Mission Space

[mapny]

Hi all,

I just wanted to put in my "two cents" about riding Mission Space. We just returned from a visit to WDW during President's week. I read a lot on the boards that made me wonder if this ride was for me. When we got to the ride itself, the warnings were quite daunting. Yet, we had spoken to a CM who said that if was a really fun ride, as long as you could handle spinning rides, and that the best thing to do was not close your eyes and just look straight at the screen. DS rode once before I did and was anxious to go back, so I decided to go on (I really did want to!!). The warnings were all over and made me very nervous, but I remembered what the CM said and had even taken Dramamine as a precaution. We ended up in a capsule with a woman who had obviously been on the ride a number of times and she reiterated that the trick to not getting motion sickness was to keep your eyes open and look straight ahead.

Bottom line: I followed her and the CM's advice and had a FABULOUS ride. It was really fun, including the "jobs" that each of us had to do. In fact, I didn't get the sensation of spinning at all. Unfortunately, we didn't have a chance to go on again, but this is one of my new favorite rides at WDW!!!

Anyone wondering about going on the ride: take some Dramamine (at least an hour before), keep your eyes open and look straight ahead at all times. (Actually I'm not sure I even needed the Dramamine, but some meds that I am takiing cause me to experience dizziness anyway, so I thought it couldn't hurt.)

 

[FatCow]

one fun thing to do is to loosen your jaw and open yhour mouth a bit. You'll feel that your mouth is wobbling and your cheeks vibrating.

It's fun!

(well, I gotta do something more entertaining after the 2nd time we're on M:S... my 5 yo daughter just loves this ride too much)

 

[DVC-Don]

Glad you did it. This is my now favorite ride at WDW now. Although one ride I was with 2 rookie women, but they seemed open to it, so I handed out the barf bags to them. Told them to 'follow my lead". Started flipping switches and pushing buttons, then they joined in and had a blast.

 

[Fargoman2]

Myslef and my two daughters tested the ride out first before my wife did. My wife has back problems and gets dizzy very easily. We figured the ride would be just fine for her because(your right) you can't tell that you are spinning. She ended up going on and was about ready to pass out by the time the ride was over. On top of that she was sick for the rest of the day! What a way to waste a day!

The ride is great but just be careful when deciding if you should ride or not!

 

[bunnymkc]

our group of 15 had gone down in Nov 03 and I was too chicken to ride with them..this time I went on in Feb and went on my myself even though I was scared beyond belief..all I can tell you guys thats its a piece of cake..did not know I was spinning at all and it just felt great like I was really in space (like I would know how that feels lol)..I like it much better than TT as I felt more secure in that I had the harness on and I held the joy stick the whole time..really it is nothing of what I had expected and want to go on it as much as possibile..can't wait to go on with my grandson in Dec..try it and just keep an open mind..Marianne

 

[FatCow]

Of course Mission: Space is better than TT!

Even right after the non-ABS 'skid' test she said that my driving is more exciting than that. Her mum also said that I drive faster than TT's test-drive (67.8 mph? that's childplay ).

Although we like TT nevertheless (we rode it twice), it's really not worth waiting more than 10 minutes but M:S, OTOH, is worth waiting 40 minutes.

 

[nhdisnut]

I'm glad to hear that so many people have had great experiences with MS - we have been debating whether or not to try it when we go to Epcot in April - it seems more and more that it is certainly something we will try!

 

[Ms. WDW]

I tried it last August right before the official opening.

I did just what the CM said; kept my eyes opened and looked straight ahead. But unfortunately, I got a little sick at my stomach. Maybe next time I'll try Dramamine also. I really want to go back on it with DS, but the feeling it left me with wasn't fun at all.

 

[wtg2000]

My feelings on M:S are ambiguous. Overall, I enjoyed the experience, but it left me a little flat (and I'm not talking about the G-forces on my face).

Firstly, the whole pre-show "you're a test pilot" bit was a bit too much like Test Track or Body Wars. Is the future going to be this clinical? At least Gary Sinise did an excellent job, but it didn't make me feel like I was really in a space training centre or anything like that.

We have the ride explained to us, like Star Tours, and of course everything goes wrong. We emerge from hyper-sleep (ie hyper-space) into an asteroid (ie comet) storm. Then we bank down some canyons before the typical hit-the-brakes finish.

The sensations provided by the simulator were pretty neat. I'm not sure they were exhilirating, but more just strange. The landing on Mars part was the most interesting sensation.

I enjoyed the interactiveness, the fact that if you didn't do your job the computer had to override you.

My main problem was with the video quality. I really noticed a screen door effect or dot crawl - something like that. I was always aware that I was looking at a video screen. This is the problem with simulators.

This can be overcome by in cabin effects like the ones used in Stormrider where the video plays second to the chaos that explodes in the cabin.

Also, at the end I wish we had actually been on a recreation of Mars rather than in a game room.

I enjoyed the ride, but it left me wanting. It felt clinical and by-the-book. Like Test Track, the technology is impressive but the ride lack whimsy. Is every simulator-type ride going to be a test that goes awry (Star Tours, Test Track, Body Wars, M:S)? And does the future have to be so off-white and sterile?

 

[Aimeedyan]

I loved this ride when I got to ride last July. I just looked forward, and didn't realize I was spinning or anything.

I think they go a bit overboard on cautioning people, BUT, I'm sure they do that for their security sake. It just scares some people out of riding unnecessarily.

Im the biggest chicken in the world, and this was a ride I could easily handle. I cant wait to ride again!

 

[FatCow]

Originally posted by wtg2000

My main problem was with the video quality. I really noticed a screen door effect or dot crawl - something like that. I was always aware that I was looking at a video screen. This is the problem with simulators.

The screen-door effect is due to the drawback of LCD technology. For something that harsh, they can't utilize CRT technology due to the inherent weight and convergence problem even after the first run.

Of course, they can avoid this with using higher resolution LCD panel, but then the manufacturing price will quadruple and the risk of failure will more than quadruple.