Space Mountain (Disneyland)
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| Space Mountain | |||||||||
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| Disneyland | |||||||||
| Land | Tomorrowland | ||||||||
| Designer | WED Enterprises | ||||||||
| Manufacturer | WED Enterprises AMEC Dynamic Structures |
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| Attraction type | Steel roller coaster | ||||||||
| Theme | Spaceflight | ||||||||
| Opening date | May 27, 1977[1] | ||||||||
| Music | Michael Giacchino | ||||||||
| Vehicle capacity | 12 | ||||||||
| Cars per vehicle | 2 | ||||||||
| Guests per car | 6 | ||||||||
| Ride duration | 2:45 minutes | ||||||||
| Length | 3035 ft (925.1 m) | ||||||||
| Total height | 128 ft (39 m) | ||||||||
| Track height | 75 ft (22.9 m) | ||||||||
| Maximum speed | 32 mph (51.5 km/h) | ||||||||
| Height requirements | 40" (102 cm) | ||||||||
| Number of lifts | 3 | ||||||||
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Space Mountain at Disneyland in Anaheim, California is the second incarnation of the enclosed steel roller coaster. 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.[1] Originally, Space Mountain did not have a Synchronized On-Board Audio Track (SOBAT), but after the completion and success of Space Mountain at Disneyland Paris, a soundtrack composed by Aarin Richard was added to the ride in 1996.[1]
Space Mountain was closed suddenly on April 9, 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.[1]
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[edit] 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.[2] Six Mercury astronauts attended Space Mountain's opening — Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, Sen. John Glenn, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton.[1] 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.[2]
Space Mountain at Disneyland was designed by Bill Watkins of Walt Disney Imagineering. It was different from the WDW design because of space limitations.
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 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.[2] 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 1960's — sci-fi horror music and surf music — into a sensory ride experience. All of the music written for the show is 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 is synthesized and entirely devoted to the sci-fi aspect as the rockets leave the station to begin their slow climb to the top. After the vehicles have crested, a rocking surf rendition of the piece kicks 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 reenter the loading station, a brief musical finale concludes the experience with a soft, synthesized rendition of "Aquarium." In 1997, the exterior of the mountain was painted green and gold to match the recent facelift to Tomorrowland. In 2003, the mountain was painted white again.[2] 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.[2]
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.[3][4] On July 15, 2005 (with "soft openings" starting 1 July), 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 features new rocket sleds, a new queue, new music (composed by Michael Giacchino), new special effects and a storyline. The completely rebuilt track is the exact same layout as originally designed by Walt Disney Imagineer Bill Watkins in 1976. The original track was removed and the foundation was laid 30 feet deeper, making the ride much safer than ever. The floor of the building was also lowered ten feet. The Rocket Sleds no longer glow in the dark.
[edit] 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.
Rockin' Space Mountain premiered during the "Year of a Million Dreams" Celebration, and was promoted alongside Rockin' California Screamin, a similar modification to Disney's California Adventure's California Screamin' roller coaster beganJanuary 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 that many Disney fans enjoyed, but the Dick Dale Space Mountain theme 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." [1]
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.
[edit] Experience
Although the post-2005 version's track is completely new, it uses the same design as its predecessor. The main differences between this version and the 1977-2003 version are in the music and theming.
After being seated in the trains, riders are brought to a waiting area where they see a supervising Cast member in a control booth. When the ride begins moving, the soundtrack begins, and the trains turn right and travel up the first lift hill. At the zenith, the trains turn right twice and then climb the second, and longest, lift hill. Reaching the top of the hill, the train enters the main dome, and the simulated outer space is accompanied by gusts of wind. The train turns left and travels up the third and final lift hill at the point in the soundtrack when the audio flight controller reaches a countdown. When he reaches "1" and announces "Liftoff!" the trains are released from the chain and pick up speed.
The rest of the ride is a standard roller coaster, but in the dark. The only light comes from moving star projections that surround the trains. The trains reach a maximum speed of 32 mph (51.5 km/h), and the layout consists predominantly of right turns and small hills. During the ride's effects-heavy conclusion, an on-ride camera takes a photo and the trains slow to stop just behind the loading station.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Disneyland Resort: Space Mountain. Disneyland official site (2007). Retrieved on 2007-08-30.
- ^ a b c d e Yee, Kevin. The Space Mountain Homepage (unofficial). Ultimate Orlando. Retrieved on 2007-08-30.
- ^ Space Mountain reopens as part of Disneyland’s 50th anniversary celebration. The Disneyland Report (2005). Retrieved on 2007-08-30.
- ^ Disneyland Announces July 15, 2005, Opening of “re-imagineered” “SPACE MOUNTAIN,” featuring new technology and thrills. Disneyland Resort Newsroom (Official) (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2007-08-30.
[edit] External links
- Space Mountain at Disneyland Official Page
- Disneyland Space Mountain, Part 2
- Space Station 77, Space Mountain Fan Site, Detailed 3d recreations of Space Mountain
Disneyland Resort - The Matterhorn | Space Mountain | Big Thunder Mountain | Splash Mountain | Grizzly Peak
Walt Disney World Resort - Space Mountain | Big Thunder Mountain | Mount Mayday | Splash Mountain | Mount Gushmore | Forbidden Mountain
Tokyo Disney Resort - Space Mountain | Big Thunder Mountain | Splash Mountain | Mount Prometheus
Disneyland Resort Paris - Big Thunder Mountain | Space Mountain
