New for 2000

Introduction. This Space Mountain, designed by Tim Delaney of Walt Disney Imagineering and built by Vekoma, was the first one to feature sound and the only one to include inversions. Virtually everyone who has ridden it declares that this one is superior to all other Space Mountains out there.

History. Space Mountain in Orlando and Anaheim proved so popular that it was a virtual no-brainer to include one when building the new Euro-Disneyland in Paris. However, the funds simply weren't there for Space Mountain at the beginning, and the park opened in 1992 without it. Almost immediately plans were laid to add the mountain, then titled Discovery Mountain (the Tomorrowland section of Euro-Disneyland is themed after Jules Verne's designs and is called Discoveryland). A few name changes took place before the ride actually opened though: Euro-Disneyland became "Disneyland Paris" and the new ride would simply be called "Space Mountain: de la Terre à la Lune" ("from the earth to the moon," named after a famous Verne story). The ride opened to extraordinarily positive reviews in 1995.

What's the Jules Verne story you ask? Here it is!

Walk Through the Queue. The line for Space Mountain begins near the fantastic Nautilus, in on obscure crack in the otherwise impenetrable facade. You are greeted by a host/hostess of the ride, who is also there to verify that you are tall enough to ride. As you enter the building you turn almost immediately toward the right, the center of the building, and you enter a walkway covered by a half-hemisphere of grating at the top. It's quite see-through; the same sort of fence you might find on any given softball field. The fantastic thing is that above you the ride itself is roaring. In fact, at one point the coaster train screams toward the walkway and then dives UNDER it. It's called "La Voie Stellaire," or "Asteroid Walkway" in English. You can hear the music of the Rocketeer or Krull (!) blaring in the queue, and this music is similar to the ride soundtrack you'll be treated to shortly.

Just as impressive are the props within the mountain. In general the mountain is dark, and not covered with moving spots of white light (stars) the way that other Space Mountains across the globe are. Instead, there are lighted props to look at as you dive through the mountain, many of which you can see from the queue walkway. The walkway itself is dimly lit by pale blue lighting: enough that you can see while walking, but not so much that it distracts you while riding the coaster itself.

You then walk along the conclusion of the ride - the brake run through a "Electro-de-Velocitor" (Re-Entry De-Velocitor). It's a loud experience every time a train comes through, and one that startles many guests who don't expect it.

After heading up some stairs (and leaving the open-air walkway behind), you see the safety spiel video on a couple of monitors, featuring the 1996 Disneyland Paris Ambassador. The spiels are given in French and English (alternating), with alternating-language subtitles.

You briefly enter a small room themed with the "Columbiad," the giant cannon described by Verne in his story as the way to get propelled to the moon. The walls are covered by stylized blueprints of the Columbiad and a spacecraft necessary to travel to the moon. Here are some phrases you can see in that room written across the walls: "Ad Luna in flama Gloria" (En avant vers la Lune, dans un flambloiement de gloire). You can also spot some sentences exctracted from Verne's book: "Une détonation épouvantable, inouïe, surhumaine, dont rien ne saurait donner une idée, ni les éclats de la foudre, ni le fracas des éruptions, se produisit instantanément." And: "Une immense gerbe de feu jaillit des entrailles du sol comme un cratère." And: "La terre se souleva, et c'est à peine si quelques personnes purent un instant entrevoir le projectile fendant victorieusment l'air au milieu de vapeurs flamboyantes." There are forty sets of numbers/letters like AG752 and BB942 also on the walls/ceiling, as well as some dates of Apollo Missions to the moon.

Then, suddenly, you're outside again, maybe 40 feet away from the start point. You descend steps and enter the loading area - trains pull up to both sides in alternating fashion (think Big Thunder Railroad-style). If there are MANY guests, the queue line is extended before you actually board: you continue the queue line in a mezzanine (in this mezzanine, you go behind the tower, and you can see a rail switch). Watch for mention of Space Mountain's original name - Discovery Mountain - in the tower and in the station.

The journey to the station is a very good teaser, since you have to walk a long and very dark corridor through the entire building, and you may see some portions of the ride and sets through large openings in the walls. There is also a 'chicken' route which allows you to view the pre-show without actually going on the ride.

Mock Ride-Through.

Once inside the station you board one of the trains (6 cars, 4 seats per car) themed like sci-fi vehicles designed in the 1900s, featuring over-the-shoulders restraints. Soon, the soundtrack begins the ride: "Voyageurs de la Terre à la Lune, bienvenue à bord. Veuillez baisser votre harnais de sécurité, et garder bras et mains à l'intérieur de la navette, pendant toute la durée du voyage. La mise à feu est imminente. Welcome on board space travellers, please lower your harness and keep your arms and hands inside the vehicle all time. Prepare for blast-off!" The background music begins and it will continue throughout the ride, timed to the drops and lifts and turns perfectly; it's a John Williams-ish type of classical, inspirational music. You depart the station fairly slowly, and after a long turnaround inside a tube, you reach a sudden drop that leads you to the bottom of the cannon. A hook attaches itself under the train and you are pulled into the enormous Columbiad Cannon.

