"Greetings from Space Mountain dispatch! High speed rockets are now boarding to blast off to all intergalactic destinations." - from TTA Spiel
This page is mostly dedicated to the original Space Mountain at Walt Disney World, because, well, it's the only one I know much about. I hope to ride the other three someday, but for now it is but a distant dream. For more inside tidbits about the mountains, I'm currently working on a complete transcript of the pre/post-shows from Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom.
Space Mountain - Magic Kingdom
Presented by: Federal Express
Height Requirement: 44 inches tall
Interesting facts:
- First Space Mountain; opened January 15, 1975
- First ever dark indoor roller coaster and first to be computer-controlled
- Originally to be called Space Port and placed in Disneyland, Anaheim
- Only SM with single-file seating configuration and two tracks
- Originally sponsored by RCA; sponsored by FedEx after 1995
- Height: 183 feet / Diameter: 300 feet / Volume: 4,500,000 cubic feet
- Building was sunk 15 feet into the ground so as to not dwarf Cinderella Castle; you could easily put the Castle inside it!
- Two almost identical tracks; side Alpha (left) is 10 feet longer
- Top speed: 28 MPH / Largest drop: 21 feet / Ride time: approx. 2:38 min.
Space Mountain was originally conceived by Walt Disney as an attraction called Space Port for Disneyland. What interests me about the original design are the tracks that looped around outside the mountain. It was much less modest than the simple cone shape of the current building. However, the technology in order to run this daring new coaster would take time to be developed.
When the slightly re-designed Space Mountain came to reality at Disney World some ten years later, it was not only the first indoor dark coaster, but the one of the first to be computer-controlled. This unique new attraction was originally sponsored by RCA. For more information about what Space Mountain was like during the RCA Years, the site Widen Your World has a wonderful description of it.
Now under FedEx sponsorship, Space Mountain is still a fascinating journey into space. To walk inside the queue is to be suddenly transported into outer space, walking the dim hallways of a space station, as working astronauts and planets float silently past. Then, finally arriving at the spaceport docking bay, the preshow video gives a not-so-serious look at space life through intergalactic satellite broadcasts. After boarding a rocket, the attraction plunges into a fast ride through space in total darkness, lit only by the thousands of stars shooting past.
The attraction entrance and the attraction itself are in two totally seperate buildings. Once past the first large room, the queue area slopes downward into an underground tunnel connecting the two....which passes right under the WDW railroad tracks! Because the load area is actually at the far side of the building, the queue area continues up between the tracks, more or less below the main lift.
The rocket cars for Space Mountain were orginally very similar to the bobsleds on Disneyland's Matterhorn, but were later changed to individual seats with lap bars. Rumors are this change came about after a guest stood up during the ride and was decapitated. I'm not sure if this is really true, but there have been several deaths on the Matterhorn due to similar disregard of safety rules. There are two types of cars currently in operation: the original lapbar design, and a new design with T-shaped lapbars and roomier seats.
These cars blast off onto two tracks which are almost identical, except for ten feet of extra track on the crossover behind the main lift, which keep the two sides from colliding with each other. However, the difference in the track is never noticed. The tracks themselves are hollow and filled with pressurized air. This design was a safety measure. If the track should start to crack from stress, the loss of air pressure will alert the computer monitoring the system and the attraction will stop immediately.
After exiting the unload area, which is located below the loading area upstairs, a speedramp is waiting to escort guests through a whimsical presentation of future package deliever technology. This tunnel runs directly underneath the TTA tracks for most of the way, and then returns underneath the train tracks, ascending to the surface into the Tomorrowland arcade. The best part is the video monitors during the ascension which display guests against a starry background as they pass. I will always warn teens making faces into the camera that they are being video taped, and the Cast Members enjoy laughing at the tapes during their break time. If you don't believe me about this, don't say I didn't warn you.... ^.~
Space Mountain - Disneyland, Anaheim
Presented by: Federal Express
Height Requirement: 40 inches tall
Interesting facts:
- Opened May 4, 1977
- Was originally white like Orlando version; painted green and gold metallic in 1997
- Cost $20,000,000; more than it cost to build Disneyland, even factoring inflation.
