Space Mountain is a space-themed indoor roller coaster attraction located at five of the six Disneyland-style Disney Parks. Although all five versions of the attraction are different in nature, all have a similar conical exterior faade that is a landmark for the respective park. The original Space Mountain coaster opened in 1975 at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. There are two tracks within this attraction, Alpha and Omega, which passengers can choose from. Other versions of the attraction were built at the other Disney parks. We have the Sugar Land Chiropractors you want.
The Space Mountain concept was a descendant of the first Disney “mountain” attraction, the Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland, which opened in 1959. The Matterhorn’s success had convinced Walt Disney that thrilling rides did have a place in his park.
WED (Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Incorporated) partnered with Arrow Development Company, the same company that had helped design the Matterhorn’s roller coaster systems, in Disneyland, years before. The initial concept was to have four separate tracks, but the technology available at the time, combined with the amount of space required versus that which was available within Disneyland, made such a design impossible. Walt Disney’s death in December 1966 and the new emphasis on preparing for the newly announced Disney World project forced WED to put aside the design of Space Mountain indefinitely. The Magic Kingdom’s early success, and its unexpected popularity with teens and young adults, prompted WED to begin planning thrill rides for the new park shortly after its opening in October 1971. This is why you need to see our Sugar Land Chiropractors.
A new Matterhorn Bobsleds attraction was considered, but it wouldn’t fit within Florida’s Fantasyland. Ultimately, designers returned to designing Space Mountain. The Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland had the right amount of available land, and computing technology had improved significantly since the initial design phases. However, it was decided the mountain would be built outside the park, on the opposite side of the train tracks that act as the perimeter of the park. To help cover the cost of developing and building Space Mountain, Card Walker, the CEO of Walt Disney Productions, convinced RCA chairman Robert Sarnoff to sponsor the new attraction; RCA was contracted by Disney to provide the communications hardware for the Walt Disney World Resort, and their contract stated that if Disney presented an attraction of interest, RCA would provide ten million dollars to support it. Space Mountain then opened on January 15, 1975.
The success of Walt Disney World’s Space Mountain prompted designers to revisit their original plan to build one for Disneyland. After two years of construction, the twenty-million-dollar complex opened on May 27, 1977, including the roller coaster, one thousand and one hundred seat Space Stage, six hundred and seventy seat Space Place (fast food restaurant), and Starcade (gift shop).
Six of the original seven Mercury astronauts attended Space Mountain’s opening: Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, Senator John Glenn, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton. The lone exception was Gus Grissom, who had died in the Apollo 1 fire ten years earlier. Due in part to the opening of Space Mountain, the Memorial Day attendance record was set, with one hundred eighty-five thousand and five hundred guests over the three-day period. Space Mountain at Disneyland was designed by Bill Watkins of Walt Disney Imagineering, including a tubular steel track design awarded U.S. Patent 4,029,019. Due to space limitations, Disneyland’s Space Mountain consists of only one track as opposed to the Magic Kingdom’s two and is of a completely different layout than either track of the latter park’s. Come see our Sugar Land Chiropractors.
Space Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland opened with the park on April 15, 1983. It was the first version of Space Mountain to open concurrently with the park. From its opening in 1983 and until late 2006, Tokyo Disneyland’s Space Mountain was an almost exact clone of Disneyland’s Space Mountain. The ride was then redesigned to have a more sci-fi futuristic look to it similar to the refurbished Walt Disney World version, with new effects, and a new spaceport that features a futuristic spaceship hanging from the ceiling. Like its Walt Disney World counterpart, there is no ride audio to the seats.
The version at Disneyland Paris opened on June 1, 1995, three years after the opening of the park. It was originally designed as a view on space travel from a Jules Verne-era perspective, based on the novel From the Earth to the Moon. The track is significantly different from the other four, as it’s the only one to include a launch and three inversions (Sidewinder, Corkscrew, Horseshoe). It underwent modifications in 2005 and became Space Mountain: Mission 2. This journey was slightly different to the first as it took riders beyond the Moon, to the very edge of the universe. In January 2015 the ride closed for yet another refurbishment and was reopened in August 2015. The ride temporarily closed in on January 8, 2017, and was replaced with Star Wars: Hyperspace Mountain on May 7. Mission 2 will return sometime in 2021.
