The Theme Park History of Space Mountain feat. Jimmy Good (Magic Kingdom)

one of the man's oldest dreams has been the desire for space travel to travel to other worlds until recently this seemed to be an impossibility but great new discoveries have brought us to the threshold of a new frontier the frontier of interplanetary space hello and welcome the theme-park history the channel for everything to do with theme parks old and new big and small in today's episode we blast off on a rip-roaring rocket into the farthest reaches of outer space as we explore Space Mountain an indoor roller coaster that opened at Disney's Magic Kingdom on January 15 1975 Disneyland on May 27th 1977 Tokyo Disneyland on April 15 1983 Disneyland Paris on June 1st 1995 and Hong Kong Disneyland on September 12 to 2005 this attraction was suggested by all these space travelers so thank you to everyone for the comments when it comes to which attractions have had such a major impact at Disney parks space mountain is on the top of that list ahead of its time when first conceived by Walt Disney and Imagineers the first ever indoor steel roller coaster takes guests on a high-flying adventure to the deepest reaches of the cosmos flying past shooting stars roaring past streaking orbs of light and feeling the pull of gravity as they're drawn into a swirling wormhole while praised for its revolutionary design when it first opened in the early 1970s the attraction is still as popular as ever 45 years later so since we covered the first rollercoaster to open at Disneyland in the last episode it only makes sense to next take a look at the first to open at the Walt Disney Resort resort oh no this is it isn't it after two years they finally found me Disney is finally here to shut it all down well it was fun while it lasted wonder if they're gonna ban me from the parks and take away my Disney Plus account as well Supreme Leader Eiger if that's you can you just give me a minute to explain wait a minute Jimmy good from critical reviews what are you doing here this isn't supposed to be a crossover episode hey Jack sorry for interrupting but I heard you're going to explore Space Mountain which is my favorite attraction in Magic Kingdom do you think I can help you out with the episode uh yeah no problem Jimmy I actually can use a helping hand with this attraction as there's a lot to cover why don't you start us off while I make sure I'm in the clear from Mickey in his army of broomsticks aka his lawyers he's very protective of any of his properties the story of the most thrilling rocket ride in the galaxy begins 16 years before its first launch on June 14 1959 the first major expansion at the happiest place on earth took place known as the second opening of Disneyland the date marked the opening of three brand-new attractions but Disneyland all wake monorail system submarine voyage and the Matterhorn bobsleds whose thrill level required the creation of a whole new tier of attraction admission ticket the e-ticket of the three the Matterhorn by far was the most popular as was both the park's first thrill ride and roller coaster the success of the thrilling high-speed ride to the Matterhorn led to Walt Disney exploring the creation of other thrill rides for the park what would decide on placing the next thrill ride at the happiest place on earth within Tomorrowland as the lands original concept was altered and trimmed back due to time constraints and budget cuts when it opened with the rest of the park on July 17 1955 the light of tomorrow was nothing more than a showcase of corporate sponsorships featuring the Monsanto Company American Motors Richfield oil and Dutch boy paint even with the addition of the three new e-ticket attractions opening within the land in 1959 Walt still wasn't satisfied with the state of Tomorrowland as the corporate sponsored area already felt outdated just a few years into his lifespan in order to transform Tomorrowland into a vision of the future Walt decided the entire area would be rebuilt with new attractions and scenery as part of his vision for this new Tomorrowland what would approach Imagineer John henge 1964 about the idea for an attraction that could become the cornerstone of the revamped area known as spaceport the attraction would be similar to the Matterhorn bobsleds but instead of a thrilling bobsled ride through the Swiss Mountain es would travel through space with its own space-age inspired mountain wide enterprises would once again work with Aero engineering who helped designed the Matterhorn's ride system in developing the attraction well the first ever steel roller coaster consisted of two separate ride tracks with their own unique layouts the original design for the spaceport was to feature four different ride tracks each heading in and out of the mountain just like the Matterhorn however due to limited technology at the time along with space limitations in Disneyland the design was impossible to create the spaceport roller coaster concept would eventually be put on hold in 1965 as Walton weds enterprises focused their attention on the Florida project better known as the creation of Walt Disney World while the Magic Kingdom was a success when it officially opened on October 1st 1971 the park did have its flaws specifically Tomorrowland just like when it opened at