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.
Rode this ride for the first time shortly after it opened and have enjoyed it since. Originally just rode the intense version as they didn’t offer the milder one. Occasionally I have felt the spinning. My mom, 71, won’t ride it since she has claustrophobia. Once my daughter was tall enough I took her on the Green side. She enjoyed it. The next year we did Green again and she thought it was tame. So we did Orange. She loved Orange and we’ll probably do Orange from now one. There have been a few times when the Orange side can get to me, just a little. But not always.
My father felt like he was going to have a heart attack the only time he rode the orange side.
I really enjoy this ride. We always do the Orange team. I tried the Green team once (the line was MUCH shorter), and I got more nauseous from the Green side than the Orange side. The Green side didn’t have the spinning, but it felt more bouncy. I guess it has something to do with the centrifugal forces on the Orange side keeping you more in your seat. I’m moderately claustrophobic, and I can handle the small capsules. I will say, though, that I can’t ride it twice in one day (or too soon after eating!).
The worst experience! I do not suffer with motion sickness or claustrophobia however, I could not breathe from the moment of takeoff & that symptom did not subside for the duration of the ride…it was a horrible & very scary feeling.
There were no emergency buttons to press to alarm staff so there was no choice other then to suffer until the ride came to an end.
I feel this is a very high risk ride that has the potential to compromise one’s life.
Just got back from Disney and rode Mission Space. I had a panic attack on this ride for the first time in my life. I screamed to let me out and banged on the walls, but no one heard me. I just covered my eyes and concentrated on my breathing until the ride was over. I’ll stick to roller coasters thank you.
Never again. This ride sucks !!!! It messed me up bad. I was messed up the rest of the day. That g force was so bad it made my eyes roll back n my head, and made me feel so weird. Ever since I rode that ride I’ve not been right since. I had an awful experience. It done something to me . Like messed my nerves in the brain up. Now I have a chemical imbalance . I have anxiety attacks for no reason n it was all because of this ride. I went to doctor after I got home from vacation. I will take care of this to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else. Plz don’t ride !!!
Hi Amanda,
Read your post about the experience you had on the Mission Space Ride. My husband also has health problems now as a result of this ride. We were there in 2005 and when he got off this ride he could not function all day! It messed him up and he has not been the same since. He suffers from Migraines, Vertigo, Dizziness, high blood pressure and takes Anxiety medicine!! He also has inner ear problems that cause balance issues. we have gone to doctors and they can’t seem to pinpoint the cause of it all but reading these posts online made us think differently! People should never die at Disney World as a result of rides!! They need to take this ride out for good! Thanks for sharing.