Epcot's Mission SPACE

Mission SPACE is one of Walt Disney World's newest thrill rides located at EPCOT in Orlando, Florida. As usual, I'll try to review this ride walking the line between helping you know what to expect without trying to give away crucial surprises or plot details. Although, I will share the premise of the ride, of course.

EPCOT is a wonderful park, but Mission SPACE has added to its appeal for those who thought that it was sorely in need of more thrill rides. It's easy to find in the park, located in Future World, fits in well with the theming and is easily one of Disney's most unique rides. Not only is it unique to Disney World, but you'd be hard-pressed to find another ride like it at any other theme park. According to About.com, it took 650 Imagineers to create the technologically complicated ride and between them all, over 350,000 hours of work-time was logged. So you can know going into the ride that this won't be an ordinary simulator experience.

Let's talk line. This line is excruciatingly long if you don't use a Fastpass. I think the reason for the unexpected length is due to the fact that most of the line is located inside of a building and only a small portion of the ride is located outdoors. So it may look short at first glance, and that's exactly what we thought. But we soon learned that the line stretched on and on, and I'd be willing to bet so did a lot of the other people who casually jumped in line thinking it looked quick. So absolutely use the Fastpass for this ride, just to be safe.

Also, this line presents you with two options. You can choose to stand in the line for the Orange Team if you want what Disney calls, "an intense journey" or the Green team for what they refer to as, "a milder mission". So what's the difference? Well, this advanced ride simulator is designed to allow you to experience something called G-Forces. This is essentially the power of gravity and it's what gives you those little flutters in your stomach when you're dropping down a hill on a roller coaster. There have been tweaks made in the engineering of the ride to take the G-forces down in intensity for those who choose the Green Team experience. This makes the ride accessible for younger kids or even people who may battle motion sickness.

Only this is more like what astronauts are really exposed to when they're being trained for space travel, in particular during lift-off and re-entry. It's not just an ordinary ride simulator, its centrifuge-like technology complete with added controls that change the pitch and roll of each ride vehicle. So anyone who feels squeamish about this idea or tends to react highly to roller coasters will definitely want to choose the milder line, a la the Green Team. But the G-force is actually less than that of a hard-core roller coaster; it's just that in concert with the visuals inside the ride, your brain will feel like it's actually in a real space shuttle.

I chose the Orange Team and it was absolutely incredible, it ended up being well worth the two hour wait and then some. After you wait in line, you climb into a very small space that makes up your ride vehicle. So be prepared, if you're seriously claustrophobic, you should definitely skip this ride. I am not, so I was intrigued by such a small space.

There is only room for four in each compartment. There is the commander, pilot, navigator, and engineer and you will be asked to perform a small task at a specific time based on which seat you occupy. From there you go on an entire journey to Mars, and that's where I'll stop giving details away. The presence of Gary Sinise as a narrator adds to the credibility of the feel of the ride. The only celebrity I could've imagined being more fun in the role would've been Sigourney Weaver, but Sinise is a great fit.

I would highly recommend this ride to anybody; just remember to grab that Fastpass. Be prepared for a small space in your ride vehicle, but also be prepared for some amazing thrills and highly believable illusions. This ride was, if you'll forgive the pun, an absolute blast! It offers extra thrills for sci-fi geeks, like myself, and will be great fun for any young aspiring astronauts and scientists. This is a must-ride!