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Space Mountain (Magic Kingdom)
Encyclopedia
Space Mountain is an indoor outer space
-themed steel roller coaster
at the Magic Kingdom
theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort
in Lake Buena Vista, Florida
. It opened on January 15, 1975 and is the original version of the iconic attraction that is included in all five of the Disney theme parks worldwide. With the closure of Cypress Gardens
in 2009, Space Mountain is the oldest operating roller coaster
in the state of Florida
.
Space Mountain was closed for refurbishment on April 19, 2009. The newly updated version of the attraction was officially re-opened to the public on November 22, 2009.
at Disneyland, which opened in 1959. The Matterhorn's success had convinced Walt Disney
that thrilling rides did have a place in his park.
In 1964, Walt first approached designer John Hench
with his idea for a new attraction that would be the focal point of a renovated Tomorrowland
planned for 1967. His "Space Port" would include a roller-coaster-style ride in the dark, with lighting and other special effects. Originally called "Space Voyage" with concept artwork by John Hench
, Clem Hall, George McGinnis, and Herb Ryman. The attraction concept continued to be refined over the coming years by WED Enterprises
, and in June 1966, the "Space Port" attraction was called "Space Mountain" for the first time.
WED partnered with Arrow Development Company
, the same company that had helped design the Matterhorn's roller coaster systems 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. 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. 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 USD$10 million to support it.
The interior of the structure, the queue area, the tracks of the roller coaster, and the post-show each went through a large number of various design changes before the current layout was selected. Originally, the mountain was to be positioned in the southern portion of Tomorrowland, which would be where Disneyland would install their Space Mountain
in 1977. Instead, it was placed outside the park's perimeter berm, roughly due east of Cinderella Castle
, with a tunnel, called the "star corridor", under the Walt Disney World Railroad
tracks installed for people to reach it. This is contrary to the Disneyland counterpart, where people directly enter through the side of the building.
Visitors board the trains in the Space Port, which is enclosed within the dome itself. The ride dome is hollow and 300 ft in diameter, allowing waiting people aboard the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover to see many of the different effects used in the attraction.
As the rockets leave the Space Port, they travel past the loading area, the Space Port queue, and the Mission Control Booth for the Space Port, where they make a brief stop to await their turn to proceed to the lift hill
. After this brief stop, the vehicles wind down a small slope and enter a tunnel of circular and flashing blue lights, while a repetitive sound, meant to signify a building of energy, propels the trains along the track to the opposite end of the dome. At the far end, the trains make a 180 degree turn around and then climb the lift hill. A mirror
positioned on the turn at the end of the tunnel gives the illusion that riders are about to collide with another rocket.
A projection of Earth
, stars, comet
s, meteor
s, and asteroid
s can be seen when looking past the lift hill bay's open ceiling. It is possible to make out trains climbing the lift hill on the other side and also rockets passing through on the side, as well as the Tomorrowland Transit Authority passing through the lift hill bay. Once at the top, space shuttles then make a small and quick dip before plunging into numerous twists and turns as the shuttles travel through the dome in near-complete darkness, including the coaster's steepest drop of 39 degrees. The ride ends with the trains passing through a red swirling wormhole
, before hitting the final brake run
and entering the unload station.
Blue neon lights light up the ceilings above the queue, with black windows looking out into space recessed into the ceiling, where people can see projections of stars, nebulae, comets, planets, and a space station. Riders will then be assigned to one of two tracks: Alpha
, the left hand track, or Omega
, the right hand track. When the lines are long, usually Alpha is used for standby queue and the Omega for "FASTPASS". But when lines are short (usually fifteen minutes or less), a cast member will stand at the division of the lines and assign a group to a track. Unless they kindly ask, riders cannot choose between Alpha and Omega. The two tracks are near-mirror images of each other. Both offer the same experience, with effects equally shared and duplicated, however, so as to permit for the two tracks to cross each other, the Alpha track is ten feet longer than the Omega track.
Riders then queue at newly installed loading gates and enter the six person rockets. Pulling out of the loading station, riders make a 180 degree turn and come to a stop in a purple lit tunnel while waiting for the train in front to climb the lift hill. After a few seconds, the holding brake is released and the trains roll down a slope into the strobe tunnel. The strobe lights flash at a slower rate, but this rate gradually increases as the rocket progresses down the tunnel.
A repetitive warping sound signifies an energy charge as the riders roll towards a blue orb
. At the far end of the tunnel, a field of stars appears as the blue strobe lights turn off. This is followed shortly afterwards by the strobe light
effect of the flash of the on-ride photo camera taking pictures of the riders.
