Space Mountain Report

By Boz Adams

Space Mountain (directly behind the Orbitron), is the single best ride ever, EVER, created by Disney. Space Mountain at Walt Disney World and Disneyland California (I've visited every park but Tokyo Disneyland) are only poor excuses for rides compared to this one. In every respect including looks, ride, wait time in line, and anything else, it is superior bar none. Upon entering Discoveryland, I had no idea what I was in for. Even after having checked out most every Disneyland Paris site on the WWW, it still blew my mind. Upon arriving at the end of the line, a cast member has a measuring stick to weed out those deemed too short to ride Space Mountain. Not a problem for a big American like me who was clearly much bigger than the cast member himself:-) The line, which was as long or longer than a typical line at the other Space Mountains around the the world, moved much faster. While we were waiting int outside portion of the line, I was able to ogle the Nautilus which is in dock in the Nautilus Lagoon. Every 30 seconds you heard a giant "BOOM!" as the Columbiad of the Baltimore Gun Club shot another "bullet to the moon." I could also see the the "trains" themselves as they rocketed out the cannon and up the side of Space Mountain and into it...

We moved through the traditional Disney "serpentine" until we reached the entrance into Space Mountain itself. Waiting there was another cast member (this one an Englishman) with another measuring stick to get those short dudes who had managed to avoid the first guy. Once inside, we moved for a short time in pitch blackness. Periodically, we walked past tv screens which would show a short little teaser for Space Mountain including the just before being launched up the side‹at which point an emergency alarm/buzzer goes off and a message flashes warning at the bottom of the screen. It then cuts to a control room setting and a young oriental lady "materializes" on screen and proceeds to explain who should, and should not ride Space Mounatin, for what reasons, and that there are all sort of exits throughout the line for people who change their mind about riding it. My sister was one of those people.

Eventually we reached a point were we could see inside the ride. It turns out that we were inside a sewer pipe sized tube which passed right through the ride. I discovered this when I realized that the trains shot around behind, under, and in front of us. All you can see in this short preview is an asteriod which you shoot straight through, "slowing" you down, the moon with a face on it sort of similar to the one in the 1916 film, and the deaccelerator which slows the trains down before they approach the load/unloading area. After we passed on from this, we walked through hallways which I thought to be a very nice pastel green (I don't like most pastels). Then we reached a room which was blue. On the ceiling was one of those galaxy things which is supposed to look like a night sky. On the walls were schematic/blueprint type drawings in gold of the Columbiad which can be found on the outside of the building and famous quotes from the book. After you pass through this small room, you are once again outside, but covered, in what would make any red blooded American weep with joy to see after traveling 10,000 miles from home. I can't begin to describe it, but it is utterly American. I'll have pictures of that portion of the line up soon, so don't worry, you'll see what I mean. As for the ride itself? I hate to spoil things and there are other places on the WWW which "claim" to describe it in detail, but you don't know it till you ride it. Trust me...