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The Walt Disney World Resort is home to some incredible attractions throughout the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom that completely immerse Guests in experiences that are both thrilling and classic. While every single attraction is immersive in its detail and storytelling, some are even more incredible thanks to a level of interaction where Guests are invited to participate in real-time to create effects and happening in the experience. From being part of a flight team and having specific mission tasks to asking silly questions to a lovable turtle, there are several attractions that invite Guests to be even more involved in the fun. Let’s check out some of the best attractions throughout the Walt Disney World Resort that invite Guests to be interactive!
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Test Track Presented by Chevrolet
World Discovery in EPCOT is home to several thrilling attractions that Guests love, including Test Track Presented by Chevrolet, which is housed inside a massive round building with futuristic elements on the exterior. The attraction brings the exciting design portion of the automotive world to life and asks Guests to try their hands at creating SIM cars, offering up control over everything from tire size and color to aerodynamics and engine specifications. After designing their unique models, Guests board actual cars and set off through a series of fun and thrilling tests designed to measure power, responsiveness, capability, and efficiency. A winner is declared for each test, and each design is then scored after the final outdoor high-speed loop. With thrilling moments and the chance to design their very own SIM cars, Test Track Presented by Chevrolet is one of the most interactive and immersive experiences in EPCOT.
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Mission: SPACE
Also found in EPCOT’s World Discovery right next door to Test Track Presented by Chevrolet is Mission: SPACE, an intense and thrilling attraction that brings the adventure of space exploration to life. Guests are welcomed into the International Space Training Center, where they choose to join the less intense Green Team for an orbit of the Earth or the more intense Orange Team for a mission to Mars. Each mission assigns Guests to be the pilot, engineer, navigator, or commander, and they are given specific tasks in each role that need to be carried out for the mission’s success. From activating hyper-sleep to helping with manual controls to land the spaceship, Mission: SPACE truly makes Guests feel like they are part of the mission with interactive elements.
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Spaceship Earth
One of the most iconic and recognizable attractions at the Walt Disney World Resort is Spaceship Earth, which is housed inside a structure of the same name in EPCOT’s World Celebration. Spaceship Earth is a slow-moving experience that brings Guests from the beginning of time to the modern day to explore the history of communication and the major contributions that evolved into the systems that we use today. After moving through several stunning scenes, including the Renaissance and man landing on the moon, Guests are invited to participate in a fun series of interactive questions that come together to form a personalized cartoon vignette portraying what their future could be like. Using photos taken at the very beginning of the experience, Guests can watch themselves enjoy everything from living underwater to traveling through space and living in an eco-friendly house in this fun and interactive ending on Spaceship Earth.
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Turtle Talk with Crush
The final interactive attraction that Guests can enjoy in EPCOT can be found inside The Seas with Nemo and Friends in World Nature. Turtle Talk with Crush brings Guests into a small theater with a unique screen that is actually a window looking into the big blue ocean beyond. Soon Crush, everyone’s favorite turtle from Finding Nemo, appears and interacts with Guests in real-time as they are given the opportunity to ask questions. The experience is typically geared towards younger Guests who are invited to sit on the floor near the screen in the front of the theater, and the live interactive element between Crush and the kids makes for a hysterical experience every single time.
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Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Disney’s Hollywood Studios is an incredibly immersive experience in itself as Guests feel as though they have been transported to the planet Batuu, but Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run takes the immersion to a whole new level. After running into Hondo, Guests are tasked with a special smuggling mission which offers them the opportunity to board the Millennium Falcon and act as the pilot, gunner, or engineer. The windows of the cockpit showcase the adventure ahead, and the actual experience is impacted in real-time by how each Guest chooses to steer or accomplish their tasks taking care of the ship. Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is an incredible attraction that truly makes Guests feel as though they are piloting the famous ship thanks to its interactive nature.
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Toy Story Mania
Toy Story Mania in Disney’s Hollywood Studios is a popular attraction in the Toy Story Land area of the Disney Park, where Guests get the chance to shrink down to the size of toys and play with some of their favorite friends. The attraction features a series of 3D midway games that Woody and the gang have put together, and Guests take aim at different moving targets in each scene to accumulate points and see who can score the highest for bragging rights. Each target that Guests hit throughout Toy Story Mania triggers unique effects and happenings that make interacting in real-time even more exciting, and many Guests love to ride time and time again to beat their best scores.
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Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
Moving over to the Magic Kingdom, Guests can find an interactive attraction similar to Toy Story Mania that also features a beloved Toy Story character. Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin can be found in the heart of Tomorrowland and puts Guests in the middle of the action when Buzz needs help at Star Command. Guests board spaceships and set off, taking aim at targets throughout the attraction, to collect power and help defeat the Evil Emperor Zurg. Guests are shown their score throughout Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, and they love to get into the competitive spirit and see who can score the highest and become a Galactic Hero with a high score of 999,999.
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Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor
Right next door to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin in the Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland is Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor, a hilarious and interactive attraction that was inspired by the Pixar hit Monster’s Inc. Guests are invited to Monstropolis where Mike Wazowski and friends are collecting laughs to help power the city, and many monsters have taken to stand-up comedy to get the job done. Once settled into the theater, Guests can check out a series of stand-up acts that utilize special technology to interact in real-time, creating some silly scenarios that are sure to leave Guests chuckling long after leaving.
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Haunted Mansion
The final attraction in the Magic Kingdom that features an interactive element is the beloved Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square, though the interaction is actually over before Guests even step foot inside! Before entering into the show building of the attraction, Guests move through an interactive outdoor graveyard where all sorts of fun and eerie happening can be triggered through interaction and participation. Guests can play a ghostly Ravenscroft organ, trigger haunted books and instrumental sounds by touching symbols on a tomb, and interact with a ghostly poet who is suffering from writer’s block. The interactive graveyard found at the Haunted Mansion is the perfect example of how Disney Imagineers have created some wonderful experiences that make Guests forget that they are actually waiting in a queue!