Another train may pass by the riders climbing the lift hill. It is also possible to make out riders on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority
passing through the lift hill bay, as well as riders on the other track climbing the lift hill. At the top, riders descend a short drop and then descend through a series of turns, sharp climbs, and steep drops in the darkness of the dome. The ride ends with trains passing through a red swirling wormhole
and then hitting the final brake run
, before returning to the unload station.
As posted on Disney Parks Blogs on August 30, 2010, Space Mountain is now in Starry-O-Phonic Sound.
"Walt Disney Imagineering has added a new composition that’s exclusive to the attraction at Magic Kingdom Park that will play with varying sound effects throughout all “flights” on 100 newly installed speakers. “Starry-O-Phonic Sound” compliments a slew of enhancements that debuted on Space Mountain last year, including new lighting, storyline elements and updated decor." Original Article @ DisneyParks Blog
Space Mountain has 15 trains for each track, though only 13 are usually in operation at any given time. Each train consists of two single-file rocket-shaped cars. From 1975-1989, each of these two rockets featured two seats, each seat designed to hold two passengers (the front passenger rode in the rear passenger's lap, again like the Matterhorn Bobsleds
), for a total capacity of eight passengers per train. Each rider had his/her own seat belt. In 1989, the trains were completely replaced. These new trains were externally and cosmetically very similar to the originals, and still consisted of two rockets joined together.
As before, visitors ride single-file. Now, however, the rockets have three seats, with one person per seat, reducing each train's potential capacity from eight riders to six. The 1989 vehicles introduced the use of lap bars, but in 1998 the lap bars were replaced with a new T-bar design, rather than the square design previously used.
On November 13, 2009 it was announced that the rockets would have a new paint scheme and new seat fabric. They now have a blue and gray color scheme. The rockets however no longer Glow In The Dark.
, who presented Space Mountain as an actual exhibit, more so than an experience as it is billed now. While the white and blue color scheme of the iconic Space Mountain structure remains the same, the entrance and exit building were also painted white and blue, and even included blue patterns painted on the exterior walls. The left entrance wall had the words "Space Mountain" displayed in bold, blue colored letters. The RCA logo was above this, and under the Space Mountain lettering was the slogan "A Journey Through Time and Space", beneath which was the phrase "presented by RCA".
The ceiling and flooring for the entrance building was done in reds, yellows, and oranges. A large white pylon structure had the RCA logo placed above it in three areas, and four passengers, dressed as astronauts, were placed in an original four seater vehicle, which was attached to the pylon. Below the pylon, in a planter was Space Mountain's dedication plaque which read: "ONE GIANT STEP... Dedicated to the men and women whose skills, sacrifice, courage and teamwork opened the door to the exploration of man's exciting new frontier...outer space. Because they dared to reach for the stars and the planets, man's knowledge of his universe, earth and himself has been greatly enriched.
Presented by missile, space and range pioneers. January 15, 1975." Inside, riders entered the spacious lobby, which did not feature the current mural of the Milky Way, but was simple black and blue painted walls that had various angular designs in yellows and oranges placed upon them. There were also floor to ceiling mirrors, support columns, and blue lighting under the floor. The floors themselves were made out of a combination of plastic and vinyl and featured black textured circles sticking out of the flooring. The rest of the inside of the structure, with the exception of the warning film, and the changes made to the vehicles, remains nearly the same from 1975.
For the first year or two of operation, a model of an RCA communications satellite was on display. After that, a flying saucer with RCA's NIpper mascot ("His Master's Voice") replaced the satellite.
In 1989 RCA had the entrance cosmetically refurbished. The entrance door now had a yellow and black pattern around it. The entrance walls were repainted with the 1975 white and blue color scheme, but with solid and different patterns. The roof was still the same blue and white, as was the roof border, a solid white, but the ceiling was now also a solid white. The left entrance wall still featured the RCA logo, but a new font was selected for the phrase "Space Mountain", still bold, but was more angular, and now colored white. This was reflected in the phrase underneath it "A Journey Through Time and Space", and "presented by RCA" was not included in the 1989 refurbishment.
The RCA logos atop the pylon were removed, and a new three seater vehicle replaced the old four seater vehicle that was attached to the pylon, a result of the original trains on the ride being replaced by the current trains. Everything else, including warning signage and other features dating back to 1975, remained the same. RCA once again had the entrance refurbished in 1992, this time all the entrance walls were covered over with blue vinyl covers. Some patterns were different than others. The 1989 left entrance wall lettering was simply placed on top of the new wall coverings. The yellow and black pattern around the entrance door remained the same. The ceiling and flooring remained the same, but the roof was now solid white, and the border to the roof was now red, white, and blue.
