Rocket into the outer reaches of darkest space on this high-speed thrill ride that blasts into the future and back. Board a sleek space ship and aim for the stars as Mission Control counts down to the most daring launch of your life!
Enter the crisp launch bay as it orbits a nearby planet. The bay welcomes you with its sweeping overhead lights and shiny metallic interior as imposing machinery captures your attention from above. Once you and your fellow space travelers are scanned and prepared by the control crews, board a sleek shuttle rocket and receive a safety check in the cockpit. Once secured for take-off, your shuttle then enters the power generation room and the airlock is activated. Energy transfers from the power globes to your shuttle to prepare it for launch. As the universe dissolves before your eyes, Mission Control counts down… Five…four…three…two…one…zero…! The galaxy implodes before you, spiraling into a black hole! Hang on tight as your space craft dips and careens at supersonic speeds.
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 original plans were made, and after Walt Disney's death. Originally, Space Mountain did not have a Synchronized On-Board Audio Track (SOBAT), but after the completion and success of Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune at Disneyland Paris, a soundtrack arranged by Dick Dale was added to the ride in 1996. Space Mountain was closed suddenly on April 10, 2003 for a complete refurbishment, including replacing the entire roller coaster track. The ride reopened July 15, 2005, just two days before the park's fiftieth anniversary.
Ride Experience
The ride begins in the Space Port where guests board their rockets. The rockets advance from the loading to mission control where a lap bar check is made and so it may wait its turn to enter the ride. When the rocket is released, the red strobe lights surrounding the rocket flash and it makes a right turn into the first room as the music begins. In this room, big, red X-shaped lights are on the sides and the rockets climb a small lift. At the top, two strobe lights flash on and the rockets enter a tunnel of flashing blue lights to signify the transfer of power to the rockets. After another right turn, the rockets enter the main lift, a long tunnel filled with screens. As the rockets begin their climb, red beams stretch along the screens and spin as a galaxy is seen swirling at the very top of the tunnel. As the rockets crest the lift, the galaxy swirls up and vanishes. The music climaxes as the rockets emerge into the main part of the ride, the inside of the dome. A very dark room with thousands upon thousands of stars, along with galaxies, novas, asteroids and other cosmological bodies. Gusts of wind are constantly blowing in the mountain, caused by vents and other rockets. The rockets make a wide u-turn before ascending one more small lift hill. A countdown begins as the vehicles crest the hill and the rockets are sent into a high-speed ride through the immense room. The ride consists of many turns and small dips with the illusion of speed given by the fact that the track is barely visible to the riders. The ride approaches the end by plunging in a series of tight right hand turns, going faster and faster. With a sudden left turn, the vehicles enter the re-entry tunnel with many colorful stars flying towards them and two flashes of light as the onride photo is taken. The rockets hit the brakes and make a final right u-turn back into the station as mission control welcomes the riders back and the music dies away.
Touring Tips
- When the rope drops at park opening, most guests race off to either Space Mountain in Tomorrowland or the Indiana Jones Adventure in Adventureland. Lines build quickly.
- Space Mountain is a Fastpass attraction, but on busy days the Fastpasses can be distributed long before the end of the day.
- Space Mountain is a fast and smooth roller coaster, with plenty of high-G turns, but no inversions or large drops. The ride is about two minutes long.
- This attraction combines two elements that a lot of kids find very scary - it's a roller coaster, and it's in the dark.
- Each space vehicle is composed of two cars, each with three rows that seat two people. Each passenger has their own lap bar. There's a net bag on the seat in front for the storage of loose items.
- Guests should be in good health and free from high blood pressure, heart, back, or neck problems, motion sickness, or other conditions that could be aggravated by this adventure. Expectant mothers should not ride.
- ECV or wheelchair users enter the attraction at the exit area and go left through the gate. You will be directed to a separate loading area, then transfer into the ride vehicle.
- At the exit to Space Mountain guests have the opportunity to view and purchase the photo that was taken of them while on the ride.
Facts
- The original Space Mountain opened at Disneyland on May 27, 1977 and the new Space Mountain features "Space Station 77" on its interior logos. Space Mountain reopened in July 2005 after an almost two-year rehab. Though the track layout is the same, the rocket vehicles are new and the ride is faster, smoother, and darker.
- The Mercury astronauts participated in the original grand opening ceremonies in 1977. Astronaut Neil Armstrong was a special guest at the reopening ceremony.
