Space Mountain Report

The Complete Space Mountain Experience

By Romano

The first time I ever heard of space mountain was in 1995, I was 11 years old. In a typical summer morning I saw on television the documentary on space mountain,before its grand opening! I was fulgorated by it and that summer I went with my parents to Paris to ride it. I remember that the sensations I felt were incredibly strong and when I returned home I started to feel as being part of Space Mountain; from then I continue to dream of it during the night, even now, and continue to listen of its soundtrack! I lost my head in searching everything about it, soundtracks, photos, videos, until I found the start page of my current internet explorer, FeLIX' Space Mountain Fan Pages. It was as this great boy read into my mind (eternal thanx to you friend)!

The dream came reality again in 1998 when I went to paris with a school trip, it was such a wonderful feeling to see Space Mountain again and such a sadness to leave it once again! After that trip I made a promise to myself: "after the school I will try to become a cast member!".

Well, I kept this promise and in the october 2002 I become CM in the Disneyland Hotel first and then in the Costuming Building. I was CM only for two months because I didn't pass the trying period 'cause of my team leaders' bad attitude, but with the experience I made those two months with Space Mountain now I can say that it has no more secrets for me!

First of all I rode it seven times without step off the train one day when the park was pratically empty, I completely learned the track; then I made photos and videos of the interior in the star way because it's impossible to see anything in a normal ride video.

The cool part of my experience comes now: my greatest dream was to see it with lights on! As I said before, I worked at the costuming, so it wasn't a problem for me to take a pair of security shoes used by rollercoasters' technicians; so one day I waited until the park closure and I walked toward Space Mountain area; nobody were in the park (did you know that even when it is closed the music keeps playing??). I knew that the technicians started to work an hour or something after the closure, so I waited for them in the station and after had speaking with one of them I was sent into the underground floor where I met their Chief (What was his name? Guillaume? Bernard? I really don't remember it, I will call him simply the Chief). I asked him if I could see the interior of the mountain with ligths on and he was so kind in taking me for a walk inside space mountain! We walked on some parts of the tracks, on the MOM lift and on the moon lift, I recognised all the loops and the drops that are impossible to see in the dark, we went beside the Electro de Velocictor, I stood just in front of it, and in the end he took me into the cannon, on the little stairs that I think you all have noticed on the right of the catapult; we walked up and up, and the sight of the park from the Columbiad's top were unbelievable! I saw also the track's entrance into the mountain and all the first spiral seen from the cannon exit mouth.The Chief explained me also the technical part of the attraction and took me in the computer room,showing me the machines that control the ride, and in the garage room, where the train are stored and repaired. When all the tour was ended, seeing my enthusiasm, the Chief told me: "You can return everytime you want! There is no problem, you will always be welcome!" ... but he didn't know he had just realized the greatest dream of my life!

Something like five days later I received the notice of my dismission. I was very sad about leaving Disneyland and the CM life and returning to Italy, but inside of me I felt I missed only one thing; and I reached the top two or three days before leaving, when I went into the park before it opened (thanx to a service corridor I know under the Disneyland Hotel and with a little help of my "non-more-valid" ID card) and thanx to a great and kind friend that worked at Space Mountain and was doing its opening procedure, I rode it with lights on! I can't debscribe my sensations during these two minutes! To see all the details that make this ride so unique was such a wonderful thing that at the end of the rumble a little tear felt down from my eye!

Now I am in Italy, studying for university and waiting also for an utopian coming out movie on Space Mountain (maybe after "Pirates of the Carribean" and "The Haunted Mansion" it could be possible,isn't it?),but I hope with all my strength that one day I will go to make me a life in Paris, to find work and a house there again, to stay only at 40 km from the dream that changed my life! Until then, I will continue to surf on FeLIX' great pages and to keep these memories and this experience forever in my heart!

Thanx to eveyone for sharing this dream with me!

Romano from Italy.

AD LUNA IN FLAMA GLORIA DEAR SPACE TRAVELLERS!