by Rami Major
One of my favorite memories from elementary school was taking a school-sponsored field trip to Epcot in Walt Disney World. Some highlights from that trip included a Viking ride (since discontinued to make way for Elsa and the other Frozen crew), photographs with Mickey Mouse, lots of walking, and an all-you-can-eat buffet stop at Golden Corral on the bus ride home (the important things you remember from your childhood–unlimited dessert!) I also remember being disappointed in the lack of rollercoasters. I recently returned to Epcot as an adult and was surprised to find more rides available than I remembered. The catch? Many of these rides were simulator rides!
Now, this may be because I hadn’t been to an amusement park in a while, or because simulator rides have recently exploded in popularity, but I couldn’t remember ever experiencing one of these before and wanted to try one out. Simulator rides consist of both a visual and physical component. First, they use a bunch of projectors to create a virtual-reality-like experience, immersing riders in high-quality digital environments. Some experiences can even be shown in 3D or 4D. The second component of these rides is the motion–although riders stay seated (and can even stay in the same physical location the whole time!), their seats will move according to the motion on the screen or screens around them. Together, these components work in tandem, taking riders on a journey “Soarin” over various wonders of the world or launching them through space to reach Mars in Mission: SPACE, all while keeping riders in a smaller-than-expected and confined area. Other amusement parks have simulator rides that throw you directly into the action of famous movies, where you can explore the halls of Hogwarts in Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at Universal or experience the fictional world of Pandora in Avatar Flight of Passage at Disney World’s Animal Kingdom.
Simulator rides have several benefits. Unlike rollercoasters, whose tracks snake through large areas of land, simulator rides can be contained in smaller areas. This means that theme parks could theoretically offer more rides per square foot, potentially reducing infamously long wait times. Simulator rides provide high-tech experiences that immerse riders in activities that are both fictional and fantastical. For example, not many people will have the opportunity to travel to Mars in our lifetime! These rides can also run longer than rollercoasters, which on average last less than two minutes. The simulator ride Soarin’ takes around nine minutes from beginning to end.
Simulator rides also have a very practical application beyond entertainment for your average American. Astronauts utilize simulators to prepare for experiences they would have when launching into space or landing back on Earth. For each minute they spend in space, they will have spent hours training in a simulator, with the ultimate goal of avoiding any surprise that might occur.
I quickly realized that being an astronaut was not in the cards for me when I stepped off Mission: SPACE and nearly fell over. At first, I thought–motion sickness? Could it be? I hardly moved! I had many of the symptoms of common motion sickness though–I couldn’t stomach another Epcot culinary delight and was extremely dizzy to the point of needing to sit down. I think I was experiencing visually-induced motion sickness. Visually-induced motion sickness (VIMS) is a growing area of study, and many researchers agree that it occurs because of sensory conflict: there is a disconnect between what you are seeing and feeling. While your eyes might observe you flying through the sky over Hogwarts, your other senses tell your brain that you are sitting still in a small theater at Universal Studios in Florida. This inner conflict confuses your brain and can result in common motion sickness symptoms like the nausea and dizziness I had experienced.
I’ll stick to rollercoasters in the future, but what do you think? Would you try a simulator ride?