. The 1992 entrance remained very much the same, but now the entrance and exit building was partially demolished, forcing those exiting Space Mountain to exit into an arcade and gift shop that occupies part of the still vacant space left for the proposed but never built Tomorrowland railroad station. The left hand entrance wall, that served for years as the signage for Space Mountain was demolished in the 1994 refurbishment. The right hand entrance wall was now used for signage and simply had the words "Space Mountain" in a tall, thin, orange font, that was meant to reflect the architecture of the New Tomorrowland.
The large entrance door was kept, but now had storm shutters placed within the frame, creating a smaller entrance. New warning signage and warning spiels also came in 1994. A new, but different pylon tower was placed over the site of the old one. It too featured the new Space Mountain font and FedEx sponsorship. The warning film was also changed in 1994 for updated footage and to also feature FedEx Sponsorship. The film included both the warning footage and the futuristic but funny "SMTV" with its space themed news program. The warning film has so far changed only three times. The original in 1975, and two updated versions both in 1985 and 1994. The FedEx footage was removed in 2005.
The entrance lobby was refurbished with an orange and brown color scheme, but still maintained the blue floor lights, and black vinyl flooring, while adding in a FedEx sponsored intergalactic tracking network mural of the Milky Way. In 1998, the original flooring was removed and a staircase was added in the left hand queue, which is now the Stand By queue. The right queue, which has a ramp instead of a staircase, making it wheelchair accessible, is for the FastPass
return line. FastPass machines were also added outside of Space Mountain at this time.
Only the phrase "A Journey Through Time and Space" was updated in font design, along with the visual and narrated mention of Space Mountain in 2005 (a shorter version of the 1994 Peter Renaday narration was used from 2005 to 2009, saying "Now arriving in Space Mountain, Tomorrowland's gateway to the Galaxy." The original 1994 narration was slightly longer, and said "Now arriving in Space Mountain, Tomorrowland's gateway to the Galaxy, presented by Federal Express
")
In mid October 2009, the original sign welcoming TTA travelers was removed, and replaced with a modified version of the 1994 Space Mountain sign, with lime green instead of orange. The 1994 Space Mountain pylon and entrance building were also redone in a similar way, with lime greens replacing orange tones. And in early November 2009, new signs inside the mountain refer to it as "Star Port Seven-Five", a nod to its opening year. The Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover has had different spiels from 1975, 1985, 1994, 2005, and 2009, both pre-refurbishment and post-refurbishment.
TVs.) The warning spiel for the trains, and most sound effects are also original from 1975. Riders could hear music to the song "Music Makers" and "Sentimental Journeys" where the left and right side unload corridors merged together to form the line for the post show.
In 1985 RCA removed their theme song, and instead commissioned new generic music for Space Mountain. Since 1985 there is no outside area music around the exit and entrance building. Only the current warning narration spiel is played. In the lobby a composition to RCA's new song "We've Come So Far" can be heard and has remained since 1985. When riders unloaded from their ride vehicle, they entered the ride's post-show, which was also accessible for those who decided not to experience the main roller coaster ride. From 1985-2005, the unload and merger corridor both had a slightly different soft tune to RCA's new song "We've Come so Far".
In 2005, this was replaced with a musical score commissioned for Disneyland's newly refurbished Space Mountain. After the 2009 renovations, the same songs in the queue line play, but the musical score commissioned for Disneyland's Space Mountain
is no longer played in the post-show. Most of the main ride sound effects were updated and replaced.
The original post-show was RCA's "Home Of Future Living," which showcased how consumer electronics would shape our lives in a "typical" home of the future. (YouTube film of the Home Of Future Living.) The attraction featured the theme song "Here's To The Future," briefly replaced by a song (apparently) titled "ColorTrak Keeps The Color On Track," designed to promote televisions employing RCA's ColorTrack color television technology. In the mid-1980s, the Home of Future Living was replaced by "RYCA-1," which showed what life might be like living in a space colony on another planet. The RYCA-1 sets went through minor re-decoration when FedEx took over sponsorship, and the plot of the show revolved around sending packages across spatial distances. All traces of FedEx were removed after the company relinquished its sponsorship, then the post-show underwent another transformation in 2009 when the entire attraction was revamped.
All of these rooms are shown and viewed on an even surface, but after the final octagon room, the speedramp dips down at an angle, where riders go under the train tracks for the Walt Disney World Railroad. As riders travel back up to ground level, and toward the exit to Tomorrowland, the pass by other outer-space destinations Star Port Seven-Five can take them. The first two octagon rooms and the first four hexagon rooms can all be viewed from the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover just after passing through the lift hill bay because their ceilings are non existent.