- Originally "sponsored" by DASA (Disneyland Aeronautics and Space Administration); sponsored by FedEx after 1995
- Height: 163 feet (sunk 17 feet below ground) / Diameter: 200 feet / Volume: 1,800,000 cubic feet
- Soundtrack, "Aquarium" from Saint-Saens' "Carnival Des Animaux", added in 1996, performed by Dick Dale
- Top speed: 31 MPH / Ride time: approx. 2:45 min.
Space Mountain in Anaheim is somewhat different than the Orlando version. I am told the turns go more in the same direction, and there is only one track to choose from. It's supposedly also faster, but the most interesting difference is the soundtrack added during the big New Tommorowland rehab.
The soundtrack was removed for some time to upgrade the speaker system, but has returned. I've heard the soundtrack and really like it. The soundtrack piece is "Aquarium" from Saint-Saens' "Carnival Des Animaux" (also the background midi for this page, created by Ramon Pajares Box). However, the soundtrack is a surf guitar version by Dick Dale which is nowhere near as slow and soft.
While originally also white, this SM now has a green and metallic exterior. The new look is very nice; however, I would prefer the Orlando exterior to remain white. I find both equally attractive.
Space Mountain - Tokyo Disneyland
Presented by: Coca-Cola Company (Japan Division)
Height Requirement:
Interesting facts:
- Only Space Mountain to be opened with the park; opened April 15, 1983
- An E-ticket attraction (most expensive ride ticket)
Tokyo's Space Mountain is almost identical to the one in Anaheim, CA. However, the Japanese Tomorrowland has yet to undergo the retro Jules Verne makeover the other parks have recieved. This Space Mountain remains white, with no ride soundtrack.
Space Mountain: de la Terre `a la Lune - Disneyland, Paris
No Sponsor
Height Requirement: 10 years old & 1.4 meters (55 inches) tall
Interesting facts:
- Opened June 1, 1995
- Originally to be called "Discovery Mountain" (Tomorrowland is called Discoveryland in Paris)
- Only Space Mountain not to be designed by WED (Walt Disney Imagineering); designed by Vekoma
- Only Space Mountain to feature inversions and loops
- First coaster to feature a ride soundtrack, and first to feature a loop, a corkscrew, and a horseshoe in one ride
- Columbiad cannon launches 14.2 meters/second in 1.8 seconds, resulting in a force of about 1.3 Gs
- Height: 45 meters (sunk 5 meters below ground) / Diameter: 62 meters
- Top speed: 80 KPH / Ride time: approx. 2:25 min.
While it may have a similar shape and concept, Space Mountain in Paris is a totally different animal from the previous Space Mountains. You are launched from a cannon into an incredibly fast flight to the moon featuring loops and inversions. Being somewhat uncertain about riding mega thrill-rides, I was a bit concerned whether I would like this Space Mountain as much as the previous ones. However, I recently experienced the new Rock & Roller Coaster at Disney/MGM Studios, which shares a similar track design (including the catapult launch), and I loved it. I look forward to trying this version.
Even if a bit uncertain about the ride itself, I admit that Space Mountain: de la Terre `a la Lune is certainly the most beautiful SM. The green and gold exterior, which was copied not as successfully in Anaheim, is embellished by Victorian scrollwork and other-worldly tubes up the sides. Even the Columbiad Cannon, otherwise ominous as it fires cars into the mountain's interior with a loud noise, is embellished beautifully with a golden sun. This building could easily have just appeared from the pages of any SciFi novel.
Space Mountain Destinations on Other Worlds
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This page was started: 07/08/1999 Last Updated: 01/24/2001
All text on this page and the image smmk.jpg is copyright © 1998 Wendy Peacock. The background music (Aquarium) is copyright © Ramon Pajares Box. Image smdla.jpg is copyright © Jeff Keller. If any link or anything else on this page seems out of order, please notify the author.
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