The Ride Begins...
After guests board their vehicles, the narrator welcomes them aboard for this worldwide–and beyond–journey. They will ride on many different transportation modes of various speeds.
Similar to Soarin’, guests will experience the sights, smells, and sounds of their locales. Whereas World of Motion focused on the history of transportation (with some consideration of future transportation), this ride focuses on the experience of using different (perhaps unfamiliar) modes of transportation around the world.
Although the ride vehicles are moving slowly in each scene, the images on the screens passing by the guests give the impression that they are traveling faster (and sometimes much faster in the case of the high-speed transport modes).
Horse
The narrator explains to them that their first ride will be on the Horse. Although horses were not originally domesticated (that is, cared for by humans), the first people who used them for transportation were in modern Kazakhstan (which is also where the scene takes place) around 3500 BC. The guests feel the up-and-down movement of the horse as it takes its steps.
Camel
Guests find themselves in the middle of a caravan of spitting Dromedary Camels–some that are found on the screens and others that are animatronics. The warmth of the desert hits them. The narrator mentions that since 5000 BC, camels have been domesticated and used for transportation. Camels are used to transport goods and passengers in the desert because of their huge tolerance to food and water deprivation, and because they can carry a heavy load a long distance (600 pounds for up to 70 miles per day). Their special feet allow them to easily traverse sand.
Streetcar
The narrator explains that streetcars are also called trams and trolleys. Whatever they are called, they run on tracks in urban streets. The first horse-powered one served Wales in 1807. They can also be powered by steam, cables, gas, or electricity. Guests are in Melbourne, Australia, which also has the world’s largest streetcar system.
Train
Guests are told that the steam locomotive train was first invented in England in 1804. The narrator mentions that trains can also be powered by gas or electric. Trains move both goods and people throughout the world. The guests learn that they are traversing a high bridge on the Glacier Express in Switzerland.
Subway
Guests find themselves in perhaps the most artistic subway in the world–the Moscow Metro. The narrator explains that the first rapid transit line was constructed in 1881. When they are below ground, they are called subways.
Rickshaw
Guests find themselves on the roads in Calcutta, India with honks all around (although somewhat deafened for the sake of the guests). They can also smell a hint of motor oil. The narrator explains that a rickshaw is a two- or three-wheel cart usually for transporting one passenger. Although the first rickshaw was built in the late 17th Century, it wasn’t for another 80+ years that the name “rickshaw” was first used. Cycle rickshaws, using motors, came into use later.
Automobile
Carl Benz of Germany is credited with the first car in 1886. Henry Ford popularized them in 1908 with the creation of the Model T. Guests will be looking at the Indian Ocean on one side and a cliff on the other side on the island nation of Mauritius (east of Madagascar).
Cruise Ship
Guests are on an Alaskan cruise ship that is in Pacific Ocean with mountains on one side. At one point, a whale breeches. They notice that their vehicle sways slightly (note: less than in real life to reduce the likelihood of nausea) in synchronization with the waves and there is a subtle smell of fish. The narrator describes how the first cruise ship, the “Francesco,” went into service in 1831.
Spaceship
Guests are brought next to Cape Canaveral launch site for spaceships. The narrator tells guests that spaceflight began in the late 1950’s. Many of the world's most powerful countries have active space programs. There are an increasing number of private companies that launch space shuttles. The narrator tells the guests to prepare for their "launch" after which they will continue on as a space vehicle that has been separated from its launch vehicle.
Following the scene, the vehicle hooks into a lift. The vehicle pauses as the spaceship is “launched uphill (a similar effect to the launch at Space Mountain at Disneyland Paris) at a steep but not quite 90 degree angle. Water-based smoke from the sides of the lift gives the impression to riders and onlookers that this is a spaceship. At the top of the lift hill is a sliver of the moon that gives the impression to both riders and onlookers that the vehicle is in space. The vehicle then disappears from view as it goes into the violet ride building.
Thrill Section
Now comes the part that thrill seekers have been looking for! Going in reverse order to how they were introduced, the vehicles follow a course that gives a greater sense to what each of the transportation modes feels like at closer to their real-life speeds. The sections are indoors and in limited lighting (although not as dark as Space Mountain). As the “thrusters” of the spacecraft are turned-on, the vehicles spiral down picking up speed as they go. Then as a cruise ship, they experience some up and down hills at a slower speed. Next as an automobile, the vehicles test some of the indoor features that were common to Test Track–an accelerated hill climb, cobblestone roads, anti-locking brakes Next, the car's suspension was tested over different types of road surfaces, including German and Belgian blocks & cobblestones, a blind turn that necessitates a swerve from an oncoming semi-truck. The vehicles are now rickshaws–quickly turning this way and that, forcing the guests to turn a little in their seats. There are periodic honks. They quickly brea. Now as subways leaving the station, they accelerate to 65 mph on a straightaway but it is a shorter track than the outdoor section of Test Track. The vehicles slow down to 40 mph as trains that are coming out of a tunnel. The vehicles slow to 15 mph as they are streetcars climbing a hill. The vehicles slow down to the camel walking through a market and finally a horse that it is on an outdoor track.
The Future of Transportation
Back at the slow speed that began the journey, guests see examples of the future of transportation–self-driving cars, sleek spacecraft, and smaller-scale monorails (that take up to 6 people in one taxi where they want to go).
Afterwards, the vehicles stop at the unloading station for the guests to disembark.