Space Mountain®
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Space Mountain® Overview
Entering Space Mountain®, windows appear to look out into the universe, providing
a sensation of walking through space and the anticipation of a spine-tingling adventure.
Guests board six-passenger trains that rocket through tunnels of flickering neon
lights, then begin a rapid descent along an intricate and dark track. The
spatial-effects lighting, sprinkling the inner-heavens with galaxies of stars,
darting meteors and glowing space vehicles, sets the stage for an adventure as
close to a cosmic voyage as most people will ever experience.
Walt Disney World® warns that this ride may be too intense for very young children. A height restriction of 44" is in effect and children under the age of 7 must be accompanied by an adult. Parents may choose the "switching off" option here, ask the Cast Member at the entrance for assistance. Guests using ECVs must be able to transfer to a wheelchair.
Space Mountain® History
Opening in 1975 in central Florida, Space Mountain became the world's first completeley dark indoor rollercoaser.
Disney World receives too much annual rainfall to justify outdoor roller coasters. Thus, the Florida needed a rollercoaster which would have to be indoors and away from the weather,
so designers melded the idea of Disneyland's Matterhorn with the "Spaceport" concept designed in Walt's time.
The Space Mountain concept actually dates back to Walt's time; in the mid 1960's the plan was to create a new corner of Tomorrowland at Disneyland, with a "SpacePort" theme. However, the plans never took hold at Disneyland. The Spaceport idea involved part of the ride outdoors atop the mountain, then diving into the blackness within. However, possibly due to the weather conditions in Orlando, this idea never materialized.
There are two sides to Space Mountain, of course. They are identical to each other, mirror images really, except that one side is 10 feet longer to allow it to cross over the other side.
Originally, Space Mountain was sponsored by RCA. When exiting, you walked past dioramas of "homes of tomorrow" in which people were using "advanced technology" such as videodisc players and videophones. It was a classic 70's version of "the future."
Their show was called the Home of Future Living. After Orlando's success, Disney obviously didn't want to tinker with a working concept so all other Space Mountains remained largely indoors.
After 1995, RCA was dropped and Federal Express became the sponsor of Space Mountain.
Space Mountain® Trivia
- The tallest point of Space Mountain® is 180 feet
- Longest Drop: 35 feet
- Maximum Speed: 28 m.p.h.
- Trip Time: 2 minutes, 47 seconds
- The speed of the trains is greatly affected by the weight of the train, but it also has to do with the time of day. In the mornings, the trains are what we call cold. The grease on the wheels is thick and looks like play-doh or some type of black putty, during the day however, the trains heat up and the grease gets thin like a water type lubricant causing the trains to go much faster at night. The only exception to this rule is if we have a breakdown which would cause all of the trains to become "cold" again.
Space Mountain Hidden Mickeys
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Every third window of stars while you wait in line has a Mickey constellation. - During one of the news reports in the video shown in the queue area, a satellite comes toward the camera and it is a three-dimensional, fully-detailed Mickey head.
- You can see a Hidden Mickey from either of the loading bays or the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. Look for the big meteor, followed by a comet, then followed by the three "chocolate chip cookie" looking meteors that spin and briefly form a Mickey head when they meet for a short second.
Space Mountain® Urban Legend
A guest's head was severed by standing up on Space Mountain False
This Disney urban legend has been around for quite some years now. However, it does have some basis in fact. When Disney Imagineers where testing Space Mountain they had a test dummy standing up on the ride. As a result of this the test dummy's head was severed from it's body.
For more Disney urban legends click here.
Space Mountain Reviews
| 5/22/2008 |
Perhaps the most famous attraction at Walt Disney World. I prefer the California version (and am dying to try the Paris version) over this one, but this is still a must ride.
 | 1/9/2006 |
One of my favorite rollercoasters of all time. Also, people may say it only goes 28mph. But then, your riding in complete darkness.
 | 11/11/2005 |
Compared to the Space Mountain ride in Disneyland Paris this was absolutely rubbish! Disney really need to think about upgrading this ride after building Expedition Everest. It's out of date and people need the scare factor when it comes to the mountains at the Magic Kingdom, what else is going to do it there. However as I say this I was really shocked at how steep the Splash Mountain drop was. You can't get that in the UK. If your going to go on any of the mountains try Splash Mountain.
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