The Tomorrowland Transit Authority reopened on September 11, 2009. Although traveling the same path through the dome, the ongoing renovation inside was obscured by walls and posters announcing Space Mountain's re-opening date. On November 11, 2009 the construction walls were removed, providing an early glimpse of the refurbished roller coaster and post show.
- info on two fatal incidents that have occurred at the attraction
Outer space
Outer space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....
-themed steel roller coaster
Steel roller coaster
A steel roller coaster is a roller coaster that is defined by having a track made of steel. Steel coasters have earned immense popularity in the past 50 years throughout the world...
at the Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom Park is one of four theme parks at the Walt Disney World Resort located near Orlando, Florida. The first park built at the resort, Magic Kingdom opened Oct. 1, 1971. Designed and built by WED Enterprises, the park's layout and attractions are similar to Disneyland in Anaheim, California...
theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort , is the world's most-visited entertaimental resort. Located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida ; approximately southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States, the resort covers an area of and includes four theme parks, two water parks, 23 on-site themed resort hotels Walt...
in Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Lake Buena Vista is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. It is mostly known for being home to the Walt Disney World Resort. It is one of two Florida municipalities controlled by The Walt Disney Company, the other being Bay Lake....
. It opened on January 15, 1975 and is the original version of the iconic attraction that is included in all five of the Disney theme parks worldwide. With the closure of Cypress Gardens
Cypress Gardens
Cypress Gardens was an American theme park near Winter Haven, Florida, that operated from 1936 to 2009.-History:Billed as Florida's first commercial tourist theme park, Cypress Gardens opened on January 2, 1936 as a botanical garden planted by Dick Pope Sr. and his wife Julie...
in 2009, Space Mountain is the oldest operating roller coaster
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
in the state of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
Space Mountain was closed for refurbishment on April 19, 2009. The newly updated version of the attraction was officially re-opened to the public on November 22, 2009.
Original concept and design
The Space Mountain concept was a descendant of the first Disney "mountain" attraction, the Matterhorn BobsledsMatterhorn Bobsleds
The Matterhorn Bobsleds or the Matterhorn is an attraction composed of two intertwining steel roller coasters, which opened in 1959 at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. It is modeled after the Matterhorn, a mountain in the Swiss Alps...
at Disneyland, which opened in 1959. The Matterhorn's success had convinced Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
that thrilling rides did have a place in his park.
In 1964, Walt first approached designer John Hench
John Hench
John Hench was an employee of The Walt Disney Company for more than sixty-five years, an exceptionally long tenure which saw the rise of nearly every Disney animated feature and theme park....
with his idea for a new attraction that would be the focal point of a renovated Tomorrowland
Tomorrowland
- Tomorrowland 1955–1967 :The first Tomorrowland opened at Disneyland on July 18, 1955, with only several of its planned attractions open, due to budget cuts. The construction of the park was rushed, so Tomorrowland was the last land to be finished. It became something of a corporate showcase,...
planned for 1967. His "Space Port" would include a roller-coaster-style ride in the dark, with lighting and other special effects. Originally called "Space Voyage" with concept artwork by John Hench
John Hench
John Hench was an employee of The Walt Disney Company for more than sixty-five years, an exceptionally long tenure which saw the rise of nearly every Disney animated feature and theme park....
, Clem Hall, George McGinnis, and Herb Ryman. The attraction concept continued to be refined over the coming years by WED Enterprises
Walt Disney Imagineering
Walt Disney Imagineering is the design and development arm of the Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation and construction of Disney theme parks worldwide...
, and in June 1966, the "Space Port" attraction was called "Space Mountain" for the first time.
WED partnered with Arrow Development Company
Arrow Dynamics
Arrow Dynamics was a roller coaster and amusement ride design company based in Clearfield, Utah, United States. In 2002, the company went bankrupt but was quickly bought by fellow amusement ride manufacturer S&S Power to form S&S Arrow. During its peak, Arrow Dynamics was responsible for some of...
, the same company that had helped design the Matterhorn's roller coaster systems 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. A new Matterhorn Bobsleds attraction was considered, but it wouldn't fit within Florida's Fantasyland
Fantasyland
Fantasyland is one of the "themed lands" at the many Magic Kingdom-style parks run by The Walt Disney Company around the world. Each Fantasyland has a castle as well as several gentle rides themed after Disney movies...
.
