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Duane
04-15-2003, 09:33 AM
I have a question concerning the Space Mountain rebuild in Disneyland. If I am correct, Space Mountain was built in Disney World first and then later built in Disneyland. If this is true, why is the Space Mountain in Disneyland already in need of complete replacement while the one in Orlando is still going strong? I am fully aware that the park in California was built much earlier than Orlando but Space Mountain was a Disney World original. It appears to me that management in Disneyland is much more lacking as far as maintenance and number of attractions being offered. Face it, Disney World still has Carousel of Progress, Peoplemovers, and Country Bear Jamboree. Also, Disney World has much less down time for refurbishments in the Magic Kingdom. It seems like everytime I go to Disneyland, several attractions are not operating.

Ghoulish Delight
04-15-2003, 09:44 AM
Read today's update at miceage.com. Kevin Yee has detailed the history of our Space Mountain and included the differences between ours and theirs.

Here are the main points that make the difference. The most important, they are completely different ride systems. When the Florida Space Mountain was built, it was basically WDW's version of the Matterhorn. Same ride structure, same bobsled style "rockets," same track type. When the Anaheim version was built, they couldn't do an exact replica because a) they didn't have as much land and b) it would feel too much like the Matterhorn. Instead, they used a nearly brand new technology, which is now the predominant rollercoaster track type. So the two coasters have nothing to do with eachother outside of their name and outward appearance. Florida's is more closely related to the Matterhorn. That, while it did need extensive repair, did not need full track replacement...and the Matterhorn is outside. So it stands to reason that WDW's Space is still in decent shape.

The other factor may be the hastily retrofitted soundsystem. Kevin reports that he was told by an imagineer that slapping the soundsystem on the old rockets changed their center of gravity, which in turn changed the stress pattern on the track leading to its accelerated decline over the past few years.