Space Mountain is OPEN!!

[dsnylndmom]

The stand by line is at 115 minutes as we speak!

 

[LeftCoaster]

I rode it twice this morning. =) Very awesome job they did on it!

 

[gmi3804]

I rode it twice this morning. =) Very awesome job they did on it!

Cool! Is it least crowded first thing in the morning? In other words, do we have to do the Space Mountain Dash as soon as the rope drops?

 

[LeftCoaster]

Cool! Is it least crowded first thing in the morning? In other words, do we have to do the Space Mountain Dash as soon as the rope drops?

I predict you'll need to do the Space mountain Dash. Keep in mind that today was a soft opening and it's the first day the public has been able to ride it. I got in line for Space Mountain at 8:30 am and it was about a 40 minute wait. I got back in line at 9:40 and it was just over an hour wait. When I left at 11, the posted wait time was 110 minutes. Also keep in mind these are all wait times WITHOUT any fast passes being available. They might turn on fastpass this weekend but, fastpass might not become available until the "official" opening on 7/15.
Side note, there seem to be added "props" that are dark and won't be used until next year when they launch "Rock It Mountain".

 

[Joan S.]

Hi LeftCoaster, How does the ride differ now? Is it a smoother coaster? I usually ride the one in WDW with my kids,but after I usually have a headache from being SHAKEN so much! I prefer Rockin Roll at MGM, so much smoother and FASTER! Joan

 

[smilingmouse]

Can anyone who has ridden the re-vamped ride tell me how large the vehicles are? I'm a "pooh-sized" (size 24) woman, and I'm wondering if I will have any difficulties getting in and out of the ride....TIA!!!

 

[iceskatejen]

You should be fine. The old cars had plenty of room and I understand from CMs who've been on that the new cars are pretty much the same.

I can't wait until Monday when I get to go back "home" and ride it.

 

[LeftCoaster]

Hi LeftCoaster, How does the ride differ now? Is it a smoother coaster? I usually ride the one in WDW with my kids,but after I usually have a headache from being SHAKEN so much! I prefer Rockin Roll at MGM, so much smoother and FASTER! Joan

It is very, very, very smooth. The queue follows the same path as the old one but looks MUCH more like being in a space station. They got rid of the old windows that looked into the ride. The loading area is essentially the same. They added some cool lighting, REALLY cool air gates, and the space probe hanging from the ceiling has been modified a bit. The launch sequence starts off with a blue light tunnel ala WDW. The first lift hill is nothing unique but very cool looking and hard to describe. The last lift hill to get you into the dome is insane. They used computer graphics to simulate outer space and it "spins" around you. This is VERY disorienting. The ride itself is "the same" there were some effects that weren't on. Either they weren't working or some of them are for Rock-It Mountain which will debut next year. Soundtrack was great too. It was composed by the guy that did the soudntrack for The Incredibles and has that same exact "Feel" to it. The re-entry tunnel was very cool and disorienting. Some really intense, strange lighting effects here that are tough to describe.
Personally, I thought they did a great job with the ride. Of course, if you read the Disneyland boards, a lot of them are whining about how much more could be done. They do that a LOT there.
The cars were essentially the same as the old, just reconfigured a bit and streamlined. After they added speakers on the old cars, it really made them a bit clunky. they've gotten rid of that mess.

 

[CrazyDreamer]

This news has made my day!

 

[BunnieGene]

I rode it this morning

The posted wait was 75 minutes, but we only had to wait about 50...and that was with a 10 minute stretch of no movement. The only bad part was that I now have a sunburn...lots of the wait is outside on a platform, and I had forgotten my hat/sunscreen.

It was very smooth, and I loved the music.

 

[Anim8ed]

What is "Rock It Mountain"?

 

[LeftCoaster]

What is "Rock It Mountain"?

Well, we don't really know the actual details but here's the gist. During the evening hours, the soundtrack will be changed to some sort of rock n roll soundtrack and the lighting and special effects will be changed to accomodate the rock 'n roll nightime theme.

 

[SueM in MN]

Someone on mouseplanet.com posted a lot of information about the new handicapped boarding for the ride. (really cool!!!)
That thread also has a link in it to his photo album with lots of pictures.

 

[Danvers]

Awesome, thanks so much for the info!!

 

[HydroGuy]

Well, we don't really know the actual details but here's the gist. During the evening hours, the soundtrack will be changed to some sort of rock n roll soundtrack and the lighting and special effects will be changed to accomodate the rock 'n roll nightime theme.

Adding to Lefty, the rumor is that RockIt will open in May 2006 to jumpstart the 50th celebration's second summer.

 

[chibichibirei]

Oh no! We just got back, I had no idea it was open!! Now I wanna jump back on the plane!

 

[mskani]

We rode it on July 1st. The posted time was 75 minutes, but I clocked it at actually 46 minutes. IT WAS AWESOME!! I have a new favorite ride.

We got back around midnight and I am just waking up (and adjusting to reality--as I have to go to work tomorrow ) I will definitely post a trip report as soon as I can.

 

[jlima]

Had to do the Space Mountain Dash at 8am then there were "technical difficulties" and the CMs said we were welcome to wait; after 15 minutes they opened the ride. Went back for a second time and wait was about 20 - 25 mins by 8:45 am. Very smooth!! I miss the old satellite thing though.

 

[LeftCoaster]

Had to do the Space Mountain Dash at 8am then there were "technical difficulties" and the CMs said we were welcome to wait; after 15 minutes they opened the ride. Went back for a second time and wait was about 20 - 25 mins by 8:45 am. Very smooth!! I miss the old satellite thing though.

There's some sort of new planet thing in the spot of that old satellite..... it just hasn't been turned on so, we don't know what it is yet.

 

[iceskatejen]

Over Sunday and Monday I rode Space 7 times this weekend. I'm so happy to say that my favorite ride is back! I still haven't gone through the regular queue as we had wheelchairs or special assistance passes in our group for each ride, but the wheelchair loading area is great. They pull the train off to the side and the wheelchair passengers can take all the time they need to get in and out of the train and not have to worry about breaking the ride down.