Disney Adds a Design-it-Yourself Ride

by Tom Henderson (Subscribe to Tom Henderson's posts)
Oct 17th 2009 8:00AM

Filed under: In The News, Weird But True, Gadgets

Sum of all Thrills lets kids use computer tablets to design a virtual roller coaster. Credit: Raytheon Company / PRNewsFoto

Have you ever looked at thrill rides and thought, "Who designs these things?"

At Walt Disney World's Epcot theme park in Florida, the answer is: You do. Park officials just added a do-it-yourself ride where kids use a computer tablet to create the ultimate roller coaster, bobsled track or plane ride. Then, with the help of computer images, they can actually live the experience.

Well, virtually.

"This is really the next generation -- where there's a lot more personalization involved," Eric Goodman, Disney's lead project manager on the ride, told CNN.

This is a new trend, as many theme parks and museums are letting visitors build their own attractions. In addition to the Epcot project, called The Sum of all Thrills, other Disney parks have similar features. Disney parks now feature "Toy Story Mania," which lets riders shoot at targets, which affects the outcome of the ride.

Another Disney feature, CyberSpace Mountain, lets visitors create their own features for a virtual roller coaster.

Universal Studios in Florida has a roller coaster called The Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, where riders can choose their own soundtrack.

According to CNN, there's a "definite need to compete with video games or the gaming industry -- where [players] have control over all the elements, from the environment to the players' movements," said Shawn McCoy, vice president of marketing and business development at Jack Rouse Associates, an amusement park design firm.

Interactive games are about more than kids having fun, Goodman told CNN. Kids can also learn something in the process.

A press release to CNN from the Raytheon Company, which makes weapons and defense systems, said the company helped sponsor the new Disney exhibit to get kids interested in careers in math and science.

"I think it's really empowering for the kids to realize that the math doesn't control them," Goodman said. "They get to control the math."

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