Anyone There Now? Space Mountain Open Yet?

[Ty_Ty]

It's the official opening date and I was wondering if any of you DISers wrer there now so you can fill us in.

[NJ2Boardwalk]

A friend of mine told me it was open. I don't know if it was a soft opening or not though.

[figmentgirl]

I must admit that after 100 threads anticipating the opening on Space Mountain, it's been a bit of a let down that there our no threads celebrating it's recent opening.

[rhiansmom]

We have been riding it all week but never rode it before so I cant compare for you... but it was fun!

[BradyBz12]

We lucked into a soft opening a week ago. Bulk of changes were to lighting and queue areas. Cars seem a bit "cushier" now and the ride is definitely darker. Overall it seemed a wee bit smoother too, but not a ton. Game in the queue area will be fun on those long line days.

[laxcd15]

We were there for the opening yesterday morning. For all the hype I was kind of surprised that there really wasn't that many people lined up waiting for the rope to drop for the ride. A lot of people also seemed to think it was still closed. The ride and queue seemed pretty much the same except for new lights and the video games. The ride however was better than I ever remember it! The added darkness was definitely the best new attribute along with a smoother ride.

[Jacklynn]

It was open today (at least this morning). DH and I rode. It was good, but I'm not really sure why it took them 8 months. It was darker, but I guess I was just expecting a bigger change. The seats did seem more comfortable though.

We were in line on the "Omega" side, but had to switch to the other side because our side went down. This would have been a little after 10am.

[LaniesMom]

We rode it all last week for the soft opening. Spoke with a CM about the changes and he said they were mostly to the queue. They didn't change the track at all according to the CM--although the ride felt smoother. The seats seem to have a bit more room.

[ShannonMB]

Rode it on Thursday during MVMCP. The last time I had ridden was in 2007, and I did notice cushier seats, and of course the games in the queue (which I didn't get to check out because the ride was a walk-on). I didn't ride this past Feb, because I thought it was just too jerky on our previous trip. Thought I'd try again after the refurb, as I was hoping that smoothing it out would have been a big part of it. It was still too jerky for me. I prefer a smoother ride like on RnRC, even with all the tricks. Glad I tried it after the refurb, but no more rides on it for me anytime soon.

[Ty_Ty]

Thanks everyone, and I too was shocked with the lack of hype for today's opening. This was the only thread I saw about opening today so that's why I posted it.

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

For those who have riden since refurb...Did they add any seatbelts or restraints? Or is it still just open?

Thanks!

[A and J's Mom]

I almost rode twice today. The first time was great; new seats that are still open and more roomy/comfortable than before and a pull down lap bar as a restraint. The ride itself was a bit more smooth, but still has jerks to it. Our second time, we were seated and the next group to go... when the ride broke down again on both lanes. So close! My husband was actually bummed we hadn't gotten started. He would have preferred to be on the ride to see the innerworkings!

I think there has been less hoopla about the reopening, because it is having problems getting restarted. It broke down 2-3 times today, and this has been going on throughout the soft opening earlier this week as well.

We were using fastpass, but it looks like the que is a lot more interesting, with video games set up along the way.

We'll try again on Wednesday!

[Mickey's Best Girl]

We managed to ride about a dozen times last week beginning Monday night during EMH. It is still in "test mode" so it was inconsistently available. In fact, one of the times we were riding, just cresting the top of the first hill, and the lights came on. That is a ride better left in the dark when you are on it.
As others have stated, the queue is different, the video game mentioned is neat but IMO it will be a problem. The few times the game was in operation folks were so involved that they didn't notice the line moving up so people behind them decided to pass. Not a good scene.
The seats seem the same, although a little easier on the behind. The lap T-bar is the same although the rockets don't seem to have a glow strip on them anymore. You can't see them whizzing around the track from the TTA. Another change is the loading area is covered, you can no longer see the stars/comets on the ceiling and you cannot see the loading areas from the TTA anymore.
They are now photographing you on the ride (is this shocking to anyone) for purchase of course. The photo is taken just as you round the corner out of the "blue tunnel" on your way up the first hill. I found this to be a very odd choice for photo op but the flash was soooo bright, if the photo was taken anywhere else, the ride would most definately be ruined.
All in all, I am just happy they didn't mess with the ride too much. The changes are subtle.

I took some photos of my DD playing the queue video game. Let me know if you are interested in seeing them and I'll post them.