Disneyland in 1955 Tomorrowland at the most magical place on earth didn't offer guests much to do besides the Skyway the only other attraction in the area was the Grand Prix Raceway but the parks ever-growing popularity specifically with teenagers and young adults Imagineers decided to begin development of thrill rides to the park as it lacked any sword at the time the original plan called for a copy of the Matterhorn bobsleds to be built within Fantasyland but was dropped due to a lack of space within the area and an expensive price tag to recreate the attraction instead of replicating the Matterhorn Imagineers returned to the spaceport ride concept as not only the technology required for the roller coaster had improved significantly since the initial design phases in 1964 of the needed space to build the attraction was available within Tomorrowland leading help to cover the bill for the spaceport card Walker the CEO of Walt Disney Productions at the time along with Imagineers John hench and Marty Sklar approached Robert Sarnoff the chairman of the major American electronics company RCA to sponsor it already in a working relationship with Disney to provide communications hardware throughout the Walt Disney World Resort RCA agreed to a deal to become the attraction sponsor providing ten million dollars with the roller coaster now officially greenlit the spaceport concept was officially renamed to Space Mountain with construction beginning on December 15 1972 while it was supposed to be built in the southern portion of Tomorrowland the attraction would be built just outside the boundary line of the Magic Kingdom Imagineers wanted more space to build other attractions within the land as well as not wanting the mountain to overshadow the park centerpiece Cinderella's castle because of its new location a tunnel to enter the attraction was built under the tracks of the Walt Disney World railroad even though the final design of the cone-shaped mountain had already been decided by Imagineers years before the attraction was greenlit the possibility of a dome-shaped mountain was at one time proposed as it would have been cheaper and easier to build in order to construct the mountain for large support beams were first installed followed by a ring of columns that would hold the structural beams to create the mountains cone design each concrete beam all 72 of them are identical weighing 74 tonnes and measuring 117 feet long with a base width of 13 feet that narrows to 4 feet at the top standing at 183 feet tall 300 feet in diameter and occupying over 85 thousand square feet the mountain is one of the largest show buildings ever created for a Disney park just like with the Matterhorn bobsleds Disney would team up with aro engineering to help build the roller coaster space mountain share some similarities to its predecessor the Matterhorn as each roller coaster features a tubular steel track design relying on gravity once the Train has reached the top of the lift Hill and brakes for safety throughout various portions of the ride while originally intended to have four different ride tracks the roller coaster would end up only having to do to both budget and spacing constraints the two tracks known as Alpha and Omega are almost identical as each track is a mirror image of the other both reaching a max high of 65 feet a max drop of 26 feet a max speed of 28 point seven miles per hour and a ride duration of two and a half minutes the only difference between the two is alphas track is 10 feet longer than omegas 3196 feet compared to 3,000 186 the ride has 32 two car trains sixteen for each track though only fourteen are operation at any given time again like the Matterhorn each train consists of two single-file rocket-shaped cars that feature two seats designed to hold two passengers per seat for a total of eight passengers per train these trains would be used until 1989 when new trains were installed now featuring three single seats per car reducing the total number of passengers per train to six besides the changes made to the seating arrangement lap bars were also installed for these trains until they were replaced in 1998 with a t-bar style design the roller coaster features the first of its kind ride system that allows computers to use a unique braking system one that is able to detect the position of each ride vehicle on the track determining when to launch the next ride vehicle as well as figuring out the distance between each one this braking system used to measure distances would be installed as part of the Matterhorn's massive refurbishment in 1977 and has become the standard for most roller coasters across the world besides being the first-ever roller coaster at the Magic Kingdom it's also the world's first indoor steel roller coaster as well since the attraction takes place in the dark the speed and drops of the roller coaster feel much faster and more intense as guests are not able to properly prepare themselves for what the ride has to offer with the price tag of anywhere between 15 to 20 million dollars Space Mountain would officially open at the Magic Kingdom on January 15th 1975 the grand opening ceremony featured a 2000 piece fan fireworks a balloon launch an astronaut Colonel James Irwin who served as the Apollo lunar module pilot for Apollo 15 and was the eighth person