Mission Space Interior Photo

[pheneix]

>>>Or a real mission within a real spaceship...<<<

High hopes, eh?

 

[All Aboard]

Here's my thoughts.

In 1999, Universal tossed the ball up overhead and served an absolute rocket right down the line in the form of Spider-man. It's an attraction that caught everyone's attention. It makes use of cutting edge technology and 3-D in a way that nobody else has used it. The attraction is quite unbelievable. From the first time Spidey jumps on the hood of your Scoop, to the unexpected fireball bursting through the wall, to the unbelievably real feeling rapid ascension to the top of the building, to the equally convincing plunge. And all of this is sense tingling is done with no high speed, and no big drops. It's Magic, yes with a capital M.

So, that ball (attraction) is hurtling down I-4, waiting 4 years for the Disney return. The level of expectation is huge. Universal has captured the world's attention, articles are being written about the loss of market share and there is so much focus on the health of the Disney Company (not just here, but in the general media.) So the stakes are very high. Disney needs to prove that it still holds the patent on Magic. It has chosen a thrill attraction as it's next headliner. Space is a topic within so much can be done. So many different wonderful directions to take an attraction.

So, when I first found out that it was to be a centrifuge, I was very disappointed. But, I had visions of perhaps some never-been-done-before kind of display that surrounds you with sights, gives you the feeling that you are right in the middle of something. But, then I see this. A pod with a little screen in front of it. The first thing I think of is the ride at Dave and Busters that you climb in and it flips and turns and you watch the action on the little screen in front of you. Not very convincing.

Sure hope this one delivers more. But, right now, I'm just not fired up about it. Sorry.

 

[Another Voice]

“Or a real mission within a real spaceship...”

Then why do all the signs read “International Training Center” and not “International Spaceport”?

 

[space42]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A "training mission" where I get to interact with "simulations."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Or a real mission within a real spaceship...

---------------------------------------------------------

Nope, its a training mission....

Steve from WDWMagic has confirmed what the rumor mill has been saying for quite a while. This attraction will be another 'reality' attraction ala 'Test Track'. You will be going to the 'International Space Traning Center' (look at the pictures on wdwmagic for a nice rendering of the queue area). After leaving the queue area, you will enter the room with the centrifuges. There is no need to hide the centrifuges since, duh, this is a 'training mission' and these are the 'simulators'. So when you enter the main ride room, you will see the entire ride system. So no matter how detailed the interior of the pods are, it doesn't really matter since we are told up front that it is all fake anyway.

What I dont understand is this... Why go through all of the trouble of making the building look so darn cool on the outside just to enter a training center??? It doesn't fit.

It's all about the story......


Please someone tell me that the information posted on WDWMagic is incorrect and we will indeed really be going into outer space on 'Mission Space' and not taking a trip to the 'International Space Training Center'

 

[pheneix]

No one ever claimed that Spiderman was going to be slow...

My initial reaction when I first heard of Spiderman was "HOLY F*%!"

For the record, my initial reaction of Mission Space's announcement was of similar caliber until I found out that everything that was promised was not going to be delivered.

 

[All Aboard]

Scoop, I honestly wonder if Spider-man was ever offered up that way. It was hyped as the "next generation" attraction from the time news began to come out about the new park. It had people talking in superlatives and expecting such long before it opened.

I understand the point of your question. But, I'm having a real tough time visualizing a "killer" attraction based on all of the info we have right now on Mission:Space.

To tell you the truth, the size of that screen was the buzz kill on the last nugget of hope I had.

At this point, it's just wait and see, I know. But, my hopes seem to fade at every new piece of info that comes out of this thing.

 

[raidermatt]

First, if whoever took the pic is reading this, kudos for getting it! (Assuming it wasn't purposely leaked)

Now, bottom line, after seeing the picture, do I feel better or worse about M:S? Worse.

No, I am not writing off the whole attraction, or saying that I won't try it for myself.

But I was hoping/expecting for more in the way of a 'view'. Maybe a window the size of that screen really is all that the real astronauts get to see, but if that's the case, realism should have taken a hit in exchange for more 'show'. At the very least I was hoping to be able to look around more once the ship got into space and the g's subsided, but it appears that just ain't going to happen.

Honestly, it really does look like an expensive video game.

Another thing that came to mind was it looks like anyone with claustrophobia better take a big pass on this. There appears to be a decent amount of "breathing room" in the picture, but it also notes the controls come closer during the ride, meaning less space.

Couple this with the motion issues, and I can see the challenges...

I almost find myself wanting to apologize for being disappointed. I so much want for this to be a wonderous experience in the grandest Disney tradition, but I just don't see how this can truly accomplish that. I'm sure the sound effects will be great, and the g's powerful, but is that all we wanted?

I truly hope to be proven wrong, but honestly, SO FAR, this is falling short of my already lowered expectations.

For those who see this and say "Wow!", I really would like to know what exactly you see in this that elicits that reaction. I really want to feel the same way. Convince me. Tell me what you are expecting out of this attraction (specifically the ride portion), and what you see that fulfils that expectation.

 

[All Aboard]

Another thought. Even if that IS the size of the view that astronauts have NOW, maybe they'll have great big picture windows on future spacecraft. It is, afterall, Future World.

 

[pheneix]

Although slightly off-topic, let me paraphrase a little update straight from my inbox:

I can 100% deny that any guests are being allowed on Mission Space (in regards to the WDWMagic report that certain guests were being allowed on the ride), based on the simple fact that this ride has not been turned over to Epcot for operation yet, and won't be turned over for quite some time.

