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 Review of Mission: Space (Green) @ EPCOT
0 Rating Posted by: Canobie Coaster on 1/11/2009 3:12:00 PM
Did you ever dream or imagine what it would be like to be an astronaut, soaring through the abyss that we know of as space and the sensations astronauts endure? Realistically almost none of us will be fortunate enough to experience the real thing, but I bet one would be hard-pressed to experience a better simulation of space travel than Epcot’s revolutionary and incredible Mission: SPACE. Just the unique ride experience Green provides makes this a fairly memorable experience and one of the best attractions at Epcot by far.

Astronauts begin their space travel by entering the very well themed, iconic Space Pavilion where Horizons once stood. Once inside the space themed queue, riders are bombared with safety warnings, especially of the orange side due to many unfortunate deaths and hospitalizations that it has caused since opening in ’03. But those safety warnings aside, Disney did a great job as usual theming the queue to a space training facility, highlighted by massive “gravity wheel.” Eventually astronauts are sent for mission briefing.

Personally, I really dislike the pre-show on this attraction since it just had a far more serious tone (which is expected due to the ride’s theme) than the more playful and comical tones of other Disney pre-shows. It’s especially annoying after seeing it 8 or so times after many re-rides. Eventually though riders board their 4 person capsule and are assigned one of four positions: navigator, pilot, commander, or engineer- each with a series of buttons that perform various actions related to their position (though in all actuality the on-board-self automated pilot will automatically initiate them if they are not pressed). One seated, the countdown begins: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…

Blast Off! Let me start off by saying that Green really can’t be compared with the far more intense Orange side since this side has intentionally had almost all Gs removed to allow for a less intense experience for the more casual riders. Therefore my enjoyment of this side was significantly less than Orange. Anyway, moving past the absence of forces, I absolutely that all of the simulated motions during the landing are flawlessly coordinated with the film and the computer generated imagery on the screens are excellent and certainly some of the best I’ve seen. Not only is the ride very fun, but it’s also pretty long (around 4 minutes or so).

Along with the omission of forces, there are two other flaws that hamper the ride. First and foremost, while the plot of a mission to Mars certainly is straightforward, I honestly believe that Disney could have thought up a better solution to condense the ride time than “hyper sleep.” But my primary gripe with the attraction is the lack of interactivity. As I mentioned earlier, the ride automatically initiates the commands if they are not performed, leading to an identical ride experience each time. Honestly the ride could have been so much more enjoyable and unique if not pressing the buttons or not steering well enough during the landing had various consequences and offered different ride experiences.

Despite its flaws, Mission: SPACE Green is a pretty fun experience nonetheless, but it’s just simply not nearly as good and intense as Orange due to the lack of forces. The interactivity issue is another problem I have with this attraction that also hampers the Orange side as well. Still, the Green side is one of Epcot’s better attractions, though I probably would never give it a re-ride since the Orange side is just that much better for me, but those who prefer less intense rides and are prone to motion sickness would definitely want to choose Green over Orange. Space travel has become a reality for astronauts at Epcot thanks to this unbelievable simulator.
 
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