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. To help cover the cost of developing and building Space Mountain, Card Walker, the CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of Walt Disney Productions, convinced RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
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 USD$10 million to support it.
The interior of the structure, the queue area, the tracks of the roller coaster, and the post-show each went through a large number of various design changes before the current layout was selected. Originally, the mountain was to be positioned in the southern portion of Tomorrowland, which would be where Disneyland would install their Space Mountain
Space Mountain (Disneyland)
Space Mountain is a steel roller coaster attraction in Tomorrowland at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. After the success of the Magic Kingdom's Space Mountain, the Imagineers made plans to build another on the United States West Coast. The ride opened on May 27, 1977, ten years after the...
in 1977. Instead, it was placed outside the park's perimeter berm, roughly due east of Cinderella Castle
Cinderella Castle
Cinderella Castle is the fairy tale castle at the center of two Disney theme parks: the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort, and Tokyo Disneyland at the Tokyo Disney Resort. Both serve as worldwide recognized icons and the flagship attraction for their respective theme parks.-Inspiration...
, with a tunnel, called the "star corridor", under the Walt Disney World Railroad
Walt Disney World Railroad
The Walt Disney World Railroad is a narrow gauge railroad circling the Magic Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World Resort. Operated by Main Street Operations, the gauge, 1.5-mile railroad circles the entire park with stations at Main Street, U.S.A. and Frontierland, and formerly at the...
tracks installed for people to reach it. This is contrary to the Disneyland counterpart, where people directly enter through the side of the building.
Ride experience
Original ride (1975-2009)
As the rockets leave the Space Port, they travel past the loading area, the Space Port queue, and the Mission Control Booth for the Space Port, where they make a brief stop to await their turn to proceed to the lift hill
Lift hill
A lift hill, or chain hill, is often the initial upward-sloping section of track on a typical roller coaster that initially transports the roller coaster train to an elevated point or peak in the roller coaster ride...
. After this brief stop, the vehicles wind down a small slope and enter a tunnel of circular and flashing blue lights, while a repetitive sound, meant to signify a building of energy, propels the trains along the track to the opposite end of the dome. At the far end, the trains make a 180 degree turn around and then climb the lift hill. A mirror
Mirror
A mirror is an object that reflects light or sound in a way that preserves much of its original quality prior to its contact with the mirror. Some mirrors also filter out some wavelengths, while preserving other wavelengths in the reflection...
positioned on the turn at the end of the tunnel gives the illusion that riders are about to collide with another rocket.
A projection of Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, stars, comet
Comet
A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
s, meteor
METEOR
METEOR is a metric for the evaluation of machine translation output. The metric is based on the harmonic mean of unigram precision and recall, with recall weighted higher than precision...
s, and asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
s can be seen when looking past the lift hill bay's open ceiling. It is possible to make out trains climbing the lift hill on the other side and also rockets passing through on the side, as well as the Tomorrowland Transit Authority passing through the lift hill bay. Once at the top, space shuttles then make a small and quick dip before plunging into numerous twists and turns as the shuttles travel through the dome in near-complete darkness, including the coaster's steepest drop of 39 degrees. The ride ends with the trains passing through a red swirling wormhole
Wormhole
In physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. For a simple visual explanation of a wormhole, consider spacetime visualized as a two-dimensional surface. If this surface is folded along a third dimension, it...
, before hitting the final brake run
Brake run
A brake run on a roller coaster is any section of track meant to slow or stop a roller coaster train. Brake runs may be located anywhere along the circuit of a coaster and may be designed to bring the train to a complete halt or to simply adjust the train's speed...
and entering the unload station.
Current ride (2009-Present)
Space Mountain closed on April 19, 2009 for a lengthy renovation project. It was the first extensive renovation since a previous closure in September 1999, and was estimated to cost USD $12.3 million. It reopened November 2009.Blue neon lights light up the ceilings above the queue, with black windows looking out into space recessed into the ceiling, where people can see projections of stars, nebulae, comets, planets, and a space station. Riders will then be assigned to one of two tracks: Alpha
Alpha
Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. Alpha or ALPHA may also refer to:-Science:*Alpha , the highest ranking individuals in a community of social animals...
, the left hand track, or Omega
Omega
Omega is the 24th and last letter of the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system, it has a value of 800. The word literally means "great O" , as opposed to omicron, which means "little O"...
, the right hand track. When the lines are long, usually Alpha is used for standby queue and the Omega for "FASTPASS". But when lines are short (usually fifteen minutes or less), a cast member will stand at the division of the lines and assign a group to a track. Unless they kindly ask, riders cannot choose between Alpha and Omega. The two tracks are near-mirror images of each other. Both offer the same experience, with effects equally shared and duplicated, however, so as to permit for the two tracks to cross each other, the Alpha track is ten feet longer than the Omega track.
