Location: Future World
Extra Magic Hours: No
FASTPASS: No
Type: Hands-on exhibits, shows, and attractions
Similar To: Most exhibits are unique
Requirements: None to enter the buildings. Sum of All Thrills requires visitors to be 48” tall to ride and 54” tall to add inversions.
Scary Factor: Entering Innoventions isn’t at all scary, but some of the attractions inside might be. Sum of All Thrills can be an intense simulator attraction that goes upside down and moves freely from side to side. During the interactive creation of your ride, you’ll be able to set the intensity, number of inversions, etc. If you would like the ride to be tamer, simply set the speed low and don’t add loops. Storm Struck, also in Innoventions East, is a little intense. It’s another of the 3D shows. It puts you in a small room with a simulation of a storm. It’s obvious that you’re never in any real danger, but water will squirt in your face and trees will fall on the screens in front of you.
When To Go: I recommend getting to Sum of All Thrills after riding Soarin’ and Test Track in the morning. Sum of All Thrills has a low capacity and doesn’t offer FASTPASS. With 30 people in front of you, you’re looking at a ten to fifteen minute wait. Plus, it’s on the way to Mission: Space. The other Innoventions exhibits generally have shorter to nonexistent waits. Head to Sum of All Thrills in the morning and then return to Innoventions East later for whatever else looks good. It’s air-conditioned and kept darker than most other areas on Disney property. Vision House in particularly is a pleasant 20 minute walk through an air-conditioned “home.” While not particularly enthralling, it’s an easy to get some air-conditioning.
Expect to Wait: Sum of All Thrills sees the longest lines, with waits of 25 minutes common in the afternoon. Sum of all Thrills remains under-publicized and many people still don’t know that it exists, but it’s slowly catching on and waits are getting longer and longer. Other than that, significant waits are uncommon. You’ll most likely get into the next Vision House or Storm Struck presentation. If an area or queue is busy, return later and the crowds should dissipate. Because a lot of the attractions have limited capacities, one large group can cause waits to be long for for 30 minutes or more.
Length: You’re welcome to spend as much or as little time in Innoventions as you like. Most attractions don’t have a time limit, but several shows last about ten minutes. Vision House takes about 30 minutes and Storm Struck is close to 15 minutes.
What to Expect: Innoventions is broken up into two pavilions, Innoventions West and Innoventions East. Both are large buildings that house a variety of educational exhibits and attractions. Innoventions is more of a “fun museum” rather than a conventional theme park experience. You’ll have to spend some time with the exhibits to get anything out of them. It’s not an area where you can walk through at a brisk pace and expect to learn anything or have much fun.
Rating: 7/10
Commentary: Innoventions is a nice air-conditioned diversion. I would recommend it if you have extra time, but wouldn’t choose to spend time here over riding Test Track or Soarin’. There are a number of hands-on exhibits to try, some of which are fun and others of which are pretty lame. Sum of All Fears is the best attraction. You design your own ride by selecting the theme, speed, course, inversions, etc. and then “ride it” virtually by sitting in a pod attached to a large robotic arm that mimics the movement you designed. Storm Struck, the hurricane simulator, is another fun attraction. There are also video game consoles set up. If your child is a “gamer” then it may be difficult to pry them away from the screen once they get going.