Space Mountain?

[Tiffany]

Hi,

Is Space Mountain at DL any different from the one at WDW? Specificly the ride vehicles.

 

[bumbershoot]

You ride side by side at DL's space Mtn. I have read that that is different from WDW, but I could be wrong.

I've also read that it's smoother than at WDW.

 

[rstamm]

Hi,

Is Space Mountain at DL any different from the one at WDW? Specificly the ride vehicles.

It is one of the greatest rides I have ever been on and can't wait to ride it in June.

It is a million times better than WDW.

 

[Mrs. Bee]

Oh my God...they are completely different!!

I went on Space Mountain at WDW for the first time this month. I knew it was going to be different than the one at Disneyland but I had no idea just how much.

First, the ride vehicles are completely different. At Disneyland you ride in rows of two. Each rocket holding 6 people. Two rockets are connected. At WDW you are seating behind each other (just like on the Matterhorn at Disneyland.)

Disneyland's Space Mountain is set to music which completely enhances the experience.

Disneyland's is also a lot darker and harder to see the track.

Disneyland's is super smooth. I don't know if I'm just getting old, but I didn't enjoy WDW's Space Mountain at all. I felt like my head was going to fall off or I was going to get whiplash or something.

Oh...and the ride vehicles at WDW have almost no leg room or anything.

We waited in line for SM at WDW for about 20 minutes. We also had fast passes. Aftering riding it once, we gave our fast passes away. Once was enough! SM at Disneyland we will ride over and over. We rode in 7 times in one night over the course of an hour or two.

 

[Tiffany]

Thanks so much for all of the quick replies. We used to enjoy SM at WDW but the whipping effect started to cause us to have back pain after riding so we have not ridden this for a few years now. We are blaming it on getting old and on how the ride vehicles are set up. It sounds like we will give SM at DL a try. We have never been and are thinking of making a trip in 2009. We usually do a week in Jan and a week in Sept at WDW how is Sept to visit DL?

 

[DoomBugger]

WDW SM is just a Matterhorn knockoff. The tracks are the exact same ride. The DL SM is a single-track that is much more exciting than the Magic Kingdom's version, which is the first SM and DL's is the second one built.

No comparison between the two, even if MK SM has two lines to make the wait times shorter.

If you have a problem with the WDW SM you should avoid The Matterhorn at DL, it is the same ride with different themeing and is rough too.

September at DLR will be hot and crowded.

 

[Tiffany]

WDW SM is just a Matterhorn knockoff. The tracks are the exact same ride. The DL SM is a single-track that is much more exciting than the Magic Kingdom's version, which is the first SM and DL's is the second one built.

No comparison between the two, even if MK SM has two lines to make the wait times shorter.

If you have a problem with the WDW SM you should avoid The Matterhorn at DL, it is the same ride with different themeing and is rough too.

September at DLR will be hot and crowded.

Thanks for the heads up on the Matterhorn. We are okay with hot as it is still hot in Orlando in Sept. but the crowds are lighter, relatively speaking. Is there is low crowd season for DL?

 

[Mrs. Bee]

The matterhorn is a bit slower and I don't think it felt nearly as rough as SM at WDW. I enjoy the matterhorn quite a bit. It's by no means a smooth ride but it's still fun to go on once in a while.

Are you sure the matterhorn and space mountain at WDW are the same exact track?

 

[Mrs. Bee]

Avoid labor day weekend if you can. If you can go later in September you'll be able to avoid crowds a little more. Although in past years I don't think the slow seasons are as slow as they used to be. Every now and then you luck out and get there are on a slow day though.

 

[Mrs. Bee]

For weather stuff....

Go here http://www.wunderground.com/tripplanner/index.aspand you can see what past weather was like for the times you're planning your trip.

 

[Quest4fun]

Space Mountain while similar to the Matterhorn it is a different breed of the same animal. They're often mistaken for being the same ride because they're both two sided (designed to keep lines shorter) and both have the side by side lift hill which was simply convenient. Space Mountain trumps the Matterhorn's length by about 1000' and its height by about 40 feet. Oddly enough though they both top out at 27mph.

Disneyland's Space Mountain blows away The Magic Kingdom's with a nuclear weapon. It's faster, smoother, and has substantially better effects. The soundtrack is also fantastic. Even the old Dick Dale tune they used after the first upgrade was decent when it worked. I could ride this one all day without suffering a migrane. It's just fast enough to be fun but not so much that it tests your physical limits. Go and go often. It's a great ride.

The Magic Kingdom version? If you want to skip the line but still have the same ride experience I'd be more than happy to punch you in the back of the skull.

 

[DoomBugger]

Are you sure the matterhorn and space mountain at WDW are the same exact track?

Positive. If I have time later I'll post up the historical information. Basically to save money they used the blueprints from The Matterhorn for the tracks since they already had them and it would save millions in development / engineering / production time and nobody would be the wiser for it as evidenced by this thread. Big companies do this type of thing all the time, it is called "repackaging".

 

[Tiffany]

Thanks for all of the info. Mrs. Bee.

 

[Mrs. Bee]

The Magic Kingdom version? If you want to skip the line but still have the same ride experience I'd be more than happy to punch you in the back of the skull.

HAHAHA!!! Awesome.

 

[Mrs. Bee]

Thanks for all of the info. Mrs. Bee.

No problem. Any other questions just let me know and I'll attempt to answer them as best I can. I am sort of a Disneyland nut...haha.

 

[DoomBugger]

The tracks on DL Matterhorn are shorter than MK SM so it is not an exact replica but the layout is loosely based on Matterhorn apparently. I'll try to find more info on the development.

 

[valenrandy]

SM at WDW and Matterhorn at DLR use the same style track and train......
They both are twin coasters with a twin lift.
From there all similarities are non existant.
Once at the top no turn is the same.

come on now....... one is in space and the other is in swissland!

 

[Mrs. Bee]

valenrandy...what is going on in that picture in your signature?

 

[DLR29]

Positive. If I have time later I'll post up the historical information. Basically to save money they used the blueprints from The Matterhorn for the tracks since they already had them and it would save millions in development / engineering / production time and nobody would be the wiser for it as evidenced by this thread. Big companies do this type of thing all the time, it is called "repackaging".

I don't know where you're getting this from, but the two Matterhorn tracks are completely different from each other, while the two MK Space tracks are mirror images. They are not the same ride at all. MK's Space has a loading and unloading station with a lift chain in between. Matterhorn's beginning portion (right before the lift) is much shorter.

They might have designed MK's Space with the same kind of track, but not the same track layout at all.

Also, in response to crowds in September. It is the least crowded month of the whole year. Even Labor Day weekend(at least this year) was not that crowded. There should be very short waits for attractions. However Haunted Mansion will probably be down in the beginning to install the Holiday overlay.

 

[DoomBugger]

I don't know where you're getting this from, but the two Matterhorn tracks are completely different from each other, while the two MK Space tracks are mirror images. They are not the same ride at all. MK's Space has a loading and unloading station with a lift chain in between. Matterhorn's beginning portion (right before the lift) is much shorter.

They might have designed MK's Space with the same kind of track, but not the same track layout at all.

Also, in response to crowds in September. It is the least crowded month of the whole year. Even Labor Day weekend(at least this year) was not that crowded. There should be very short waits for attractions. However Haunted Mansion will probably be down in the beginning to install the Holiday overlay.

That is the point, they are both tubular steel coasters with the same type of trains. They go about the same speed and have a similiar feel.

September being the least crowded? I disagree, I would say January is the least crowded of the year. DL is always crowded year around for the most part. I love the short lines after the holiday hoopla!