Mission Space - Please Help!!

[DNBois]

DH and I, along with my in-laws are going to Disney in a couple of months and we want to try this ride out. Can anyone tell me exactly what it does that makes the rider feel as if they are weightless? My husband believes that the ride spins around at a very excessive rate of speed and that is most probable but want to hear from some experts. . .anyone???

 

[Gluman11]

Went on it last week,

Can't be certain about the weightlessness, but my intuition tells me that they 'tip' the seats forward just enough so that you feel like you may fall out of it and that's were you get the weightlessness from..............

The excessive spinning makes you feel like you are stuck to your seat, not weightless.....................

<----- My wife after riding mission space..........(she'd kill me if she saw me write this.........

 

[DizBelle]

I've got to tell you that I've been a little disappointed with the descriptions of Mission:Space that I've read so far. Maybe it is just "indescribable." But, after I return from my trip that will begin in 2 short days ( ), I plan on writing as good of a description as I can that everyone can follow to determine if this ride is for them.

But..... from what I can gather, the main motion of the ride is from a centrifuge. Imagine a carousel. It goes round and round. You are sitting in a seat on the edge facing the center with your back facing out. If the carousel spins really, really fast, your weight is forced outward from the center but the seat keeps you from flying off the carousel. You feel the force on your back as your body pushes agains the seat. This is how it simulates the thrust of a launch.

Does anyone who has ridden this agree with this description?

 

[DizBelle]

See http://www.therideworks.com/gallery2.htm for an early rumored concept art of the centrifuge system. It probably looks something like this now.

 

[drusba]

Did it once. Before you get on they constantly broadcast that if you cannot take high spinning or enclosed spaces you should avoid the ride. You sit in a small tube like compartment that is then completely closed off so you are in the dark except for the TV screen and some other light effects inside. 4 of you are in the compartment. Each of you has a TV screen in front of you. You have a safety harness over you in your seat. You then lift-off. You feel yourself going backwards into a lay-down position and you look at the screen and watch as if you are in a rocket on the spacepad looking up into the sky. You start taking off seemingly slowly and as it gets faster you actually get the sensation of g-forces on your face and gut (and it can actually be painful -- a sting). What you do not realize is what is really going on to accomplish that sensation -- that tube you are in (along with several other tubes holding other guests) is going around in a circle at an extremely high speed; you don't realize it because you are staring at a screen in a dark enclosed space. Once into space, the spinning subsides somewhat so you lose that g-force sense but your stomach may still feel queasy (because you are still actually spinning and do not know it). You then flash off to Mars, avoid a metor shower before getting there, but that g-force sensation gets you again as you head into Mars for landing (and of course just miss several mountains and other crashes). I am not a fan of high spin rides although usually I recover quickly afterwards. After this one, my face ached and I felt disoriented for over an hour. It was my first and likely last trip to Mars via Mission Space.

 

[katerkat]

DH said the feeling of weightlessness is caused by spinning (centerfuge) then stopping it or reversing direction fairly suddenly. That being said, I definitely felt the heaviness caused by the original spinning, but didn't feel weightless at any point. DH did for a brief moment. (DH flies planes and has plenty of experience with G-forces!)

 

[wilderness01]

I also felt after the ride. Good thing I had eaten hours before! Our kids loved it!

 

[TeresaNJ]

Oh no drusba, your description now has me scared silly!!! I don't like dark or confined spaces, and I definitely don't like spinning. Never, ever do teacups! DH and I are going in two weeks, and he is insisting I do Mission Space. We were at Disney in October, and I managed to weasel out of it that time, I kept telling him I'd rather wait until we go with the kids and rest of the family in July, but now we're going for a quickie trip Feb 20-25, and he's adamant that he's going on this ride with me. He really never asks anything of me, so I truly wanted to do this ride so he would finally stop bugging me about it. Now I don't know what to do. I read on another thread that it only lasts 45 seconds. Is that from the second you are seated in the tube until the end, or are you sitting, strapped down in the dark for awhile before it starts? We were planning on doing this early in the AM our first full day, which will be Saturday the 21st. Am I going to regret this and have the rest of the day be ruined? I don't mind if I'm a little woozy for a few minutes, I'm just worried the feeling's going to last for hours. lfontaine, please post your description ASAP, as soon as you get back.

 

[daannzzz]

My understanding is the ride lasts about 4 minutes! Good luck.

 

[drusba]

From TeresaNJ: "I don't like dark or confined spaces, and I definitely don't like spinning."

The warning repeated over and over again as you approach the ride is that if you have problems with dark and confined spaces and high spinning you should not ride. They do not even fudge it by saying you should "consider" not riding. I have ridden teacups and don't really care for it either. Going upside down in Rock N Rollercoaster is also one of my least favorite activities. Nevertheless I survive those easily. Most often, I say about any ride like those that you should not be too worried, many make it sound worse than it is, and you will likely do just fine. I will not say that about Mission Space. This ride is the extreme. If you get queasy on spin rides and confined and dark spaces are a concern, then I highly, very highly recommend that you get yourself another husband if he won't give in to your pleas. I am not sure how long it actually lasts but total time inside the tube is much longer than 45 seconds -- the four minutes sounds more accurate.

 

[katerkat]

Originally posted by TeresaNJ
Oh no drusba, your description now has me scared silly!!! I don't like dark or confined spaces, and I definitely don't like spinning.

I ride all thrill rides, but... I could not tell that we were spinning - it's all done so you feel the g-forces but don't feel any "spinning" sensation (that I could feel). And I can always tell when the teacups are spinning. I've been told that ifyou close your eyes, you can feel the spinning more. As for dark and confined... It is a little bit of both. I get claustophobic, and it was definitely a little scary when they closed the capsule! It's not too bad - I could see DH and the screen lights up things. I was more claustrophobic the second time we rode, when the capsule was full (four people).