Riders then queue at newly installed loading gates and enter the six person rockets. Pulling out of the loading station, riders make a 180 degree turn and come to a stop in a purple lit tunnel while waiting for the train in front to climb the lift hill. After a few seconds, the holding brake is released and the trains roll down a slope into the strobe tunnel. The strobe lights flash at a slower rate, but this rate gradually increases as the rocket progresses down the tunnel.
A repetitive warping sound signifies an energy charge as the riders roll towards a blue orb
Orb
The word "Orb", from the Latin orbis 'circle', is another name for a round object, especially a disk or a sphere.-Orb as a word:Orb may refer to:...
. At the far end of the tunnel, a field of stars appears as the blue strobe lights turn off. This is followed shortly afterwards by the strobe light
Strobe light
A strobe light or stroboscopic lamp, commonly called a strobe, is a device used to produce regular flashes of light. It is one of a number of devices that can be used as a stroboscope...
effect of the flash of the on-ride photo camera taking pictures of the riders.
Another train may pass by the riders climbing the lift hill. It is also possible to make out riders on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority
Tomorrowland Transit Authority
The Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover , formerly known as the WEDWay PeopleMover until 1994 and the Tomorrowland Transit Authority until 2010, is a PeopleMover system in Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort...
passing through the lift hill bay, as well as riders on the other track climbing the lift hill. At the top, riders descend a short drop and then descend through a series of turns, sharp climbs, and steep drops in the darkness of the dome. The ride ends with trains passing through a red swirling wormhole
Wormhole
In physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. For a simple visual explanation of a wormhole, consider spacetime visualized as a two-dimensional surface. If this surface is folded along a third dimension, it...
and then hitting the final brake run
Brake run
A brake run on a roller coaster is any section of track meant to slow or stop a roller coaster train. Brake runs may be located anywhere along the circuit of a coaster and may be designed to bring the train to a complete halt or to simply adjust the train's speed...
, before returning to the unload station.
As posted on Disney Parks Blogs on August 30, 2010, Space Mountain is now in Starry-O-Phonic Sound.
"Walt Disney Imagineering has added a new composition that’s exclusive to the attraction at Magic Kingdom Park that will play with varying sound effects throughout all “flights” on 100 newly installed speakers. “Starry-O-Phonic Sound” compliments a slew of enhancements that debuted on Space Mountain last year, including new lighting, storyline elements and updated decor." Original Article @ DisneyParks Blog
Trains
Matterhorn Bobsleds
The Matterhorn Bobsleds or the Matterhorn is an attraction composed of two intertwining steel roller coasters, which opened in 1959 at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. It is modeled after the Matterhorn, a mountain in the Swiss Alps...
), for a total capacity of eight passengers per train. Each rider had his/her own seat belt. In 1989, the trains were completely replaced. These new trains were externally and cosmetically very similar to the originals, and still consisted of two rockets joined together.
As before, visitors ride single-file. Now, however, the rockets have three seats, with one person per seat, reducing each train's potential capacity from eight riders to six. The 1989 vehicles introduced the use of lap bars, but in 1998 the lap bars were replaced with a new T-bar design, rather than the square design previously used.
On November 13, 2009 it was announced that the rockets would have a new paint scheme and new seat fabric. They now have a blue and gray color scheme. The rockets however no longer Glow In The Dark.
RCA sponsorship (1975-1993)
From 1975-1993, Space Mountain was sponsored by RCARCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
, who presented Space Mountain as an actual exhibit, more so than an experience as it is billed now. While the white and blue color scheme of the iconic Space Mountain structure remains the same, the entrance and exit building were also painted white and blue, and even included blue patterns painted on the exterior walls. The left entrance wall had the words "Space Mountain" displayed in bold, blue colored letters. The RCA logo was above this, and under the Space Mountain lettering was the slogan "A Journey Through Time and Space", beneath which was the phrase "presented by RCA".
The ceiling and flooring for the entrance building was done in reds, yellows, and oranges. A large white pylon structure had the RCA logo placed above it in three areas, and four passengers, dressed as astronauts, were placed in an original four seater vehicle, which was attached to the pylon. Below the pylon, in a planter was Space Mountain's dedication plaque which read: "ONE GIANT STEP... Dedicated to the men and women whose skills, sacrifice, courage and teamwork opened the door to the exploration of man's exciting new frontier...outer space. Because they dared to reach for the stars and the planets, man's knowledge of his universe, earth and himself has been greatly enriched.