A very loud detonation is heard, smoke fills the cannon and the train is catapulted into the circuit. A short drop is followed by a long downward helix in complete darkness. You dodge some little asteroids and then you plunge into the looping. Leaving the first inversion, the train rushes through a huge "space mining" machine - called the Blue Moon Mining Company - and a series of trim-brakes which lead you into the core of a melting asteroid (affectionately known to the CM's as MOM - "mother of meteorite"). Then comes another sudden drop into the corkscrew. After a 360 degree inversion, the train "hangs" briefly at a 90 degree angle before a fast section of track to the second lift. The train climbs the hill very quickly - a 'road sign' says "to the Moon: 50,000 km" - and you reach the Moon, which looks like the one in George Melies' 1902 film. Look for a hidden Mickey formed by three craters in the Moon's smile (the Moon's face changes to a smile as you get closer).

The train drops suddenly as you leave the satellite orbit and rushes through some other meteorites. The train negotiates a "horseshoe" (a flat standing upward turn) and gains speed as it reaches another downward helix with dark light effects simulating re-entry into the atmosphere. The train hits the brakes through a shower of sparks inside the "Electro de Velocitor" machine - a loud process that can heard clearly (sometimes startlingly) in the nearby queue - and then goes back gently back to the station.

Right after disembarking, you can buy the onboard picture taken of you sitting in the train; called Light Speed Photography. The picture had been taken just before the cannon blastoff.

Needless to say, this ride is excellent - the best at the park and the best steel roller coaster in France. Special effects and sets are superb. The soundtrack (a bit John Williams-ish) is magnificent, and the onboard audio system is CD quality.

For a different report of the Space Mountain - Paris experience, Follow this link!

Note: special thanks to Nicolas C. (l'homme qui sait trop de Space Mountain) for helping out with the details about the Paris attraction!

Media.

Visit http://spacemountain.dlpfan.org/ride.htm for sounds and tips on the Paris mountain.

Statistics & Merchandise.

General Ride Statistics


Construction started	March 1993 (Vekoma)
Ride opened		June 1st, 1995
Length of track		1 kilometre
Thrill elements		360 degree "sidewinder" loop
			"corkscrew" loop
			180 degree "tongue" loop
Speed			Up to 70 kilometres per hour at peak
			speed
Ride controls		Redundant programmable logic controller
			based system, employing six main
			computers and 1,300 impact/output
			points



Rocket Ship Vehicles

Launch System		Electric-motor-propelled catapult
			(similar to system used for aircraft
			carrier launches)
Seating capacity	24 (6 rocket ships, 4 passengers each)
Audio			6 built-in speakers per seat. Digital
			audio with automatic playback speed
			adjustment to synchronize the musical
			score with key elements of the show.
			Music written by movie composer Steve
			Bramson


Columbiad Cannon
Acceleration		Up to 1.3g during the catapult launch
			(approx. 1.8 seconds to the top of the
			mountain)
Launch capacity		One rocket ship every 36 seconds
Length			22 metres
Inclination		32 degrees
Weight			15.5 tons
Width of barrel		5 metres
Special effects		Steam smoke system, synchronized
			lighting and audio "boom"
Decorative cladding	24 kt. gold leaf on the archer, sun-
			face and moon-face



Building Statistics

Diameter		62 metres
Height			43 metres
Depth			 5 metres below ground


Space Mountain Merchandise
T-Shirt A		Dark blue or gray. SM logo transfer on
			front (95 FF)
T-Shirt B		Dark blue. "Space diagram" transfer on
			front; "I survived... did you ?" and SM
			logo transfer on back (150 FF)
Long Sleeved Shirt	Dark blue. SM logo embroidered patch on
			chest (225 FF)
Rain Jacket		Dark blue. SM logo transfer on chest,
			"Space diagram" transfer on back (250
			FF)
Wool Jacket		Dark blue. Disneyland Paris logo
			embroidered on chest, large SM logo
			embroidered on back (850 FF)
Baseball Cap		Dark blue & suede, with SM logo
			embroidered patch (120 FF)
Sticker			Round, SM logo (5 FF)
Postcard		Four exterior views of building and
			cannon on one card (3 FF)
Key Chain		Transparent plastic. Round, with SM
			logo (15 FF)
Pen			Silver & dark blue with SM logo (30 FF)
Mug			White & dark blue with shooting stars
			and SM logo (35 FF)



also seen, but not for sale:
Cast Member Watch	Dark blue. Plastic, with SM logo and
			"June 1995". (Note: it is believed that
			if another watch isn't designed, this
			one could make it to the stores)
Cast Member Button	SM logo with "Entrez dans la legende -
			Juin 1995" ("Be part of the legend -
			June 1995)
Bumper Sticker		"I survived", with colour drawing of
			train rushing through the meteors (as
			seen on the control booth window)

More Statistics.