- The onboard sound system is the first of its kind! The composer Aarin Richard fused two musical forms of the 1960s - surf music and iconic science fiction sounds - to create a special audio experience. Later, the composer Michael Giacchino - who scored the Lost TV show, Ratatouille and Up - wrote a whole new soundtrack featuring instruments both classical and electronic.
- Vehicle capacity: 12
- Cars per vehicle: 2
- Length: 3,035 ft (925 m)
- Total height: 128 ft (39 m)
- Maximum speed: 34.8 mph (56.0 km/h)
History
Space Mountain opened in 1977, invigorating a decade-old Tomorrowland as Disneyland's second roller coaster. The idea for Anaheim's ride originated in the mid 1960s, during Walt Disney's lifetime, as a way to energize the aging Tomorrowland. The project was shelved until the success of Space Mountain in Florida. After two years of construction, the $20 million complex opened May 27 including the roller coaster, 1,100-seat Space Stage, 670-seat Space Place (fast food restaurant) and Starcade.
Six of the original seven Mercury astronauts attended Space Mountain's opening - Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, Sen. John Glenn, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton. The lone exception was Gus Grissom, who had died along with two other astronauts in a tragic launchpad fire ten years earlier. Largely due in part to the opening of Space Mountain, the Memorial Day day attendance record was set, with 185,500 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. The track layout was different from that in Florida because of space limitations in the California park.
The attraction continued operating without much change: sponsors would come and go, and various minor changes, including the addition of a "Speedramp" (moving sidewalk) in the entrance, happened without fanfare. In 1995, FedEx (which had by this time was holding sponsorship for the Magic Kingdom's Space Mountain) became the official sponsor for the ride, sparking a number of significant alterations. The queue area was revamped with television monitors looping safety videos, the loading station had a new Audio-Animatronic robot FedEx worker, and other scenic areas were modeled to include FedEx trademarks.
In 1996, composer Aarin Richard and show producer Eddie Sotto teamed up to create the first on-board music track for a Disney roller coaster. The creative vision was to fuse two iconic musical forms of the 1960s - sci-fi horror music and surf music - into a sensory ride experience. All of the music written for the 1996 version was based on "Le Carnival Des Animaux: Aquarium" ( The Carnival of the Animals ), written by Camille Saint-Saëns. The first section of the ride's music was synthesized and entirely devoted to the sci-fi aspect as the rockets left the station to begin their slow climb to the top of the dome.
After the vehicles crested the third lift hill, a rocking surf rendition of the piece kicked in as gravity pulls the vehicles down through the ride's interweaving turns, hills, and dips. (Guitarist Dick Dale was brought into the Disney Imagineering recording studio to play his famous surf guitar riffs for this section of the music.) As the rockets reentered the loading station, a brief musical finale concluded the experience with a soft, synthesized rendition of "Aquarium." In 1997, the exterior of the dome was painted in a green, gold, copper, and bronze, to match the recent facelift to Tomorrowland, and the Speedramp was removed, but the main ride itself was unchanged (Space Mountain's changes were rather minor compared to other changes made in the 1997-1998 facelift).
In 2003, the dome was restored to its original white. The ride closed suddenly on April 10, 2003, with an announcement that it would remain closed until Disneyland's 50th anniversary. The ride had become unstable and would need a complete track replacement. On June 25, 2005 Disneyland surprised its guests by announcing that the reopening of Space Mountain would open early on July 15, instead of the projected November date.
On July 15, 2005 (with "soft openings" starting July 1), only two days before Disneyland's official 50th Anniversary, Space Mountain reopened from a major refurbishment that started in April, 2003. A re-opening ceremony was held that day which featured a guest speaker, Neil Armstrong, who received a plaque that day which said "Presented to Mr. Neil Armstrong for his courage and adventurous spirit that continues to inspire all mankind to reach for the stars". The plaque also features the Disney quote "It's kinda fun to do the impossible". The new Space Mountain featured new rocket sleds, a new queue, new music (by The Incredibles and Mission: Impossible III composer Michael Giacchino), new special effects and a storyline.
The completely rebuilt track is exactly the same layout as originally designed by Walt Disney Imagineer Bill Watkins in 1976, including the original track from the station to the top of the lifts. The original track was removed and the foundation was laid 30 feet deeper, making the ride much safer than before. The floor of the building was also lowered ten feet. The rockets no longer glow in the dark.