to walk on the moon taking the first official ride because it was the sponsor of Space Mountain RCA was allowed to advertise the company throughout certain parts of the attraction when guests first entered the attraction they were greeted by RCA's mascot a Jack Russell Terrier named nipper besides the space traveling nipper and his own spaceship the RCA theme song here's to the future and you would play as well the stork tunnel would feature various displays advertising RCA products that were updated throughout the sponsorship besides the entrance in star tunnel guests would exit through RCA's home a future living a moving walkway with scenes featuring audio animatronics and many products of the future including laptops and flat-screen televisions the post-show would remain the same until it was refurbished in 1985 now called ry CA - one showing what life might be like living in a space colony on another planet besides the changes made to the post-show RCA also removed the here's to the future and you theme replacing it with a more generic music track that was used until the company ended its sponsorship in 1993 when FedEx became the new sponsor of the attraction starting in 1994 not much was changed besides the company replacing the RCA signage with their own and modifying the post-show to emphasize intergalactic shipping with packages being sent across space with FedEx not renewing its sponsorship deal when it ended 10 years later in 2004 most of the company's logos and themes were removed leaving the attraction without a sponsor ever since the post-show would stay the same until 2009 when it in the rest of the attraction received major upgrades and changes the scenes were now more directly connected to the spaceport theme focusing on the promotion of different destinations around the universe which the Rockets could take guests adding monitors to the dioramas to promote activities guests could partaken if they were to visit the last change to take place to the post show was in 2018 with the removal of the moving walkway which had been part of it since opening in 1975 replacing the walkway with carpet instead we just got off of Space Mountain serious ride a ever been on stars we almost went hit the ceiling I'm sure at one time that's great gotta ride it located within Tomorrowland guests make their way to star port 7/5 home to Tomorrowland station MK - 1 an intergalactic spaceport that serves to many residents of the galaxy in their planetary travels which is enclosed within the mountain itself as they make their way through the queue guests enter the star tunnel which was built under the Walt Disney World railroad and actually leads into the ride building the tunnel features distorted windows full of stars that give the illusion of movement as guests walk by along with star maps showing various intergalactic space destinations heading out from the tunnel guests find themselves in the star corridor which has more windows with views of various planets and spaceships from 2009 to 2018 the corridor also featured 90 second video games guests could play hosted by a robot that operates space mountains Mission Control Center arriving at Mission Control the queue splits into two lines for the Alpha and Omega loading stations where guests board their six passenger rocket once all guests are on board the rocket leaves the loading station and ascends up to super space tunnel which infuses the rocket with enough energy for the journey through the stars out of the tunnel the rocket makes its way up the launch dock where astronauts are hard at work repairing the CMB 2000 rocket while the people mover moves through directly between the Alpha and Omega tracks once the rocket reaches the top of the launch stock it makes a small quick dip before plunging into numerous twists and turns as guests travel around the mountain in near complete darkness including the roller-coaster steepest drop of 39 degrees the ride ends with the rocket passing through a red swirling wormhole before arriving back at Tomorrowland station MK - one back at the station guests on board from their rocket and passed through a walkway that leads back to Tomorrowland which features a baggage claim the robot manned command center and various dioramas advertising other destinations guests can visit once they exit from the walkway yes enter the Tomorrowland Light and Power Company if shot where merchandise from the attraction is sold the two and a half minute long attraction has been a huge hit with guests as many have praised the rollercoasters no you know what this doesn't feel right hang on just one minute Jimmy Space Mountain is your favorite attraction instead of me just checking reviews on Yelp why don't you tell us in your own words why you love it so much jack I love space mountain for a myriad of reasons first of all I find the building itself the sign the cue line and the rockets to all be very aesthetically pleasing in a wonderfully retro futuristic sort of way the fact that this ride is completely enclosed makes it very easy to lose touch with the outside world which I adore as well essentially it's too mad Mouse roller coasters in the dark on the surface that isn't much to shock in our park goers but the build-up and setting make it so immersive that even without a prominent plotline you can't help