Presented by missile, space and range pioneers. January 15, 1975." Inside, riders entered the spacious lobby, which did not feature the current mural of the Milky Way, but was simple black and blue painted walls that had various angular designs in yellows and oranges placed upon them. There were also floor to ceiling mirrors, support columns, and blue lighting under the floor. The floors themselves were made out of a combination of plastic and vinyl and featured black textured circles sticking out of the flooring. The rest of the inside of the structure, with the exception of the warning film, and the changes made to the vehicles, remains nearly the same from 1975.
For the first year or two of operation, a model of an RCA communications satellite was on display. After that, a flying saucer with RCA's NIpper mascot ("His Master's Voice") replaced the satellite.
The RCA logos atop the pylon were removed, and a new three seater vehicle replaced the old four seater vehicle that was attached to the pylon, a result of the original trains on the ride being replaced by the current trains. Everything else, including warning signage and other features dating back to 1975, remained the same. RCA once again had the entrance refurbished in 1992, this time all the entrance walls were covered over with blue vinyl covers. Some patterns were different than others. The 1989 left entrance wall lettering was simply placed on top of the new wall coverings. The yellow and black pattern around the entrance door remained the same. The ceiling and flooring remained the same, but the roof was now solid white, and the border to the roof was now red, white, and blue.
FedEx sponsorship (1994-2004)
From 1994-2004, Space Mountain's sponsorship was held by FedExFedEx
FedEx Corporation , originally known as FDX Corporation, is a logistics services company, based in the United States with headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee...
. The 1992 entrance remained very much the same, but now the entrance and exit building was partially demolished, forcing those exiting Space Mountain to exit into an arcade and gift shop that occupies part of the still vacant space left for the proposed but never built Tomorrowland railroad station. The left hand entrance wall, that served for years as the signage for Space Mountain was demolished in the 1994 refurbishment. The right hand entrance wall was now used for signage and simply had the words "Space Mountain" in a tall, thin, orange font, that was meant to reflect the architecture of the New Tomorrowland.
The large entrance door was kept, but now had storm shutters placed within the frame, creating a smaller entrance. New warning signage and warning spiels also came in 1994. A new, but different pylon tower was placed over the site of the old one. It too featured the new Space Mountain font and FedEx sponsorship. The warning film was also changed in 1994 for updated footage and to also feature FedEx Sponsorship. The film included both the warning footage and the futuristic but funny "SMTV" with its space themed news program. The warning film has so far changed only three times. The original in 1975, and two updated versions both in 1985 and 1994. The FedEx footage was removed in 2005.
The entrance lobby was refurbished with an orange and brown color scheme, but still maintained the blue floor lights, and black vinyl flooring, while adding in a FedEx sponsored intergalactic tracking network mural of the Milky Way. In 1998, the original flooring was removed and a staircase was added in the left hand queue, which is now the Stand By queue. The right queue, which has a ramp instead of a staircase, making it wheelchair accessible, is for the FastPass
FASTPASS
Disney Fastpass is a virtual queuing system created by the Walt Disney Company. First introduced in 1999 , Fastpass allows guests to avoid long lines at the attractions on which the system is installed, freeing them to enjoy other attractions during their wait...
return line. FastPass machines were also added outside of Space Mountain at this time.
Sponsorless (2005-present)
In 2004 FedEx left as sponsor, leaving Space Mountain sponsorless; the majority of FedEx logos, and sponsorship themes were removed in 2005, but some, and even noticeable logos and sponsorship themes were not removed until 2009. Particularly interesting is the sign used to label Space Mountain for passengers on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover. It was, until 2009, still the original 1975 frame, border, and bold and blue Space Mountain lettering.Only the phrase "A Journey Through Time and Space" was updated in font design, along with the visual and narrated mention of Space Mountain in 2005 (a shorter version of the 1994 Peter Renaday narration was used from 2005 to 2009, saying "Now arriving in Space Mountain, Tomorrowland's gateway to the Galaxy." The original 1994 narration was slightly longer, and said "Now arriving in Space Mountain, Tomorrowland's gateway to the Galaxy, presented by Federal Express
FedEx
FedEx Corporation , originally known as FDX Corporation, is a logistics services company, based in the United States with headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee...
")
In mid October 2009, the original sign welcoming TTA travelers was removed, and replaced with a modified version of the 1994 Space Mountain sign, with lime green instead of orange. The 1994 Space Mountain pylon and entrance building were also redone in a similar way, with lime greens replacing orange tones. And in early November 2009, new signs inside the mountain refer to it as "Star Port Seven-Five", a nod to its opening year. The Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover has had different spiels from 1975, 1985, 1994, 2005, and 2009, both pre-refurbishment and post-refurbishment.
