Theme Park Rangers Radar: Living With the Land marathon, Orange Bird Nest, Disney pony name

This week we’re going around in circles at Epcot with Theme Park Rangers Radar, but we’ll bounce back with an Orange Bird-based treat. Then there’s a little catching up to do with horses, Halloween and annual passes.

Radar is a weekly collection of clues and curiosities from Orlando’s theme parks and attractions. It appears on OrlandoSentinel.com on Wednesdays.

Living with the landlubber

Steven Amos has found a new endurance test / fundraiser. He’s going to spend all day – his birthday, no less – on Epcot’s Living With the Land ride.

The money-raising comes from folks who make pledges, and the higher the level goes, the more stunt-like acts he must complete.

For each $100 raised, he will do one Land loop on Aug. 6. At the $5,000 level, he will drink 10 cups of Beverly, the notorious Coca-Cola product, at Epcot’s Club Cool.

The proceeds go to Give Kids the World Village, the nonprofit resort in Kissimmee, which hosts critically ill children and their families for free weeklong vacation. Amos is vice president of advancement for the village.

Discomfort level helps drive interest.

“I think a lot of people forget about in that attraction is that almost the first 10 minutes of it is not the greenhouse scene, You are going through a show scene that is a little slow. And you’re desiring to see the greenhouse scene,” Amos said.

“So for me, that is the challenge of endurance for sitting through education over and over again,” he said. “Those plastic seats are not forgiving for a 12-hour comfort level.”

In previous years, he has spent the day on Journey Into Imagination at Epcot, and “it’s a small world” and Pirates of the Caribbean at Magic Kingdom. Last year he took in more than $12,000 whilst aboard Pirates.

If he tops last year’s figure this year, he pledges to eat a turkey leg then ride Mission: Space on the orange side, the more spinny, stomach-churning option.

“Every year that I’ve gone on the attraction, the ride has broken down at some point in the day. So then I tried to find the next worst thing to do,” Amos said. “So, you know, for when I was at Magic Kingdom, I’d go do Carousel of Progress, while Pirates and ‘small world’ was down.”

Two wish trips are fulfilled at Give Kids the World Village whenever he raises $12,000, Amos said.

“I always remind people I do it in good jest, you know, friends and enemies alike, you can come rally around my birthday fundraiser,” he said. “But in the end, over the course of about three years we’ve fulfilled six wishes.”

An advantage with choosing Living With the Land is that the queue should not be as long as other rides. Amos doesn’t use Lightning Lanes or the Genie planning service on endurance days.

“A couple of ways that I definitely cope throughout the process is inviting people to come join in the challenge with me. That helps break up the repetitiveness of the day,” he said. “Often it’s people who have an audience that they can help share out what I’m doing.”

For contributions and more details, go to gktw.org/birthdayride.

The nest best thing

Full confession: I am not a Dole Whipper. Pineapple is not my thing.

At Magic Kingdom, I can get into a citrus swirl, a sort of orange sherbet variation. So when I saw an Orange Bird Nest dish offered at Disney Springs’ Swirls on the Water, a counter-serve snack stop, I ventured over.

What it is: a heap of Dole Whip Orange about the size of your fist, flanked by whipped cream, topped with green sprinkles in a waffle bowl. It’s shown with a chocolate medallion featuring Orange Bird in flight.

The treat kept its shape well in the heat, even as the nearby Rainforest Cafe volcano blared. But I ate in a hurry, which is a mistake and can lead to headache and hitting the tart wall, which slows an eater down.

The whipped cream and, surprisingly, the sprinkles helped the balance of the whole thing. A better idea is to crush up the waffle bowl and mix parts into the Whip. My Nest was served to me inside another bowl, so that could have been done without getting too messy. Still, the fun look of it would go away fast.

I’m not one to be angry that I didn’t get a chocolate coin with my order. Let’s just say disappointed.

Orange Bird Nest sells for $6.49. It’s available through Aug. 13.

Two-sentence tidbits

• Walt Disney World has given a name to the Shetland pony recently born at Tri-Circle-D Ranch. She will be called Pixie.

• There are signs of construction for scare zones at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights. The event starts at Universal Studios Florida theme park Sept. 1.

• Universal’s Passholder Appreciation Days go from Aug. 15 through Sept. 30. All reservations for the after-hours party at Islands of Adventure on Aug. 26 have already been claimed.

Weekend outlook

• It’s the first weekend of Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. Eat to the Beat performers include Orianthi on Friday and Saturday, then For King + Country on Sunday and Monday.

• SeaWorld’s Summer Spectacular continues with concerts by Maddie & Tae on Saturday and Jesse McCartney on Sunday. The park is kicking off its Craft Beer Festival, a sort of event within an event, which will be held on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Sept. 3 plus Labor Day. SeaWorld’s limited-time Ultimate Shark Experience, an extra-ticket offering, wraps up Friday.

• Icon Park is hosting the Great American Cookout event on Sunday afternoon. The ticket includes food items from 11 International Drive restaurants, wine and beer flights and a round on the 400-foot-wheel.

• WonderWorks Orlando is offering Florida residents some discounted “all-access” tickets that are valid July 31-Aug. 9.

What’s on your radar? Email me at dbevil@orlandosentinel.com.