but be sucked into the whole experience it still feels like you're riding on a piece of dare I say it theme park history the more I learn about it more I respect how precious this attraction is to the very foundation of what makes up any Magic Kingdom lastly the music in the beginning and middle of the Q line is pitch perfect when it comes to setting a striking space tone basically I have never growing fondness for this mysterious cosmic adventure and just thinking about it gets me amped up for future visits so Jimmy I think that about wraps it up for Space Mountain do you just want me to get to the part where I talk about how hyper Space Mountain is nothing but Disney trying to cash in on the popularity of the Star Wars franchise actually that pretty much sums up the sequel trilogy now that I think about it uh what about the other space found attractions you know the ones located at other Disney parks I feel that if you're gonna talk about the original you have to at least mention the rest but that's like for more space mountains I would have to talk about that's a lot of space to cover no nothing for space as a pun man my jokes are falling flat this year all right how about we split it in half I'll talk about Anaheim in Japan well you talk about Paris in Hong Kong well since you're putting in half the work it sounds like a deal to me just don't go bashing hyperspace mountain that was my idea [Music] Oh [Music] [Music] Space Mountain it could only happen at Disneyland experience it now all in the success of the interstellar roller coaster at the Magic Kingdom it was decided to finally fulfill Walt's plan to build Space Mountain at Disneyland with construction beginning in early 1976 a major hurdle Imagineers faced was redesigning the entire attraction in order to accommodate the lack of space within Tomorrowland the mountain is only 200 feet in diameter and 118 feet tall actually the entire structure was built 17 feet into the ground to keep the peak from throwing off the park scale which would have dominated Main Street the biggest change made to the disneyland version was replacing the Magic Kingdom's dual track layout with just one track instead even with all the changes that were forced to be made to the Disneyland version the attraction features an original track layout original special effects and actually is faster taller and longer than the Magic Kingdom's version reaching a max speed of 32 miles per hour a max height of 75 feet track length of 3035 feet and is 2 minutes 35 seconds long the Disney Legend also features two major differences when it comes to its entrance and roller coaster trains unlike having to enter the attraction through an underground tunnel yes actually ascend up into the side of the mountain but they eventually board the more traditional coaster train the features side-by-side seating instead of single-file with a price tag of 20 million dollars Space Mountain along with the 1,100 seat Tomorrowland stage the 670 seats faceplace restaurant and the starcade would officially open at Disneyland on may 27 1977 just like it was at the Magic Kingdom the attraction was a massive success breaking the attendance record for most guests visiting Disneyland in one day and the Memorial Day weekend attendance record at the park hosting a hundred and eighty five thousand five hundred guests over the three-day period while there were sponsors and minor changes throughout the years the attraction remained the same until it closed down on April 10th 2003 as the ride had become unstable and needed a complete track replacement the right track was completely rebuilt with the exact same layout it was originally designed in 1976 after a year-and-a-half refurbishment the attraction would officially reopen on July 15 2005 just two days before the 50th anniversary of Disneyland with a reopening ceremony featuring the first person to ever walk on the moon Neil Armstrong besides the new track the updated attraction featured new rocket trains new special effects a new storyline and new original composition by composer Michael Giacchino has synchronized to the ride because of the attractions success in Florida and Anaheim it was all but a foregone conclusion that Space Mountain would be a cornerstone of any future Disney Park the attraction will make its way next to Tokyo Disneyland opening with the park on April 15 1983 while the park was heavily influenced to be similar to the Magic Kingdom its Space Mountain is actually a mere replica of the Disneyland version the mountains height and diameter are the same as its Anaheim counterpart along with the track layout train design special effects and elements the attraction would remain the same until it closed down in October of 2006 in order to undergo a five-month refurbishment in the attraction reopened on April 28 2007 and now featured a more sci-fi futuristic theme overall including new special effects as well as a new loading station that features a futuristic spaceship hanging from the ceiling your destination outer space your speed astronomical your closest encounter asteroids [Music] between the earth and the moon lies the adventure Space Mountain the greatest ride in the universe at Disneyland Paris the fourth version of the attraction would arrive 12 years later at Disneyland Paris and is the most unique of