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Space Mountain
At A Glance |
Visually excellent ride incorporating some of Disney's
best roller coaster effects, which take place in (relative)
darkness.
Unsuitable for pregnant women, or anyone with neck, back,
muscle or heart problems. Minimum height to ride is 50 inches
(1.40M).
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Originally missing from Disneyland Paris when it
first opened, De la Terre à la Lune ("From the Earth to the Moon"
AKA Space Mountain) was added to the park, opening on 1st June
1995 in Discoveryland, and is regarded as being one of the key
factors contributing to the park's rejunevation and its move from
a loss making park into a profit making one.
The attraction is based on Jules Verne's classic
science fiction story "From the Earth to the Moon" which
was published in 1865, and is very well themed, especially when
compared to its American cousins, which it beats in theming, and
excitement factor hands down.
Every 36 seconds the whole of Discoveryland echos
to a loud 'boom' as another party of guests are launched into
the depths of the attraction via the large "Colombiad"
canon that adorns the outside of the attraction. The Space Mountain
track is almost 1km in length, and allows the ride vehicles to
reach speeds of almost 70km/h in total, which is considerably
faster than the Walt Disney World version of the attraction.
Billed as a high thrill ride, it's not going to have
true roller coaster thrill seekers gripping the hold-down bars
with anxiety, but it is a great coaster and one that no self respecting
coaster enthusiast would miss riding when visiting Disneyland
Paris.
The ambience of the attraction is increased within
the ride vehicles, each of which features stereo speakers either
side of each rider, with music and sound effects that are specially
choreographed to change with each change in the ride.
Overall the ride feels a lot faster than it actually
is, probably because it's a dark-ride. Although the Disneyland
Paris version has various illuminated objects throughout the attraction
(asteroids, the moon, the sun, and various comets), there isn't
enough light to illuminate the rails of the track in front of
the ride vehicle, unlike the Walt Disney World version of the
ride in which the track direction can clearly be seen which tends
to spoil things a little bit.
The French version of Space mountain also features
a single 360 degree vertical loop, and a 360 degree corkscrew
loop, and is considerably more violent than the earlier Walt Disney
World version.
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Attraction
Details
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Min
age |
NA |
Min
height |
50" |
Duration |
2½
min |
Fastpass |
NA |
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Click to enlarge Images
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