How to turn off slide transition when switching between two full screen applications on OS X Mavericks?
There is no way to disable the animation but you might want to look at TotalSpaces, which replaces the builtin workspace manager. You can disable transitions altogether with this (as well as use different animations and layouts for spaces). It's not free ($18) but there is a 14 day free trial.
In MacOS Sierra:
- Go to System Preferences -> Accessibility -> Display
- Check in the box "Reduce motion".
This new function will speed up the animation between various display motion techniques such as using the mission control, switching desktops etc.