          TRACK

. Ride track: 1000 meters
. Total track: 1100 meters, includes storage and Station

Dimensions:
. Diameter of track tubes: 142 mm
. Walt thickness of track: 6 to 13 mm
. Distance between center fines of track tubes: 1218 mm
. Outside diameter of backbone: 324 mm
. Inside thickness of backbone: up to 25 mm

Number of tracks:
One (1)

Number of block zones:
Seven (7)

Number of brake zones:
Two (2) + 2 stations

Number of tilts:
Two (2) Catapult (Lift-A)
Pacer (Lift-B)



          Heights:

. Lifts (tram start of lifting point to summit of lift):
Catapult: 60 meters; 32° inclination
B-Lift: 24 meters
Space Mountain peak: 31 meters (+ 5 below grade)




          VEHICLES

Number: 6 trains (with 6 cars each train)
Weight:
Unloaded: 5000 Kg (train)
Loaded: 7500 Kg (train)
Length: Each car: 2,5 meters
Each train: 16.5 meters
Capacity: 24 guests per train


          Speed:

Average: 14 m/sec
Maximum: 21 m/sec


          Capacity:

Maximum Theoretical Hourly Ride Capacity (THRC):
2400 guests (five trains)


          Guests

. Load/Unload station: 48 guests


          Ride Statistics

Top speed: 70 kilometers per hour
Thrill elements: A 360° "sidewinder" loop, a "corkscrew" loop and
a180° "tongue" inversion.
Vehicle capacity: 6 cars, carrying 4 passengers each - total 24
Launch system: Catapult



          Cannon Columbiad Statistics

Length: 22 meters
Width of Barrel: 5 meters
Launch frequency: 36 seconds


          Cannon Blast Statistics

It takes 1.8 seconds for the vehicle to reach peak velocity of
approximately 14.2 meters/second. Maximum vehicle elevation
achieved during the launch is approximately 26.5 meters. Total
acceleration felt by guests is approximately 1.5 Gs.



           Building Statistics

Diameter: 61 meters
Height: 36 meters (5 stories):

3 stories above
2 stories below

Upkeep - Problems as of 12/2000.

The door on the side of the cannon is supposed to open; it's broken.

The tip of the cannon is supposed to move back when a train is launched.

Green neon lightss on top of the building don't work.

3 of the 5 trains have a problem: they're too heavy, so they have the last row roped off to prevent problems.

If you're under 1.40 meters - the minimum height - you can get this diploma which enables you to travel to the front of the line (no waiting!) on your first visit when you *do* grow tall enough. Isn't that great?

Anyone have vidcaps of the BBC specials "Shoot for the Moon" and "France 3 Ile de France Paris"? They show a lot of construction on the mountain, please email me if you have this.

Here is Buzz Aldrin, on hand for the ceremonies. Buzz had this to say about the ride: "Space Mountain is physically more impressive than a real rocket, because accelerations are more brutal. This attraction could be compared with an aircraft fighter, even though the real sensations from a real rocket are nearer to a Boeing flight."

Buzz with DLP President Philippe Bourguignon.

Here's Philippe again (top left) and the MAGICIAN & MODEL couple you might recognize. This is an example of the "Light Speed Photography" you can buy of yourself, but this one comes from Opening Day.

Tim Delaney, designer of the Mountain for WDI, and his Imagineering friends.

These images were donated by Biene and Teasy, who run a German-language website on Disneyland Paris.

Provided by Josh Catalfo, who has a page on Disneyland Paris

Donated by Steve Frearson, who runs his own Disneyworld Magic website.

This great pic courtesy of Ken Crowe!

These spectacular images are courtesy of Mat!

A different Matt brings you this great nighttime pic, though this image itself is copyright Disney.

Thanks to Julie Sherwood for this fabulous 1997 shot.

These images courtesy of Mark Jochems (Netherlands), who maintains the Digital Disney Newspaper!

These are images donated by Stefan Langer; the first is his own image, the second is a postcard (Copyright Disney of course), and the third is from the Imagineering book and thus is also copyright Disney.

Here's a nice (yet altered) image from Kevin Baxter in England!

Donated by Guillaume, who is the "BEST fan of Space Mountain in France." Merci beaucoup Guillaume!

Thanks to Toby for this great image of a smoking Space Mountain.