Does Space Mountain Go Underground?

[AndyMcV]

Hi Gang

Just curious, I saw a picture of Space Mountain and it made me wonder does the ride actually go under the ground surface? Did they build it into the ground?

Andy

 

[A_NY_Outlaw]

I don't think so, since when walking through the que line you continue to ramp up until you get to the final boarding level. You almost don't realize it though. I'm not sure what the actual elevation difference between outside grade and the final level. Maybe someone will have an inside edge. I'd sure like to see a cross section of SM....hehe yes I'm an architect "geek"

 

[BrianD]

I don't think it actually goes underground. For one thing, the entire Magic Kingdom was build up some 14 feet above ground level, to allow for the underground, utilidoor system.

 

[wings91]

I don't think that the utilidors are under every square foot of the park.

What abou the belt/escalator ride from the end of the ride to the exit? That definately goes up, and ends at ground level. So SM must be somewhat underground.

 

[I'mNoPrince]

I think for the most parts it's above ground. When your on the TTA that goes trough it you just about the same height as it would be from the ground.

Now the entire building might be a few feet below WDW ground Level but not that much.I have also seen it from the TTA with the lights on so I know where the floor and all is in reguards to the TTA

 

[ntsammy5]

Gee good question. I don't know??????

 

[CanadianGuy]

I agree with I'mnoPrince.. but just from my experience of seeing the attraction with the lights on, it doesn't appear to go 'underground' in the sense that there is a tunnel or anything like that. The floor of the attraction might be 12-24 inches lower than the 'ground' level of MK exterior to the attraction but that's hardly what I would call a basement or 'underground'.

This map of the utilidor system seems to show the utilidors would go roughly underneath at least part of the Space Mountain structure but then its hard to say for sure.

 

[A_NY_Outlaw]

I don't think that the utilidors are under every square foot of the park.

What abou the belt/escalator ride from the end of the ride to the exit? That definately goes up, and ends at ground level. So SM must be somewhat underground.

I might be wrong, but I don't think the exiting and boarding are necessarily on the same level.

 

[A_NY_Outlaw]

I agree with I'mnoPrince.. but just from my experience of seeing the attraction with the lights on, it doesn't appear to go 'underground' in the sense that there is a tunnel or anything like that. The floor of the attraction might be 12-24 inches lower than the 'ground' level of MK exterior to the attraction but that's hardly what I would call a basement or 'underground'.

This map of the utilidor system seems to show the utilidors would go roughly underneath at least part of the Space Mountain structure but then its hard to say for sure.

That illustration is pretty neat!

and no....12-24" below grade would not constitute a "story" or basement.

 

[disneyworldluvr349]

I am pretty sure that it does not go underground but I am not positive.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

Yes, it does go underground. The entire structure was sunk 15 feet below ground level so that it wouldn't dwarf Cinderella Castle.

 

[bradk]

i don't think it does, but actually what you should know is space mountain is way outside the perimeter of the park. the tunnel system wouldn't come into play. that's why the queue line is so long. they actually have an arial shot of the MK in the tunnel and you can see just how far outside space mountain is.

that said, i know the one at disneyland is built below ground level. i think the primary reason was so that its height didn't go above that of the matterhorn.

 

[JessiMommy]

This portion of an article found at mouseplanet.com suggests that the entrance tunnel at the very least is underground.

Before opening day, RCA requested that their famous Nipper be represented in the pre-show. I designed a classic flying saucer for RCA's Fox Terrier mascot, popular from the earliest days of recording. Nipper was the first to greet RCA's guests as they descended the entrance ramp that led to the long tunnel. The tunnel passed under the Walt Disney World railroad tracks leading on through to the pre-show to the vehicle loading area.

Here is another portion of an article I found at wdwhistory.com. It too suggests that only the tunnel is underground to get you under the railroad tracks and then up into the attraction.

The ride is actually built 'outside' the park meaning that it is outside the railroad track. The entrance has you go down a slight grade to go under the Walt Disney Railroad tracks and then back up into the ride. The exit does the same thing except is on a moving sidewalk.

 

[bradk]

that much is true as i did mention it's outside the park. but as for the attraction itself, it might be another story.

it was a common occurrence in disneyland where quite a few of the attractions are outside the berm. that's where haunted mansion's stretching room came into being. at disneyland, it's a lift that lowers you down so you can walk under the berm to the show building outside of the park. same thing with pirates. indy is also outside the park (actually on what was a parking lot - there's an eeyore sign left inside it as a homage).

but with WDW, i'm not as sure. i remember the guide on the magic behind the steam trains tour say that the POTC does the same thing at WDW (the drop is to get you under the train tracks) , but i'm not sure on that.

 

[Dan Murphy]

15 feet underground.......


http://www.ultimateorlando.com/extinct/archive/space/orlando.htm

 

[Brian_WDW74]

15 feet underground.......

Gee, I wish I'd said that.

 

[bradk]

unfortunately that site is a bit ambigious to me.. it keeps going between disneyland and disney world.. and disneyland's is below ground as i said. i just googled it a bit and found out that it goes 17 feet below ground.

i actually found one post on another forum site which gets pretty technical and he specifically mentions all of WDW is above ground

I had also planned to have all track above ground like WDW's ride (Disneyland's has 17 feet of track underground). With that in mind, this would bring the total height of my Space Mountain ride building to 134 feet. Since I had chosen the Disneyland Paris exterior, and their ride building is 141 feet-- only 7 feet higher, I decided to make the height of my Space Mountain 141 feet, the same as theirs; since this would make it a lot easier for the actual design, and would greatly help avoid distortion of the ride building by cutting out a few extra feet!

(that's in reference to rollercoaster tycoon)