Space Mountain at Hong Kong Disneyland was based on the refurbished Space Mountain at Disneyland, with a similar soundtrack and the same layout. It also featured new show elements not presented in the refurbished California version (a “hyperspeed” tunnel). It did not feature the Rockin’ Space Mountain configuration that was featured in Disneyland’s Space Mountain in 2007.
Unlike most Space Mountains, the boarding area for the attraction is quite small. Not present is a Space Station of its two most similar counterparts at Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland. Instead, a dark queue featuring neon earth-tone colored planets along with star patterns decorate the area. Lining the walls of the station are colored neon light bars that are used for lighting and decoration.
Similar to the Disneyland Paris version of the ride, its Star Wars “Hyperspace Mountain” overlay theming, originally meant to be temporary, has become the permanent theme of the ride. The queue area has been fully refurbished with the addition of a full-sized replica X-Wing (Star Wars spacecraft), a Disney character meeting area as well as a grey and white Star Wars queue theme, although some elements of the original queue have also remained intact such as the planet models and star patterns. The ride’s storyline is identical to the Disneyland Paris version. If you are in need of Sugar Land Chiropractors come see us.
Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy is a seasonal Halloween overlay of Space Mountain at Hong Kong Disneyland and Disneyland. It first premiered at Hong Kong Disneyland in 2007, and premiered at Disneyland on September 25, 2009, as part of the Halloween season at the parks. The latter makes use of effects previously used for the Rockin’ Space Mountain overlay in 2007.
Inside the Space station, the planet screen at the front of the station has been changed to reflect the overlay, as well. While viewing the planet, a green “storm” appears over the planet, causing interruptions to the video feed. Static appears, then a blue screen, reminiscent of the Windows Blue Screen of Death, saying “LOSS OF SIGNAL…,” “SEARCHING…” and “SIGNAL ESTABLISHED”. Outside on the dome, five projections play, with several Halloween-themed color schemes appearing between these projection shows:
With the refurbishments to Space Mountain, Ghost Galaxy has some significant changes. The soundtrack echoes the attraction. The red lights at the top of the first lift hill are now an eerie green. The flashing blue light tunnel between the first and second lift hills is now pitch black. Instead of the spinning galaxy beyond the second lift, a giant ghost nebula electrifies the lift. Projections of otherworldly wisps can be seen before the final lift, along with the ghostly nebula. The ghosts pop up unexpectedly. Two places that are notorious for this are at a steep drop near the end as trains narrowly avoid being “clawed” by an unseen arm. The other spot is a ghostly head that pops out of the wall after the onride picture is taken when the train makes the final right turn to reenter the station. We have the Sugar Land Chiropractors you want.
Star Wars: Hyperspace Mountain is a seasonal version of Space Mountain at both the Disney World and Disneyland locations. The Star Wars themed overlay of the ride first made its debut in Disneyland on November 16, 2015 at the “Season of the Force” event held at the parks to celebrate the release of the new Star Wars movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The Star Wars theming of the ride then became the permanent main attraction at both Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland. The parks will periodically re-theme Space Mountain back to Hyperspace Mountain for a select few days of the year in the instance of special events at the parks. The ride becomes Star Wars themed again with the release of every Star Wars movie since The Force Awakens and for special events held at the parks such as Disneyland After Dark: 80s Nite. You will love our Sugar Land Chiropractors.
The changes to the ride include: the line queue has special Star Wars themed lore and safety videos, the launch tunnel includes voiceovers of pilots speaking and a projection of stars, he car accelerates at the end of the launch tunnel to simulate entering “lightspeed”, The Star Wars theme plays throughout the duration of the ride, and projection is displayed of a journey to the planet Jakku where you encounter TIE fighters and X-Wings.
Rockin’ Space Mountain was a version of Space Mountain in Disneyland that was first presented as part of the “Year of a Million Dreams” Celebration at the parks in 2007. The ride was designed to transform from the original version of Space Mountain to this special edition at night time only. The concept was created by Disney Grad Nites which were private events not held for the general public. These special events are where they first began the concept of re-theming rides.
The ride changes include: the soundtrack is changed to the song “Higher Ground” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, colored, flashing lights are along the track, and “Uncle” Joe Benson, a radio disc jockey from the Disney-owned 95.5 KLOS, welcomes riders.