Space Mountain: Mission 2
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Contents |
[edit] Attraction Information
| Space Mountain: Mission 2 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Roller Coaster |
| Designer | Walt Disney Imagineering Vekoma |
| Opened | 9 April 2005 |
| Length | 1,000 m |
| Height | 31 m |
| max. Speed | 70 km/h |
| Duration | 2:27 min |
| Number of rockets | 5 |
| Capacity per rocket | 24 |
| Queue | very long wait  
|
| Minimal height | 132 cm |
| Additional | Onride photo Building diameter: 60 m |
In the centre of Discoveryland, you can join an adventure based on the dreams of the famous Jules Verne. Space Mountain is inspired by Verne's classic novel 'From the Earth to the Moon', in which brave explorers are shot to the moon in a giant canon. Because it was so spectacular, it helped save Disneyland Resort Paris from bankruptcy.
[edit] History
When Disneyland Resort Paris opened in 1992, fewer people visited the park than first expected. Discoveryland especially dissappointed, and required much attention. In 1993, the number of visitors still didn't increase, which almost made the park go bankrupt. Luckily that was prevented because of an investment by a rich Arabian sheikh. This investment was so large, that after paying off part of the park's debts, there was money left to start building a new attraction to attract the crowds. This resulted in the building of Space Mountain.
Although Space Mountain was very popular there was also critisism: the ride became more rough with time, and even the special effects were said to have lessened. That's why the Disney Imagineers decided to improve the attraction and closed it on 11 January 2005. The goal was to make Space Mountain as popular as it was when it opened, on 1 June 1995.
In September 2004 the first information about the redesign of Space Mountain leaked. The rollercoaster would close on 11 January 2005 so that it could be redesigned. This information was confirmed a few months later. The press were shown a trailer, and it became clear the new 'Supernova' theme wasn't anything like what the rollercoaster was at that time.
[edit] The attraction
The adventure begins when you enter the building and walk through an open tunnel. There you can see other rockets, surrounded by meteors.
Then it's time for you to board one of the seats in a rocket. Each seat has its own stereo sound system, from which the sound of a rocket flying to space is played to further enhance the fun of the ride.
Then the rockets are loaded into the 'Columbiad' canon, in preparation for the launch. When it's time for launch, a loud 'bang', and a large plume of smoke ensure that you reach space.
In the next two minutes, you experience an amazing trip through space, in which the rocket tries to find its way through multiple star systems littered with spacemines. The rocket goes through several loops. If you're brave enough to keep your eyes open, you can enjoy the fantastic special effects. With the moon in sight, it almost seems as if you've reached your destination, but then the rocket slows down, until it holds still in midair. Suddenly, the rocket falls down, faster and faster, and the journey back to earth has started.
[edit] Facts
- The cost for the upgrading to Mission 2 was as large as building Space Mountain itself: it costed over 100 million euros to develop and build the attraction.
- The current soundtrack of the rollercoaster is composed by Michael Giacchino. The old soundtrack was called 'De la Terre à la Lune' (French, meaning 'From the Earth to the Moon') and was composed by Steve Bramson.
[edit] Limitations
The minimum height to ride Space Mountian is 1.32 meters. The rollercoaster isn't suitable for children younger than 10 years, pregnant women and visitors wearing surgical collars or orthopaedic devices and anyone with back or heart problems.
All visitors wishing to ride Space Mountain must be in good health without problems which might be aggravated (such as heart or spinal problems or motion sicknes).
