Space Mountain - Improvement Ideas

Space Improvements

Space Mountain - 10 Year Anniversary

To celebrate Space Mountain's 10 Year Anniversary, I think they should give the attraction a massive upgrade. With the Rock'N'Roller Coaster next door, offering a far superior ride experience, I think Space Mountain deserves to be improved, to finally get it's crown back as the best indoor Roller Coaster in the World.
Here's what they should do :

• The entire fleet of trains should be replaced with NEW trains that offer a smoother ride, an improved audio system (RnRC), more attractive paintwork, and Space Mountain logos.
• The re-coil mechanism of the Columbiad Cannon should be re-designed so that it finally works as it was intended to.
• The launch should be reconfigured so that it starts from the 1st parking point in the Cannon, offering a longer stretch of track to accelerate up.
• The interior of the Show Building should be filled with smoke (RnRC) and additional lighting and scenery should be added, to enhance the visuals of the ride.
• The queue video should be replaced with an entirely new one that features Jules Verne telling the story of the Baltimore Gun Club.

Reported by Alan Taff on 5 Nov 2002 at DLP Guidebook

Lots Of Cool Things

After having ridden the attraction many times, I have found a lot of cool things that could be added to the ride to make it incredible.
Now that the mezzanine is gone, put whole sets in it: cannon powder boxes, old cannons that are stocked, paintings of the astronauts of the book, etc...

• Put a false sky at the end of the catapult, that can adapt to any weather, and be turned to black at night, with a small moon that shines on it.
• Put some stars in the mountain, if not during all the ride, at least on the roof all around the moon, when the trains rise to the top of the mountain. It would be incredible!
• Change that crappy moon!!! Make a real tri-dimentional grey "baloon-type" moon (you can make a semi-complete ball if there is not enough space), complete with holes, and carefully lighted. Let a face on it if you want, but this should be the climax of the ride (from the earth to the MOON), and it is soooo disapointing...
• This could be so cool: when the train just passed the moon, it starts to plunge slowly into the darkness: put a very little earth at the bottom of the mountain, with discrete lightning on it, that would represent what you could see from space. Passing by and see it would add to the excitement and would make you feel as you were really in space!
• After the last inversion, when the trains are rolling in the dark at high speed, put like in Peter Pan, tiny sets of the park and its surroundings, and especially Space Mountain (or a set of a 19th century town), as you would see that you are coming back to earth, passing above the sets at high speed, with the models getting bigger as you approach the end of the ride (ie: Electro de Velocitor)
• Just before entering the Electro de Velocitor, put some smoke, that look like clouds: it would feet perfectly there (after passing above the sets in the dark sky, and entering the atmosphere (the multi-colors lines), you would be very close to earth as you pass through clouds, and before you can know where you are, you enter the Electro de Velocitor.

All of these ideas make you more feel that you are really in space and you are going faster than you actually are.

REPORTED: Douzy on 16 Jul 2000

Higher Longer Drops, Faster Ride

I agree with Alan: Space Moutain must have more stars in it, much like the star room in Peter Pan's Flight. Speeding through them at high speed would be incredible!! I also know that at first, SM was meant to be much faster, but they slowed it, to gain about 20 seconds. It would be cool to have a faster ride, and especially sudden drops, more high and long, to feel something in your stomach. Here, there is to much light (due to black lights) and the drops are not fast. When you're in the front, it seems to go at 2 km/h !!!

REPORTED: Douzy on 9 Nov 1999

Better Pre-Show Video, Start From Bottom Of Cannon

The one thing Space Mountain could do with is a new pre-show video. The one they're currently showing was made for the mountains in America, so the themeing is totally wrong. They should do one with a Victorian look, with Jules Verne telling the story behind the attraction, and giving the health and safety warnings, instead of that cheesey woman!
Also, I think the ride should launch from the first parking point in the cannon (if thats possible) to give a more intense experience.

REPORTED: Alan Taff on 27 Oct 1999

Concurrency Of R'n'RC

I still think they should upgrade Space Mountain. I think this will be even more necessary when the Rock'N'Roller Coaster opens in 2002, since they are similar rides.

REPORTED: Alan Taff on 24 Oct 1999

Boring Queue

Speaking of a "major attraction": How do you all like the queuing area of SM? Especially the last two rooms before you descent down to the platform?
I personally think they could definitely improve that area: Just green painted walls with some golden writing and ornaments. And those darn safety monitors could really need a better film, something like SM in MK has: they have a complete TV network claiming to broadcast from the whole galaxy. Lots of hilarious jingles and TV ads that make the wait a pleasure.
SM in DLP: absolutely boring...

REPORTED: Roland Young on 13 Sep 1999

More Themeing, Louder Cannon, More Stars

Even though I love Space Mountain at Disneyland Paris, I can think of a lot of things they could improve about it. For instance, I think the queue could be themed much better, and take you through the Baltimore Gun Club, with a strong emphasis on story. I think the volume of the music while you're on the ride, should be made much louder. I think the boom of Columbiad when you're sitting in the cannon should be DEAFENING, which it isn't. I think you should be able to see the moon in the distance, as you sit in the cannon waiting to be launched. I think there should be lots of stars inside the mountain, and much more themeing, so you have more to look at. Hopefully they'll upgrade the ride one day, and get to make some of these changes.

REPORTED: Alan Taff on 17 Aug 1999