All-New Innoventions Takes Guests On a Journey to Tomorrow At Walt Disney World Resort LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Epcot introduces a whole new Innoventions for the next millennium celebrating the breakthroughs in science and technology that are leading us into the next millennium -- everything from exploratory medicine to personal global communications to the ultimate in home entertainment. The new Innoventions features "The Road To Tomorrow," a new kind of information superhighway along which Epcot guests discover the future by exploring "technosights" along the way -- sights like The House of Innoventions, Beautiful Science and Forests For Our Future. What technology has in store will amaze and delight guests at the all-new Innoventions. Like the virtual pet dog that understands commands and has moods like happy and hungry. Like the robotic lawn mower that cuts grass on schedule and always to perfection. Like kids playing tag in a virtual world, a jeans jacket that's really a wearable computer or exchanging personal information with another person simply by shaking their hand -- thanks to an electromagnetic sensor fitted in a belt buckle, shoe or name tag. Innoventions flanks Millennium Plaza, just past Spaceship Earth on the way into Epcot. The attraction is divided into two halves, East and West, that are differentiated by colorful highway signs -- green for the East, blue for the West -- to help guests keep track of their journey even without an electronic global locator! But nobody gets lost on "The Road to Tomorrow" now that Innoventions has enlisted the help of Tom Morrow 2.0, a tiny robot that acts as host and navigator for the Innoventions attraction. The always curious, slightly scatterbrained robot is voiced by actor Max Casella, who played Doogie Houser's best pal on the classic TV series and most recently the voice of Timon on Broadway. Tom 2.0 welcomes guests and gives them a quick orientation to the sights they are about to see and experience. If he could only get his prototype hovermobile to work properly, he could give guests a personal tour. Maybe next time! Technology roadstops along "The Road To Tomorrow" are presented by leading science and technology companies and associations from around the world. These sponsors have teamed with Disney Imagineers to make science and technology entertaining -- adding humor and storytelling to make the shows fun and dramatic as well as informative. From an interactive forest which explores sustainable forestry technology, to a wacky game show called "The Broadband Connection" that explains the telecommunications of tomorrow so even a seven-year-old can understand, guests are entertained while they discover the future. Following are some of the new Innoventions highlights: Forests For Our Future (Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry): A side trip through this interactive forest tells the story of sustainable forestry. Guests can visit a field research outpost and discover how the industry uses the latest technology such as satellite imaging to manage the forests better, or check out a petri dish that contains 1,000 identical trees. In a funny and fast-paced "Total Tree-via" game show, guests compete to discover new concepts in everything from paper-making to biotechnology. The Communications Dream Forum (Motorola): Journey into a world of "freedom through communications" hosted by Starnac, a robot who can actually see into the future. Experience this not-too-distant future on one of the world's largest high-definition screens before exploring Motorola's Dream Lab where you can get hands-on with some of the products of tomorrow, design your own personal communications device, and help create the future of communications. Innoventions Internet Zone (Disney.com): A stopover here provides a glimpse into the future of the Internet for kids. Interactive shows and play stations let children explore tomorrow's versions of on-line games, including "virtual tag" with their favorite Disney characters. They can even send a video e-mail clip of themselves to friends and family back home! Let's Get Connected (AT&T): This is a whimsical game show in which a television, telephone and personal computer all come to life to explore the brave new connected world of broadband communications. In a fun and entertaining show, guests discover how broadband technology will revolutionize the way we communicate with others, receive and send information, experience entertainment, shop for goods and services, and more. Who will get connected? Only game show announcer Chip Digital knows for sure! Web Site Construction Zone (GO.com): At this stopover that looks like a giant oversized kids construction toy, guests create and build their own home page on the World Wide Web. As guests explore the Zone, they can add photos, graphics and text, and links to their favorite web sites including sports, news, travel and more. Afterwards, guests can update their web page from their home computer. This is the ultimate in techno-souvenirs! Future Cars (General Motors): Here guests get to "kick the tires" of advanced transportation vehicles in a "future car" showroom. Innoventions technotourists can check out the cars they'll be driving in the next millennium, including a prototype of a car powered by a fuel cell and an all-Electric Vehicle. The House of Innoventions (presented by Panja): When guests tour this "Smart House" of the future, they discover amazing, inventive products that may just be tomorrow's lifestyle necessities. From the refrigerator that's connected by Internet to your grocery store and shops for you, to the robotic dog you program instead of train . . . it's a brave new world and guests will have seen it first at the House of Innoventions! Medicine's New Vision (presented by The Radiological Association of North America): Think of radiologists as explorers. Until Columbus, the world was believed to be flat. Now the world of medicine has moved from flat x-rays to three-dimensional imaging which allows doctors to "see" in all directions the intimate detail within the human body. These breakthroughs are creating a future where there will be better diagnostics, less invasive surgery and more precise treatment. After experiencing the show, it's the guest's turn to try some hands-on medicine with games like "Cell-Slam" -- an interactive way to try out some medical skills of their own. Networked Living (presented by IBM): A stop here lets guests discover the worldwide future of computing and the Internet. They travel on IBM's unique "PlanetRider," experience the most advanced voice recognition technology software available, and discover how computing technology makes our lives easier. The hot spot in this technosight is the Internet Postcards station, where guests pose for, compose and transmit their own postcard for friends or family through cyberspace. Ultimate Home Theater Experience (presented by Lutron): On this soundstage guests discover the latest in home theater technologies. Demonstrations of cutting edge products like high definition television, flat screen television, DVD technology for movies recorded on CD and state-of-the-art remote control home lighting systems give guests a view of what home entertainment can be. The final surprise is a 16-seat home theater where guests get a chance to experience movies like never before! Beautiful Science (presented by Monsanto): Here guests are asked to slow down and look closer at the beauty of life sciences. Through interactive kiosks, a dramatic show that is seen in the reflections of a pond, and a crawl-through "tunnel of bugs," guests discover how some scientists are trying to solve world food and health problems while, at the same time, helping to sustain the planet. The Knowledge Vortex (presented by Xerox): This multimedia presentation features fun and futuristic technologies such as Electronic paper that can be used over and over again, stickers the size of postage stamps that can carry an entire map of the Magic Kingdom, and easy-to-use digital imaging systems that can manipulate photos and other documents to create interesting souvenirs. Video Games of Tomorrow (Sega): At the Sega Dreamcast stop, see the future of videogames by connecting the world with Internet gameplay and cutting-edge games for the entire family. Thirty-four interactive stations give guests an exclusive look at the making of futuristic videogames, let them participate in a motion capture shoot translating their movements into a digital, videogame-style playback, and get to listen to experts explain the "making of" the world's most advanced videogames.
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