Space Mountain - tracks rough?

[soarinfan]

Can anyone tell me if the tracks are still really rough on Space Mountain? I know there's lots of jostling, but are the tracks themselves going to cause a more rough feeling?

 

[wilde_oscar]

I wouldn't say rough, but ya get tossed around pretty good.

 

[mechurchlady]

It has a smooth steel track and actually goes less than 30 mph. It is does have some turns that send you to the side but I have never had a problem with it. A lot easier that Indy Jones for example. Steel tracks are not shaky and bumpy like the wooden tracks. Check youtube for ride throughs as there are many out there and some done with the lights on. I looked at the ride specs before responding and still cannot believe it goes that slow but it is the music, darkness and effects that make it seem faster.

http://www.spacemountain.net/images/SpMt_superstructure.jpg
A lkot scarier in the dark, lol.

 

[Mary976]

I hate coasters, but DD, who is a HUGE fan, thinks Space Mountain is a rougher ride than Expedition Everest.

Mary

 

[mechurchlady]

Everest is also a steel roller coaster that does up to 50 mph.
http://www.rcdb.com/id2389.htm

Space Mountain is in darkness and has a lot more tight turns like spiralling downward so that it gives the rider the feeling of g forces.
http://www.rcdb.com/id267.htm

In looking at the two ride vehicles you can see major differences that would make one a less smooth ride. Space mountain sides barely reach above the hips and there is nothing to prevent a person from leaning sideways unlike Everest. Space mountain also does not have a full back rest like Everest which engulfs and keeps the rider in place.

They use the same type of steel tracks but the ride is different because Space mountain is more of a spiralling compact roller coaster and Everest is more of a runaway train roller coaster.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

How similar is Space Mtn to BTMRR? I love BTMRR, but have not considered riding any of the others just yet.

Suzanne

 

[aussiedad]

I have some enck problems and I definitely recall one track being rougher than the other. While the rougher side was a little unpleasant the other side was fine. I think the rough side was the fastpass side but I am not 100% sure of this.

 

[Vijoge]

OK, I'm not a huge roller coaster fan, but I do love both SM and BTMRR. I do think BTMRR is the rougher of the two.

 

[chaospearl]

I've gotten equally bruised up on SM and BTMR, but I'd agree that BTMR is the "rougher" of the two. By rougher I mean that there's more bouncing, jouncing, jostling, and vibration. SM by comparison is faster and harder with steeper drops and more forward momentum so that it hits you harder if your elbow gets slammed against the inside of your seat, but it's a smoother ride in terms of bumps and thumps.

One thing to note is that while BTMR's ride vehicle can seat two people, SM's is more compact, and that's a great help if you're riding with people in your party who are significantly larger or smaller than others. For instance, if a child and an adult ride the same vehicle on BTMR, inevitably what ends up happening is that whenever there's a sharp curve, both people go sliding across the bench seat and whoever is on the inside of the curve gets squished. If one person is a 65 lb child and the other's a 185 lb adult, that can be a problem. There's no real way to avoid it since the track has curves in both directions so no matter which side you're sitting on, at least one time during the ride you're going to end up pressed against the inside of the vehicle with the other person clinging to the bar trying not to slam into you as their body slides across the bench and collides with yours. So if it's your first Disney trip and you've never ridden BTMR before, it's important for the larger person to be aware of this and make sure to cling to the safety bar for dear life to avoid flattening your kid! And if you're alone in the ride vehicle, then YOU have to make sure to grab tight to the bar and hold yourself stable through the banking curves, otherwise you'll slide across the bench seat and slam into the side of the vehicle, which I can tell you is a lot more painful than anything Space Mountain can do to you because the SM vehicles are divided into three separate compact seats that don't allow for much sliding around.

 

[mechurchlady]

Space mountain at WDW and Everst have snug fitting seats that keep the rider from sliding around. The only time I ever freaked out on a ride and thought I was going to come out of the seat was at Big Thunder in DLR.

Everest and Space Mountain give each rider their own lap bar. Big Thunder has one lap bar. This means the smaller guest is not as tightly secured. It has bench seating which means every corner has people sliding. The sides of Big Thunder come up to about my ribs so that i can lean pretty far out of the vehicle and the seat back is not high like Everest.

At DLR guests can get some air time on Big Thunder and I remember them times when my fat butt would be off the seat. It is a runaway train type of ride like Everest which I have never ridden. The worst definitely is Big Thunder as I have done a lot of seat polishing by sliding to the outside on a turn. Also it has them drops that you get the rump off the seat experience.

I loved both very much but I got of a sensory after effect from Space Mountain and more fun and thrills on Big Thunder and Bobsleds which also are steel coasters. I love wood coasters but for a smooth ride give me steel.

 

[Absimilliard]

Space Mountain at WDW is sadly not a smooth ride anymore. 33 years of year round operation along with an insane number of rockets means that if Space Mountain was at your typical regional amusement park, it would be close to a 100 years old!

Disney tries to keep the ride smooth by changing wheels and doing track work but the track is just so worn out that most turns feel like the rockets are running on small rocks instead of smooth steel track. Disneyland Space Mountain used to also be like this, but, in 2003 they closed it down for 2 years and completely rebuilt 90% of the ride. They kept the loading station and the 3 lifts, but the rest was taken apart and replaced with brand new solid steel track. They also changed the trains and the result is a brand new, smooth, fast and awesome ride. Compare the track on the left (old style) to the one on the right (brand new track): http://www.rcdb.com/ig2491.htm?picture=10 . Notice how the right track is a huge steel beam while the old track is smaller.