Space Mountain: Mission 2

[James6]

It's hard to describe really, but it's dependant on your height. For example I'm quite tall so my head didn't actually get bashed at all, it's my shoulders that got murdered and I've still got the bruises to prove it. The loops, you know when your upside down but no you don't realise that much.

And they spoilt it because, as I am tall, I was only held in on my shoulders, the restraint's were really hard and because of my height, the rest of the restraint was nowhere near body, therefore at any point on the ride with any force, it pushed down even further and clamped my shoulders.

Like I say it's body size dependant, and with restraint's that were suitable for those that are taller it'd be an amazing ride.

[Owain]

I think i must be the perfect height because out of the 10 + times ive rode SM:M2 over the past 3 years ive found it wild yes, but have never hurt myself.

[SwipatronSparks]

i love this ride i never have the problem of feeling pain when im on it.... but then im quite short (only 5"2) =] got to admit i have bumped my head a cupple of times on the more rough parts of the ride, but nothing substantial, to be honest i find indiana jones more painful than this ride....

[claire2281]

I rode it on Tuesday and it was probably the smoothest I've ever felt it. Rode it on Wednesday and today and it was rough as ever. It really does suffer in comparison with RnRC. I'm not entirely sure that the restraints can be blamed though, it's simply the ride itself.

I managed to avoid battering my head by bracing well but did really whack my elbow one.

[SwipatronSparks]

yeah.... i guess each ride would vary.... and you rode it today? are you home... or are you in disney.... with internet access?

ps. hope your elbow is ok =]

[claire2281]

I was there Tuesday to Thursday and got home yesterday evening. I only live in Ashford so it's simply the Eurostar journey for me

Elbow is fine thanks. I think I whacked a nerve because my whole arm was hurting on Wednesday which fortunately fixed itself after a night's rest.

[SwipatronSparks]

I was there Tuesday to Thursday and got home yesterday evening. I only live in Ashford so it's simply the Eurostar journey for me

Elbow is fine thanks. I think I whacked a nerve because my whole arm was hurting on Wednesday which fortunately fixed itself after a night's rest.

aah, lucky XD i wish i lived closer to disney lols =] and good to hear your elbow is ok =]

[PetiteSirene]

I only live in Ashford so it's simply the Eurostar journey for me

Snap! I love living near Ashford International I'm once again looking forward to going on Space Mountain... Its been a year and a half since I've been on since last september I was pregnant so couldnt ride

[CafeFantasia]

I don't know if anyone picked up on this before, but I was re-listening to Tim Delaney's interview on the Season Pass Podcast, from March 2010.

He said something funny towards the end. He said Michael Eisner "sent me a note back saying, thanks for saving Disneyland Paris. But I was like, hey this envelope is empty, where's the rest of that?"

Obviously a whole team of Imagineers worked on Space Mountain. But if Tim Delaney hadn't had the vision and the enthusiasm to create that attraction back in 1995, who knows what Disneyland Paris would be like today. Would the park even still be in business?

Some more interesting facts:

Space Mountain had a huge affect on attendance at Disneyland Paris. The park went from having 8.5 million visitors per year, to having over 11 million!

Space Mountain was actually built under budget. It cost $89.7 million to build, but the budget was $90 million.

[dagobert]

It definately needs more people like Tim Delaney and an CEO like Michael Eisner in his first 10 years at Disney to make DLP amazing again. Eisner added more than $100 Mio on DLP to save the resort. The current leadership is wasting money instead of creating something big that will really attract people to the resort. SM is the best proof that people are more attracted by great themed attractions. I really hope that the Imagineers will learn that again. It doesn't need characters or movie as a background for the attraction.

Back in that time the Imagineers wanted to try something new, that nobody has done before. Today they buy off the shelf attractions, add some characters and theming and that's it. Disney, please bring back Tim and let him fix Discoveryland and the whole resort!

Alan, there is also a great interview with Bob Gurr, a former Imagineer who had already worked with Walt, on the Season Pass. The other two parts with Tim Delaney are also very interesting. The first part is about EPCOT and the third part is about DCA and HKDL.

[CafeFantasia]

I think Tim actually said that the whole second-phase of Disneyland Park (from 1993-1995) had a budget of around $200 million, of which more than half was spent on Discoveryland for Space Mountain, the Nautilus and the Discoveryland Station.

