Tour de Hurricane Force: RenRe's storm attraction at Disney World lets visitors ride out a Category 3 tropical cyclone.

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Thunder rolls. Rain hits the windows hard. Hurricane-force winds howl and tear at the roof. Then, whoosh--your neighbor's roof is flying pastas you watch helplessly. Are you going to make it through the storm?

You'll live. You're at Epcot's "StormStruck: A Tale of Two Homes" at Walt Disney World in Buena Vista, Fla. The "edutainment" exhibit teaches safer ways to build homes in the face of natural catastrophes. A project of worldwide reinsurance and insurance intermediary RenaissanceRe and FLASH, the Federal Alliance for Sale Homos Inc., the family friendly venue is co-sponsored by State Farm and Simpson Strong-tie, a manufacturer of home construction products.

WeatherPredict Consulting Inc., RenRe's U.S. affiliate focused on modeling atmospheric risks, loaned Disney its meteorologists, oceanographers and wind engineers to make sure that things flying past were going in the proper direction, said President Craig Tillman.

"We played a fairly significant role in trying to make sure the science and engineering aspects of the experience were realistic," Tillman said. "We didn't want it to just become a fanciful ride. We wanted it to have a lot of basis in reality."

The audience experiences a storm as if they were sitting in their living room, watching the neighborhood get torn apart.

StormStruck was the brainchild of FLASH President and CEO Leslie Chapman-Henderson, who spent more than seven years on it, Tillman said. RenRe spent numerous hours over the past 18 months meeting with Disney's "imagineers."

"It was very interesting for some of our scientists to interact with them," he said. "They were able to take a lot of our technology information about how to mitigate homes, and how to make them more resilient, and they were able to interpret that."

Guests walk through three phases of StormStruck. In the pre-show, guests view a Weather Channel report of an approaching storm, generated via RenRe's own "Wall of Wind," which can create winds up to 125 mph--comparable to a Category 3 hurricane. Phase II demonstrates in 4-D (that's 3-D, plus tactile experiences) what it's like to go through a severe storm. Then there's a massive boom--and the lights go out. You're now in the eye of this virtual storm.

A Disney "stormologist" helps the audience vote on better ways to reconstruct their virtual house: whether to use a gabled roof or a hipped roof, or which type of roofing material would be best.

Phase III starts with the restructured house--and the second half of the storm. Post-show, interactive displays show how to tie down a roof using metal ties or deal with other natural hazards, such as hail or flood.

StormStruck launched last August and has garnered more interest than expected; Disney had to reconfigure the site to accommodate long lines, Tillman said.

"I think that what we need to always remember is that part of our role is to make people safe. That truly is what the insurance industry is about," he said.

"We're teaching people how to help themselves, reduce claims and reduce severity, and that allows people to go back and live in their houses two days later. Overall, it's a win-win."

RIDERS OF THE STORM: Consumers are lining up in droves to experience the fury of a major storm in the safety of Disney World's Epcot theme park. "StormStruck: A Tale of Two Homes" is an insurance-sponsored exhibit that gives homeowners an in-your-face lesson on how to prepare homes to weather any natural disaster and mitigate losses. The kicker? It's family friendly and fun.