World of Innoventions

The Boulder at Indiana Jones Adventures is one of the most iconic and thrilling elements of the ride. Guests on the ride are sent hurtling through a temple, chased by a giant rolling boulder that appears to be just inches behind them. But how does this impressive effect actually work? The boulder is actually a large, lightweight ball made out of fiberglass and other materials. It’s attached to a track system that is hidden from view, so guests can’t see how the boulder is propelled forward. The track is a series of curved rails that guide the boulder along its path. The boulder is mounted on a metal frame that is attached to a motorized system. The motor moves the frame forward along the track, which causes the boulder to roll forward at a speed that matches the ride vehicle. This creates the illusion that the boulder is chasing the guests. To make the effect even more convincing, the boulder is covered in a special material that creates a realistic-looking texture and helps it blend i...

Now that Genie+ and Lightning Lane have been up and running for the better part of a year, Disney has started to tweak the experience at Walt Disney World. Starting June 8th, guests will not be able to purchase Genie+ until the day of their visit. Disney has also stated that the number of Genie+ purchases available may be limited on a given day. Recently, they also updated the product description, which now states that guests should expect to get 2 or 3 Lightning Lanes in a day. This tells us that Disney is starting to recognize a need for change in the way Genie+ runs. This raised the question of whether you need Genie+ to be able to see the park in a day. To test it out, I set out to see all of Epcot without Genie+ in a single day. (Spoiler alert: I saw most of the park without it!) Summary To see how well I did, we’ll be comparing what I did to the list of 65 things to do at Epcot from Disney World’s Attractions page. Let’s look at some numbers to summarize my day, and then I’ll wa...