I don't know who started this stuff about guests being allowed on the ride, but it is a load of bull.

 

[All Aboard]

pheneix, I re-read Steve's update and it says that Imagineering, not Epcot Operations, is getting guests for tests. I have no idea whether it is true or not, but Steve's got a very good track record and is very cautious to label things as rumors.

 

[raidermatt]

Scoop, I get what you mean. I just wonder how many people REALLY want to simulate a real astronaut's feeling, vs. how many would want more "fantasy" thrown in for story/show purposes.

In other words, just because that window is all our brave astronauts see, does that really mean that makes for the best theme park attraction?

Admittedly, the pre and/or post shows could address some of this, so I know I am jumping the gun a bit...

 

[space42]

What if its not a window...

If what we are hearing is true.. then the screen is not a window... but a computer monitor... after all its just a training simulation.

Again, this makes no sense and it does not agree with Scoops description. Either does the name of the ride or the teaser posters hanging in inoventions for that matter.(they show a 'space shuttle' rocketing through an asteriod field with the caption "We chose to go") None of this makes any sense if its just a training simulator.

 

[All Aboard]

Space, you make a great point. After a little more reading, reports say that each of the 4 people in the pod has a "task" to fulfill and what you see on the screen aparently assists you through it. That does sound like a video game. I don't know what to believe.

What about the "visuals carefully coordinated to the movement." Seems like there will not be much in the way of visuals. With a screen that small, your periferal vision will catch all the stationary elements in the pod. How can the screen possibly assist in the sensory experience?

 

[curtisl]

There are some conflicting views on what the ride story is. Is it in the future in space or is it now on earth?

If the pre-show area has windows with starfields flying by, then that would be cool. However, if we are already in space, then why are we training to go into space? Likewise, I've read that the ride will simulate the g-forces you feel at liftoff. If you are in space, there is no liftoff! There would only be liftoff and landing if you leave and return to earth or some other planet. Then again, if you are on another planet, why are you being trained to go into space? That would mean the far future. That cockpit don't look like the far future to me.

I miss the past when Disney would make a big deal of its new rides and publicly release concept drawings and the story behind the ride. Why don't they do that anymore? Do they have no confidence in themselves now?

 

[pheneix]

>>>I re-read Steve's update and it says that Imagineering, not Epcot Operations, is getting guests for tests.<<<

I highly doubt that Imagineering is doing that, considering that their own people are still feeling the effects from the ride.

I know I said earlier that I thought they could have been allowing guests in, but looking back I really wish I did not say that, and after the total denial that was e-mailed to me I really don't think that this is the case.

 

[grinningghost]

I think alot of you are bashing on an attraction that you haven't even experienced yet. In the days before internet, we pretty much had to wait to go on a new ride before we knew much about it. I think with all the info leaking out beforehand, people are jumping the gun. I can't wait to try it out. There simply is no way to judge a new ride by looking at pictures. Until one of us rides it and reports back, maybe we should think positively.

 

[raidermatt]

I think alot of you are bashing on an attraction that you haven't even experienced yet. In the days before internet, we pretty much had to wait to go on a new ride before we knew much about it.

I don't know, I've got a DVD of a Wonderful World of Disney show that previewed Pirates of the Carribean and the Haunted Mansion.

Until one of us rides it and reports back, maybe we should think positively.

Definitely some truth in this. Still, we see what we see and there is no harm in commenting on it.

 

[kenman]

This might be the first time the store is better then the ride itself!

 

[Another Voice]

On June 6, 1990 the Voyager 1 spacecraft aimed its camera back at Earth as it left our Solar System. From almost four billion miles away, this is what it saw.

“We succeeded in taking that picture [from deep space], and, if you look at it, you see a dot.

That's here. That's home. That's us.

On it, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever lived, lived out their lives. The aggregate of all our joys and sufferings, thousands of confident religions, ideologies and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilizations, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every hopeful child, every mother and father, every inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history of our species, lived there on a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.”

-- Carl Sagan


The “magic” of space is not to experience the physical sensations that the astronauts do. Ask them, the thrill of lift-off and the amusements of micro-gravity are nothing compared to simply seeing the Earth glide underneath. Space has been the focus of human imagination since our distant ancestors looked up from a tree into the deep dark sky. Space offers us everything that humans treasure and everything that they fear. Space offers us wonders beyond comprehension, and an understanding of our true nature.

We do not “bash” ‘Mission: Space’ because it’s a bad ride, but because it seems so inadequate to the subject matter. Spinning about playing a video game may offer a momentary thrill – but there is so much more that could have been done.

The thrill of space is not being squished by simulated g-forces: it’s looking back at the pale blue dot…and seeing what lies beyond it.

 

[ChrisFL]

Hi guys, just dropping by for a few words, I'm normally on the Universal board.

First, are we sure that this is the official ride? Could it be part of the post-show discussed on other sections of that post?

Even if it is the actual attraction, has anyone seen what people in the space shuttle see? Small windows with space outside. So, that's more realistic than people may want, but I think it may be better than we think, if that's just a screen and there's a large screen outside of it.

I'm not sure how to describe this. Picture the large format areas of Horizons, but instead we're looking through "windows" instead, not PC monitors/TV screens. Then it might be better, and more realistic.

In retrospect, having a movie screen with cars that move up and down doesn't seem to high tech, but they became great attractions for a lot of people.

There could also be the opportunity on M:S to have a lot of separate missions, so the attraction could be different over several rides.

Hopefully someone will be able to do a preview ride and give us the scoop in the next few months.