I think Imagineers today still want to try something new, but it's the CEOs and upper management that are reducing their scope. The rules are stricter, the budgets are smaller, and there isn't as much freedom for them to take creative risks.

Yes, the Season Pass podcast has some other excellent interviews with other attraction designers. I haven't listened to the Bob Gurr episode yet, but I've listened to the Barry Braverman, Rick Rothschild and John Wardley episodes. It's all fascinating stuff.

[Festival Disney]

A small shelter has been added for CM's at the entrance:



Source: http://www.disneygazette.fr/noel-2010-d ... s-445.html

[Topcat401965P]

I used to love Space Mountain but i don't ride it anymore.

On my previous 2 visits, i went on Space Mountain but it has always been rough. So rough that i've encountered bad headaches after having my head thrown around. Even though i kept my head back against the back of the seat, my head was still thrown around.

Until they improve this ride, i will be staying away from it. My sister feels the same and she's an adrenaline junkie.

[CafeFantasia]

Yep, I totally agree. I don't bother riding Space Mountain anymore either. When you're supposed to be having a great day out, the last thing you want is a sore neck, or bruised ears, or bruised knees.

I actually hope Disney will change Space Mountain in the future, to make it less violent and more of a family ride. Currently it's a wasted attraction for a lot of people. It's the e-ticket that's not an e-ticket, because you don't want to ride it.

[SwipatronSparks]

i think it would be best to make it a bit smoother.... but what do you mean by a family ride? like take out the loops etc. and make it a normal big dipper like the one in WDW? and this is something else that has been realllly confusing me... whats an e-ticket?

[WillN]

and this is something else that has been realllly confusing me... whats an e-ticket?

Here's the answer. Dates back to the 1950s and it has its origins in Disneyland: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_ticket

Summary from the link above:

(e-ticket) has referred to an unusually interesting, thrilling or expensive experience. It derives from the tickets used at Disneyland and Walt Disney World theme parks until 1982. Formally, Disney called them coupons, but they were commonly referred to as tickets, as they were generally purchased in ticket books (with admission). The tickets came in different denominations, from A through E, with E tickets being the most expensive and reserved for the newest, most expensive or popular rides and attractions.

[SM:M3]

i think it would be best to make it a bit smoother.... but what do you mean by a family ride? like take out the loops etc. and make it a normal big dipper like the one in WDW? and this is something else that has been realllly confusing me... whats an e-ticket?

It would be nigh on impossible to remove the loops and to be honest you don't even know that you're going upside down when you're on the ride anyway. All that needs to be done to improve the experience is make it smoother. That alone would make it more family friendly. I think it may have something to do with the fact this is a Vekoma, which get rougher with time anyway; Corky at Alton

[dagobert]

Yep, I totally agree. I don't bother riding Space Mountain anymore either. When you're supposed to be having a great day out, the last thing you want is a sore neck, or bruised ears, or bruised knees.

I actually hope Disney will change Space Mountain in the future, to make it less violent and more of a family ride. Currently it's a wasted attraction for a lot of people. It's the e-ticket that's not an e-ticket, because you don't want to ride it.

I do agree that SM should be smoother, but I don't think that the track is the reason for being so bumpy. I think that the ride vehicles have to be changed or replaced by new ones.

What do you mean with a family ride? If SM has to be altered due to the roughness, I don't think that it will be more of a family ride. SM in Florida is a family ride, but SM in Paris will never be one due to the cork screws and loopings. In my opinion the ride shouldn't be changed that way. There is already BTM to cater the families.

[sebassah]

SM still remains a great ride including the bumpyness. I still love it, even though I put my I-pod in with the original ride music from 'Terre de la Lune"...

[Martyn]

Yes, as much as I love them, they do need to replace the trains. Vekoma now do a lapbar train which can invert safely:



This would improve the Space Mountain experience greatly, however I feel that with the on-board sound system, they may look a bit ugly. Thats one thing I love about SM, and RnRC, the sound system in the trains is hidden so well, especially when you compare it to some of the newer on board systems:



How ugly is that??

Also, the biggest problem is most probably cost. Not only will it cost loads to transfer the soundsystem etc, how many trains are there? 5, 6? I would imagine a set of new trains for SM would run well into the £millions.