Space Mountain Information
All you need to know about Space Mountain at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim INTRODUCTION: Space Mountain- one of the most technologically advanced coasters in the world. This is a ride where everyday humans can become astronauts, soaring in their own rocket ship to the deepest reaches of space. Newly refurbished in 2005, Space Mountain has become a more fun and realistic trip for space travelers. With a new soundtrack, smoother, darker ride, this newly imagineered ride adds a whole new experience that most people who try it will never forget. This page is dedicated to the history of Space Mountain. Here you can find interesting facts, some spoilers of the ride, and some of the history of it. HISTORY: Space Mountain first opened in 1975 at Walt Disney World in Florida, with two parallel tracks. It was pretty much a Matterhorn Bobsleds in the dark. It was also the first all-indoor coaster on Earth. The creation of this gained so much publicity, Disney Imagineers decided to make a Space Mountain here in Anaheim. Because of size restrictions, the Space Mountain in Anaheim had to have only one track, but the single track was longer and did not take up as much space as the one in Walt Disney World. When it was created in Disneyland, the track was pretty much the same as the Matterhorn Bobsleds because they both used the steel tubing track. When the Imagineers created Space Mountain, they realized the futuristic cone shape was too tall, and it would overpower the skyline of Main Street and Tomorrowland. To solve the problem, they decided to sink it 17 feet into the ground, and that helped the attraction fit in with all the others. So some of the ride is actually underground! When Space Mountain had its grand opening in 1977, real astronauts and other celebrities were invited. Originally, the ride was just riding through space with all these sound effects and other things, but in 1995, Disney had Dick Dale compose a soundtrack for the ride that was synchronized with every movement, and it added a new “Spacey” effect for ride. Although it was a great addition, the soundtrack didn’t always work, and nothing was being played. On April 9th, 2003, Space Mountain closed down for refurbishment angering some fans. For 2 LONG years Space Mountain was closed to the public. And finally on July 15, 2005 (I was there!) Space Mountain “Relaunched”. Disneyland had kept some of the queue and left the building alone, but the ride changed a lot. In the next section, I will give you a walkthrough of the new Space Mountain. WARNING: If you don’t want to know what it’s like, skip the section and don’t watch the video. Duh. WALKTHROUGH: QUEUE: To enter the ride, you walk to the very back where “Captain EO” used to be and go up a non-moving ramp. You reach the level of the cone, the same place where the old queue started. after going through tons of twists and turns, You reach the entrance, with the glowing sign saying Space mountain, then you enter the building. There is an image of where you are supposedly entering: Space Station 77 (Space Mountain opened 1977). You walk down a maze of hallways under red lighting and every once in a while you see “space”. Eventually you come into a condensed room with blue walls as you here mission control and an annoying safety video. You enter a small room called “Space Port” and you notice a few doors going to different gantries. You exit through a door that leads to the hangar bay, with a newly remodeled ship hanging name DL05 (Disneyland 2005) and as you progress through the room you notice a window looking into space, where it seems you are in a Space Station that is orbiting around a planet. Finally, you come to the new loading area and see the newly remodeled “shuttles”. THE ATTRACTION: As you sit in your shuttle watching the others start the ride, you notice a window above you where you can see “Mission Control”. Then the wall in front of you flashes red, and the new soundtrack composed by Michael Giacchino starts playing (a type of “Incredibles” sounding Space Music). You take a right turn and go up the first lift hill As you look around you notice the room is filled with red lights. Then as you reach the top, two circles two your left flash, and you enter a long tunnel filled with blue lights whizzing toward you making it seem like you’re powering up. Then your car takes another right and you go up a tunnel with red lines spinning around you. There is a spinning galaxy at the top of the hill that forms and disappears as you get close, and then you reach the top and you enter space. You nearly miss a collision with a meteor and Mission control speaks to you. After Mission Control Finishes the countdown, you launch on a speeding journey through space, spotting nebulas and comets. after surprising turns and drops, you take a sharp left turn and watch around you as the stars make you feel like you’re going backwards, and you move back into the space station, and after a few minutes you get your chance to leave the station and return to Tomorrowland. Ride Specs: -The building is 118 feet tall from the bottom to the top of the tall spire. -It took over 100 million man hours to build -Over 100,000 tons of steel -The building is sunk 17 feet into the ground -Diameter: 200 ft. -13 rockets, 2 vehicles per rocket, two seats in a row, three rows in each vehicle -Ride Length: 3,045 ft. -Max Speed: 30.2 mph -Ride Time: 2 min, 45 sec -Grand Opening May 27, 1977 -Ride takes place in Station 77, “77” standing for 1977 -Drop: 15 ft. -Name of ship in hangar: DL05, which stands for Disneyland 2005