Off-ride musical score
From 1975-1985 the entrance and exit building had overhead speakers playing the big band and orchestral portion of RCA's song "Here's to the Future and You". The entrance lobby had the softer portion of this song, however the music heard in the Star Corridor and in the Zig-Zag corridor near the loading station remain original from 1975. (For a brief period in the late '70s, RCA switched the song over to "Colortrak Keeps The Color On Track!", in reference to the company's new line of ColortrakColortrak
Colortrak was a trademark used on several RCA color TVs throughout the 1970s to the 1990s. After RCA was acquired by General Electric in 1986, GE sold the RCA consumer electronics line to Thomson SA...
TVs.) The warning spiel for the trains, and most sound effects are also original from 1975. Riders could hear music to the song "Music Makers" and "Sentimental Journeys" where the left and right side unload corridors merged together to form the line for the post show.
In 1985 RCA removed their theme song, and instead commissioned new generic music for Space Mountain. Since 1985 there is no outside area music around the exit and entrance building. Only the current warning narration spiel is played. In the lobby a composition to RCA's new song "We've Come So Far" can be heard and has remained since 1985. When riders unloaded from their ride vehicle, they entered the ride's post-show, which was also accessible for those who decided not to experience the main roller coaster ride. From 1985-2005, the unload and merger corridor both had a slightly different soft tune to RCA's new song "We've Come so Far".
In 2005, this was replaced with a musical score commissioned for Disneyland's newly refurbished Space Mountain. After the 2009 renovations, the same songs in the queue line play, but the musical score commissioned for Disneyland's Space Mountain
Space Mountain (Disneyland)
Space Mountain is a steel roller coaster attraction in Tomorrowland at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. After the success of the Magic Kingdom's Space Mountain, the Imagineers made plans to build another on the United States West Coast. The ride opened on May 27, 1977, ten years after the...
is no longer played in the post-show. Most of the main ride sound effects were updated and replaced.
Post show
No other Space Mountain has an extensive post show like the Magic Kingdom version. Riders board a moving walkway, known as a speedramp, that takes people back to Tomorrowland. As people enter the post show, above them is a flashing warning sign and spiel, both original from 1985. To the left is a half octagon shaped room and on the right are four large octagon rooms.The original post-show was RCA's "Home Of Future Living," which showcased how consumer electronics would shape our lives in a "typical" home of the future. (YouTube film of the Home Of Future Living.) The attraction featured the theme song "Here's To The Future," briefly replaced by a song (apparently) titled "ColorTrak Keeps The Color On Track," designed to promote televisions employing RCA's ColorTrack color television technology. In the mid-1980s, the Home of Future Living was replaced by "RYCA-1," which showed what life might be like living in a space colony on another planet. The RYCA-1 sets went through minor re-decoration when FedEx took over sponsorship, and the plot of the show revolved around sending packages across spatial distances. All traces of FedEx were removed after the company relinquished its sponsorship, then the post-show underwent another transformation in 2009 when the entire attraction was revamped.
All of these rooms are shown and viewed on an even surface, but after the final octagon room, the speedramp dips down at an angle, where riders go under the train tracks for the Walt Disney World Railroad. As riders travel back up to ground level, and toward the exit to Tomorrowland, the pass by other outer-space destinations Star Port Seven-Five can take them. The first two octagon rooms and the first four hexagon rooms can all be viewed from the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover just after passing through the lift hill bay because their ceilings are non existent.
Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover
The Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover (then known simply as "Tomorrowland Transit Authority") was also closed with Space Mountain on April 19, 2009, during which time it also underwent a refurbishment. The closure was necessary due to extensive construction work planned for the roller coaster, and the inherent safety risks such activity would pose to Transit Authority riders. Additionally, Space Mountain has access doors that open onto the TTA track which can not be safely used while the attraction is running.The Tomorrowland Transit Authority reopened on September 11, 2009. Although traveling the same path through the dome, the ongoing renovation inside was obscured by walls and posters announcing Space Mountain's re-opening date. On November 11, 2009 the construction walls were removed, providing an early glimpse of the refurbished roller coaster and post show.
See also
Incidents at Walt Disney World ResortIncidents at Walt Disney World Resort
This is a summary of notable incidents that have taken place at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.Several people have died or been injured while riding attractions at Walt Disney World theme parks. Since 2001, Disney has been required to report incidents to state authorities...
- info on two fatal incidents that have occurred at the attraction