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| Manufactured | 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Designer / calculations | Walt Disney Imagineering | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Capacity | 40 vehicles within 4 centrifuge simulators, seating 4 guests in each vehicle | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hourly capacity | 1,600 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mission: Space is a centrifuge Simulator type attraction located in Epcot in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States. Serving as a replacement for the Horizons dark ride, the ride takes guests on a simulated space journey to either Earth or Mars (intensity varies on either side) and then landing back on different planets depending on the side the guests are in. The ride was sponsored by Hewlett-Packard from opening in 2003 to 2015.
History
In 1978, before Epcot even opened, there were plans for the new park in talks about creating a Space pavilion, themed to space exploration and planets. It is currently unknown what type of ride would be at the pavilion. Due to budget constraints, the pavilion concept was ultimate put on hold for the time being.
When Horizons closed on January 9, 1999, the idea of a Space pavilion was revitalized, with different ideas as to what would replace the current ride. After numerous concepts, a simulator / centrifuge was chosen as the ride to replace Horizons. A strange demolition part was held, and it was from there former Disney CEO Michael Eisner announced the replacement ride for Horizons. Aptly named Mission: SPACE, he claimed that the new ride would be bigger than the current ride, although that proved to be false, as the old Horizons building was still larger by height and width.
Horizons was demolished by August 2000, and construction was started almost immediately after. The building would take shape as a small, dark-blue square building, with a space-themed facade in the front. Hewlett-Packard was brought on to help sponsor the pavilion. New floor / pavement designs were added for the new ride, along with the new sign. The old planters remained. A soundtrack for the ride, "Destiny", by Cliff Masterson, was made for the ride. The ride was completed by the end of Summer 2003.
Mission: Space officially opened on August 15, 2003, with Compaq as the sponsor.[1] The Compaq brand was subsequently discontinued by its owner, HP, though the company continued to sponser the ride until 2015.[2] The ride was a simulator, taking guests on a simulation of preparing to travel to space, and then landing back to the Earth. The ride received little to no ride-related changes since opening. The Mission Space, while well received, was considered too intense for some guests, and so, in August 13, of 2017, Disney installed a second mission, around the Earth, that spins a lot less than the original Mars mission side of the ride. On September 20, 2021, Space 220, a restaurant built next to Mission Space's show building, would open. The restaurant simulates being up in space, with views of the Earth, and cuisine.
Images
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A hidden easter egg containing the logo of the now-defunct Horizons.
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A lunar rover replica.
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The play-area of the pavilion.
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References
- ↑ "Mission SPACE announcement press release". WDW Magic. 2000-04-20. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
- ↑ "WDW News Today Twitter post". 2015-12-31. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
