The Unusual Evolution of Disney’s Space Mountain

by SharonKurheg

One of my most favorite attractions at Walt Disney World, and especially at Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland, is Space Mountain. It was the first “big” roller coaster I ever went on and, as a 12-year-old, it was very exciting.

It wasn’t until years (decades, really) later that I learned about the history and evolution of Space Mountain. The original concept and various design changes back in the 60s. How it was supposed to open at DL but wound up being delayed and then opening at WDW first, followed by an opening at DL a couple of years later. Why/how the scenes you go past on WDW’s exit came to be. Lots of other stuff, like this…

Videos of Ride Throughs

There’s some footage of the attraction (with the lights on) in the video above, but it’s not the complete ride. Here are the complete ride throughs (with the lights on) at Disneyland and Walt Disney World (you can see more videos of Disney [and Universal!] attraction ride throughs with the lights on in this post).

Disneyland (2008):

Walt Disney World (2017):

One other thing I found. You may know that Disney attractions almost always have a backstory. However some are more well known than others. Disney’s Society of Explorers and Adventurers (S.E.A.) is an example of a relatively well known backstory. The backstory of Space Mountain was one I had never heard of, but I enjoyed this theory of same:

Granted, we don’t know if the above is 100% true or not. But it’s still a fascinating watch.

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary

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