 

[HollyJoy]

I have heard so much about this ride, but am now unsure if I should ride it or not. I can handle fast rides and such, but have never been able to handle rides that spin around in a circle very fast... I get very nauseous. So, should I stay away from Mission Space?

 

[ORD2KOA]

We rode Mission Space in January, and have a couple of observations. I only went once, but I would definitely go again.

Yes, it is a centrifuge. So, if you have a head cold, like I did, you should expect to feel weird. I felt "off" for several hours after the ride, but I'm sure it was because I was stuffy.

Then there's the sort of self-fulfilling prophecy with this ride. About 9,000 times before you get to the capsule thing, you're told that you "could" get sick.

So, the kid (she was maybe 7) sitting next to me in the ride spent the entire ride telling her father she "felt sick." I don't know if kids know the difference between feeling "sick" and feeling "weird" LOL. (I also didn't appreciate him switching places with her so that she sat next to me. What if she HAD become sick? UGH. ) It would have been better if she hadn't said "I feel sick" every 10 seconds during the ride. I think she was convincing me that "I" was getting sick.

The sensation is very cool. Disney won't say what the "G" force is, but I read that it is about 2Gs. (Regular gravity is 1G.)

When you ride, pay attention to how "hard" (not hard, but different) it is to move you hand to the controls that you are to push. That's REALLY cool.

I liked it, but couldn't believe how boring the area to queue is. Dull, dull, dull. They need to show some space film in there or something.

 

[MrsJ Henry]

I have problems with rides with some of these elements also and it just would not be worth it to me to risk it and have it ruin the rest of my day at WDW. I rode a ride at our state fair that could be considered kind of similar and I was sick for the rest of the day. I would NEVER want that to happen at WDW!!!!!!

 

[Mr.BsMom]

I thought the ride was great! When they close the capsule, you feel a tiny bit confined, but then once it gets going you forget about it because you're too busy watching the screen. The first thing they do is tip you back so it feels like you're on your back - as you would be if you were an astronaut on the launch pad. I never felt the actual spinning start up at all... It just felt like we were taking off! I felt the G-forces pushing me back into my seat during the take-off, and when we hit "hyper-sleep" is when I felt a little bit "weightless". It was more like going over a hill pretty fast in a car or even a roller coaster going over a hill... You know, when it feels like your stomache goes up while the rest of your body goes down the hill? This didn't last more than a couple seconds though... then we started to attempt the landing on Mars. This is where it seemed to resemble (IMO) Star Tours... with the moving around and flying and such.

There a like a million and one warnings before you even get on the ride, so if you are at all concerned about it affecting you negatively, you have many chances to opt out. Personally, I could ride any ride you put in front of me because that's what I enjoy doing... but I realize that's not the case for everyone! My suggestion is, go with your gut instinct and if you don't think it's right for you... then don't do it! You are on vacation to have a good time - not to feel miserable!

 

[FreshTressa]

I loved it and didn't think it was any big deal, and I won't ride rock n roller coaster and flipped on TOT.

BUT, I am scared of heights, and am fine with spinning and enclosed spaces. I just kind of imagined I was on one of those rides like the gravitron or the egg beater one. That is what it felt like to me.

DH, who gets sick on teacups felt sick for a few hours afterwards though.

 

[Maddle]

I think the key is to follow the three instructions: Keep your head back, keep your eyes open, and look straight ahead at your own screen monitor.

The monitor gives you visual cues that trick your brain into thinking it is flying straight up into the air, instead of spinning around. If you look away, or shut your eyes, you are more aware of the centrifuge/spinning sensation.


Maddle

 

[chrisp]

I agree with Maddle

You do NOT feel the spinning if you keep your eyes open, head back and looking at the screen in front of you - you feel as if you're being pushed from behind. The "weightless" feeling comes from removing the acceleration of the spinning, not from stopping the spinning entirely.

It's a terrific ride if you follow the directions. I tried one time moving my head and closing my eyes to see what would happen, and sure enough, I was suddenly dizzy and felt the spinning.

Your body uses many cues to figure out what's happening to it, and you need to play along to make this work.

 

[Plutes]

Yes, I think Maddle hit the nail on the head. My DH HATES anything that spins - he absolutely refuses to go on Primeval Whirl ever again after his last, um, well 'unpleasant' experience there

That said, Mission Space is one of his favorite attractions. We must have done it five times on our trip last October. My parents were on the trip with us as well & my father is a big scaredy cat! Yet, this was the only attraction he asked to repeat on their last day!

HOWEVER, I'm the daredevil of the family - the bigger, higher, faster an attraction is, the better. And, personally, I found MS to be pretty 'blah.' It certainly didn't make me feel sick, but it wasn't exactly pleasant either. Basically, I just didn't think it was all that great. If I was at all unsure about it, I think I would just skip it. IMO, you really wouldn't be missing too much. (Although, I know many would disagree with me - two in my own family! lol)

 

[dgaston]

I almost think WDW has overdone it with the warnings for this attraction. While I love thrill rides, I can no longer do tilt-a-whirls and teacups. When we first did Mission Space in August I was pretty scared. I did fine, and can ride it twice in a row. I think 3 would make me feel icky. DH could probably ride it endlessly.

I encourage people to follow the warnings, head back, and eyes on monitor. Keep eyes open.

For those of you who are claustrophobic, the capsule really has a fair amount of room, and cool air blows on your face the entire ride.

I know I will never have a chance to really go into space, and I'm glad I have this simulator experience. I love the g-forces during lift-off.

I think people should try it at least once, and then maybe say "this one's not for me." It's worth experiencing at least once. I also find a quick spin on Test Track helps me get ready for a 3rd ride. LOL