Rockin' Space Mountain
Also part of this major "new" Space Mountain was a nighttime transformation of the attraction to Rockin' Space Mountain, in which the calmer soundtrack of the attraction in daytime hours was to be replaced at night by a driving rock soundtrack, and different special effects. The original version of Rockin' Space Mountain, called RockIt Mountain, premiered for Grad Nite 2006, with the track "Let It Out" by rock group Hoobastank, which drew mixed reactions from riders.
Rockin' Space Mountain premiered during the "Year of a Million Dreams" Celebration, and was promoted alongside Rockin' California Screamin, a similar modification to Disney California Adventure Park's California Screamin' roller coaster began January 3, 2007 and ended April 26, 2007. Contrary to the original plans for the attraction to only be "Rockin'" in the evening, "Rockin' Space Mountain" ran during all operating hours of the park. Rockin' Space Mountain does not use the Dick Dale soundtrack. This soundtrack however, makes one final appearance on Disneyland's 50th Anniversary 6-CD box set.
On December 28, 2006, Disneyland announced that the soundtrack to be featured for "Rockin' Both Parks" are two songs by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Space Mountain received an edited version of the band's 1989 song "Higher Ground". The song has been remixed to "heighten every twist, turn, rise and drop of the attraction." Rockin' Space Mountain's counterpart at Disney's California Adventure, Rockin' California Screamin', uses a remixed version of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Around the World".
The main differences between the regular and Rockin' Space Mountain include: a different soundtrack, new projections within the mountain, and many lights alongside the track. Riders begin their journey with "Uncle" Joe Benson, a radio disc jockey from the Disney-owned 95.5 KLOS, introducing the riders to the "Space Stage" where the Red Hot Chili Peppers will be "broadblasting live." The "rocket rockers" continue the flight with a "sound check" with guitar riffs accompanied by projections of bright colors and sound waves. While looking up the second lift hill, the spiral galaxy is no longer in place, but instead riders see a sun going nova. Finally, once riders crest the lift, the sun explodes. Once on the 180 degree turn next to the asteroid, there is a few seconds of no sound.
This allows riders to hear the sound of screaming riders and the soundtrack from other trains in the dome. The soundtrack then transitions into the song, "Higher Ground" at the bottom of the third lift hill. During this lift hill, "Uncle" Joe Benson comes back to say "No matter which planet you're from, we're about to rock your world. And it's all gonna happen in 5, 4, 3, 2, rock and roll!" Some of the new special effects include colored strobe lights, projections of dancers and other bright visualizer images.
Many colored lights line the tracks strobing in sequence and projecting on walls and the surroundings. Re-entry and the station remain mostly unchanged except for some added instruments (drum set, air/electric guitar, etc.) floating in space with the astronaut in the "planet orbit" screen. Another notable change to the station is that the "neon" lights that flash when a rocket train is "launched" to the right remain on and do not shut off, which makes the station a tad bit brighter. Also, the front attraction sign included "Rockin'" above "Space Mountain" while a color-changing light illuminated the spire above the sign at night. The design of the on ride photos were changed as well, which included the Rockin' Space Mountain logo, and many musical notes floating in space around riders.
The special Rockin' Space Mountain overlay was there for the 30th anniversary of Space Mountain.
Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy
Another transformation took place in the form of Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy, which includes special effects ghosts in space, new audio, and projections on the outer dome of the building. The overlay was first featured at Hong Kong Disneyland in 2007, but was brought to Disneyland for Halloween Time 2009 and returned for Halloween Time 2010 and again in Halloween Time 2011. Noticeable changes to the ride include a change in lighting during the first lift, the removal of the hyper-speed tunnel (which still is there but does not light up), the addition of lightning visuals during the second lift and ghostly images inside the dome itself. These ghostly images interact with the rocket trains, swiping, chasing and "throwing" the trains around the dome. At the end, the reentry tunnel is the same, but just after slowing down to reenter the station, a skull-shaped nebula appears as the trains make a right-hand turn back into the station.
Inside the Space Port, 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 "SIGNAL LOST," "SEARCHING..." and "SIGNAL ESTABLISHED".
Hidden Mickeys
- Each of the cars has speakers that form classic Hidden Mickeys.
- Even though the three pieces aren't round, the shielding that protects the Command Center creates a Hidden Mickey. The shape and proportion of the geometric shapes look very much like Mickey's head.