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Blasting Off at Disney’s Mission: Space

Story and Pictures by Renee Wright

My pulse races and my stomach rolls as I’m strapped into my spacecraft, ready to lift off for a journey to another planet. Despite the pre-flight pep talk from CapCom, I’m nervous. And I’m very glad I passed on that chili-dog for lunch.

It’s just a ride, I keep repeating. It’s just a ride. I’m at Epcot in the Disney World Resort. It’s just a ride.

Still, the Walt Disney Imagineers have done such an excellent job in designing the International Space Training Center at Epcot’s new Mission: SPACE that it feels very real. Our X-2 craft moves into launch position, pointed straight up to the sky, and the countdown begins. Liftoff presses me back into my seat as the G-force climbs. My crew lets loose with a few "Yee-Haws" as we rocket upward.

Suddenly, we are in orbit and, for a few moments, weightless. Then the next stage kicks in and we slingshot around the Moon on our way to a bumpy landing on Mars.

Housed in a stunning new building in Epcot’s Future World, Disney’s Mission: SPACE uses advanced centrifuge technology to create "a mixture of science and thrill," says Disney Imagineer Susan Bryan, co-producer of the attraction. "The sensations are what the astronauts actually experience, but it’s accessible to our guests." Former NASA astronauts, scientists and advisors helped design the ride and have signed off on the authenticity of the simulated flight.

Our X-2 Deep Space Shuttle is described as "bigger, better and lighter" than the current shuttle. The futuristic ship utilizes advanced propulsion technology based on a solid hydrogen engine, one of the systems under consideration by NASA for deep-space flight.

I can see the input of the astronaut corps in the design of our flight simulator. Each of the four positions in the flight modules has its own "window" (showing footage based on actual data from Mars-orbiting satellites) and a joystick so we can take "manual control" of our craft. Both are features the astronauts insisted be incorporated into their own spacecraft.

Each crew member is assigned a role – commander, pilot, navigator or engineer -- for the flight and has certain duties to perform. I’m navigator this trip. On cue, I press buttons sending us into moon orbit and firing thrusters for our descent to Mars.

Despite posted warnings to guests "prone to motion sickness or sensitive to tight spaces, loud noises, simulation or spinning," I felt no discomfort during our flight, and no sensation of spinning at all. In fact, the ride is smoother than that of many other rides at Disney, including Star Tours over at MGM and even Body Wars, next door in the Wonders of Life pavilion.

Those who choose to opt-out of the ride should certainly not miss the fun Advanced Training Lab, powered by HP, in the ride’s post-show. (Just contact a cast member and they will pass you through.) Attractions in the Lab include Space Race, a computer game that allows up to 60 people to compete in a race to Mars, Space Base, a crawl space for junior astronauts, Expedition: Mars, for computerized explorations of the Red Planet, and, our favorite, Postcards from Space. Here, a video you make on the spot is inserted into a space-themed message that you can e-mail to all your friends. I, personally, look great in a flying saucer.

Mission: SPACE resulted from collaboration between Disney Imagineers and HP inventors. This is not HP’s first Disney experience. Bill Hewlett sold his very first HP invention to Walt Disney to make a film called "Fantasia" quite a few years ago.

Disney and HP also designed a terrific website for Mission: SPACE where you can sign up for astronaut training, send postcards, and get all kinds of free downloads. Access it at www.disneymissionspace.com.

Lines are long at this new attraction, so be sure to use the FastPass system to get a flight time. Another strategy that cuts down on the wait is to go through the special "singles" line used to fill up the fourth seat when groups of three come through.

Mission: SPACE is a great ride, and as near as most of us will ever get to spaceflight. My only complaint – it doesn’t last long enough. Once was not enough. I want to go again!

Originally published in Square Dancing Today magazine.

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