them all Space Mountain do Litella a loon wouldn't be inspired by the Space Age but instead by the ideas of space travel from the perspective of Jules Verne and his 1865 novel from the earth to the moon with a price tag of 90 million dollars Space Mountain from the earth to the moon would officially open at Disneyland Paris on June 1st 1995 located within discovery land the mountain is steampunk themed with the Columbia ad cannon attached to the plate and rivet exterior which is covered in copper and brass it's the only Space Mountain to feature multiple inversions a launch a section of track that exits and re-enters the interior and was the first to feature a synchronized onboard audio track while it was a huge hit with guests from the earth to the moon would close on January 15 2005 in order to transform the rollercoaster to be similar in theme to the space mountains in America and Japan Space Mountain mission 2 would officially open on April 9th 2005 removing the Jules Verne theming and story altogether while the track layout wasn't changed many special effects from the original version of the attraction were replaced including the onboard audio track as part of the 25th anniversary celebration of Disneyland Paris it was announced on October 17 2016 that mission 2 would close down to become Star Wars hyperspace mountain in which guests joined the Rebel Alliance and hurdles through the Star Wars galaxy following the twists and turns of x-wings TIE fighters in a Star Destroyer hyperspace mountain would officially open on may 7th 2017 while rumored to finally shut down sometime in 2020 in order to transform the rollercoaster back to mission 2 there's been no official confirmation at this time the fifth and final Space Mountain would open with Hong Kong Disneyland on September 12 to 2005 just like in Tokyo the attraction is a near replica of the Disneyland version featuring the same track layout and soundtrack a major distinction for this attraction is a small loading area as unlike in Disneyland where Tokyo Disneyland there's no mission control what makes the Space Mountain stand out compared to the others is that it was the first to premiere ghost galaxies a seasonal Halloween overlay of the attraction featuring an evil space spirit trying to cause havoc in the Stars the attraction would implement new lights audio tracks and eerie projections to scare guests the event was such a huge hit when it debuted in 2007 that it would make its way to Disneyland two years later the attraction would be transformed a hyperspace mountain on June 11 2016 and while it was only supposed to be temporary like the other versions were it would become thyroids permanent theme complete with the addition of a full-size replica x-wing fully refurbished Q and a meet and greet area so there you have it a brief summary of the other Space Mountain attractions while each is unique in its own way the one thing they all have in common is every ride is a cornerstone of the park they're located and taking guests on a high-speed journey racing through the cosmos to the edge of the galaxy and back when it comes to classic Disney attractions Space Mountain is one of the greatest and most influential ever built Tomorrowland signature attraction has been thrilling millions of guests all over the world at five different Disney theme parks starting at the Magic Kingdom over 45 years ago rocketing them into outer space aboard the first ever indoor roller coaster dark ride what's most impressive about Space Mountain is how after all these years the attraction is still a must ride whenever visiting a Disney park cementing its place as a cultural icon that will forever be timeless so that is a theme park history of Space Mountain Jimmy thank you so much for being part of this episode and helping me out I had a great time working together where can people find more of your stuff if you're interested in hearing my voice some more or seeing me in the disney parts vlogging it up please go check out critical reviews I cover a wide variety of entertainment topics such as theme parks video games and movies hope to see you there also thank you jack for having me it's a true honor and pleasure especially as a fan to be a part of this great Channel fantastic make sure to check out Jimmy stuff when you get the chance a special shout out to all the theme-park fanatics on my patreon in the description down below as always thank you for watching the video and supporting the channel don't forget to like this video subscribe to the channel if there's any attraction you would like us to cover in a future video leave a comment down below once again thanks for watching and until next time hey Rick play us out

Channel: Theme Park History

Views: 177,809

Keywords: Theme Park History, Space Mountain, Magic Kingdom, Space Mountain Magic Kingdom, Space Mountain Walt Disney World, Space Mountain Disneyland, Space Mountain Tokyo Disneyland, Space Mountain Disneyland Paris, Space Mountain Hong Kong Disneyland, Space Mountain Ride, Space Mountain Ride Walt Disney World, Space Mountain Ride Disneyland, Space Mountain Ride Tokyo Disneyland, Space Mountain Ride Disneyland Paris, Space Mountain History, Theme Park History Space Mountain

Id: -MA1_lhgkJ4

Length: 26min 17sec (1577 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 13 2020