Opened: August 13, 2003.

Location: The far side of Future World East with Ellen’s Energy Adventure on the left and Test Track on the right.

Extra Magic Hours: Morning, Evening.

Ride Length: 5 minutes.

Type: Motion simulator.

Similar To: A unique, intense experience.

Requirements: Must be 44” tall to ride.

Mission Space has more warnings than any other ride at Disney World and is the only ride where you will be handed a card with all of the various warnings on it.

The above is the ride vehicle where you’ll spend about seven minutes.

Scary Factor: The ride itself is not particularly scary. There are some iffy moments, but such is life with space travel to Mars. You are never in any real danger inside the capsule. However, the stories about people getting sick have caused a lot of potential riders to be apprehensive about riding for the first time. For many first time riders, the bark is much louder than the bite, meaning it isn’t as “bad” as most people are expecting. Skip if any motion simulators like Star Tours are upsetting or if small enclosed spaces are upsetting.

What to Expect: Mission: SPACE is a space flight simulator, where riders board small four person capsules that are intended to mimic the inside of a space shuttle. There are two versions of this ride – The “Orange Team” features a spinning takeoff with G-Forces up to 2.5. The “Green Team” is identical to the Orange. Team ride in every way except there is no spinning takeoff, and thus, no G-Forces to worry about. After the initial takeoff, the rest of the ride is rather tame with only slight movements by the simulator while you watch a small screen in front of you. On the Orange Team, the intense aspects last for about 15 seconds at takeoff and again for a short amount of time when the spacecraft travels through an asteroid field. Each person in your capsule will have a “job” to do during the ride, but this equates to little more than pressing a button. The mission is unaffected, whether each member presses the button or not.

Where to Sit: It doesn’t matter. The sensation is the same from any of the four seats and the view on screen is exactly the same. If someone in your party is more likely to get sick, sit them on the end of the row.

Is It Really That Bad? This is a difficult question to answer because no two people experience the ride in the same way. I will say that the Orange Team version is probably the most intense attraction at Disney World. The claustrophobia inducing capsule coupled with a substantial G-Force is enough to make most people at least a little uneasy. Nonetheless, the great majority of riders enjoy it or at least aren’t negatively affected by it. Unless you have severe motion sickness or claustrophobia, try riding the Orange version unless it will cause too much anxiety.  You may also want to “test the ride out” by riding the Green Team first and then ride the Orange Team after. Most people who ride the Green Team version get off the ride saying, “That was it?” Other than the takeoff, the ride doesn’t really feature any thrills or excitement.

The Trick: To avoid motion sickness, it is imperative that you keep your eyes on the screen.

Don’t look away, close them, or try to console someone else in your capsule by looking at them. Looking away will make the sensation intolerable for almost anyone because the brain can’t process the different sensations. If you keep your eyes glued to the screen, you should be just fine. Like most people, I was apprehensive about riding the Orange Team, even though I haven’t had motion sickness problems on other attractions. I finally worked up the nerve to ride and didn’t have any problems. It was actually more fun than I was expecting.

FastPass+: High Tier 2 priority along with Spaceship Earth.

What You Miss Using FastPass+:

You’ll likely have less time to look around the queue, which isn’t the end of the world.

To be backed up this far anyway, you’d be looking at about a 25-minute total wait, which is too long. If looking around the extended queue room is important, you should be able to let people walk past you as you take a minute to take everything in.

Those using FP+ will see the majority of the queue and take in the entire pre-show.

Total Average Experience Time with FastPass+: 25 minutes. While the ride is only about five minutes long, there’s walking the lengthy queue, the pre-show, the wait after the pre-show, and the long walk back to the entrance through the gift shop.

4th FastPass+ Availability:

Expect to Wait:

Green Team:

Orange Team:

When To Go: Before 10:30am, after 8pm, or with FastPass+.

Rating: 6/10

Commentary: Mission Space, with a price tag of around 100 million dollars, is one of the newest and most expensive Disney attractions, even if it’s over ten years old. Its popularity has waned a bit with the arrival of Soarin’, coupled with a healthy hourly capacity. All in all, the beginning of the Orange Team version is thrilling, but the rest of the ride isn’t as enthralling as it should be.