Mine was at an arcade at a golf course.
29. Gorramit - October 15, 2009 2:39 AM
@28 Mine was at the Logan Valley Mall in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
It's sad to think that Disney is stoked about technology that was available in a podunk town in the middle of nowhere 10 mf'n years ago.
30. And - October 15, 2009 6:39 AM
The one i designed in Disney Quest made me ill for about 3 hours
31. Geekolojew - October 15, 2009 7:25 AM
Must See!!!
http://alturl.com/obg7
________________
32. a dog - October 15, 2009 3:20 PM
Jesus don't any of you fags read the comments? Like 50 people already mentioned the crap in Disney Quest. THIS IS DIFFERENT. Did you bother to read up on what this one entails? Illiterate douches.
33. TheWizard - October 15, 2009 10:01 PM
shits old i rode on something just like that when i was like 12 except it wasnt disney
34. PCDT3 - October 16, 2009 7:10 PM
well i know this may be advanced from the old style but wonderworks museum in florida had these before disney did so there not really jumping into something new just improved
35. Auto Parts Dude - October 20, 2009 4:09 PM
I have actually tried this already from a visit in the UAE, and even though I chose the one with the most loops (most times we were upside down) it was not as scary as I imagined it to be. I hope the one on CNN was a revamp.
36. aliyah - November 12, 2009 6:04 PM
what the hell i neaver asked for this i wanted to build my own..
i am a millon air