News Space Mountain exit being worked on

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
The whole concept of a space "mountain" really doesn't make any sense when you think about it.

Still a great ride though.

Pfft. C'mon! It's a *mountain* of *space*.

You know how *space* just piles up in *mountains* and then you can ride down that *mountain* of *space* all mountain-like... thru space... *down*... spatial mountains.....
 

The Empress Lilly

Well-Known Member
Every shop has an automated walkway?

Where do you live?
America has got space, and a culture of cars and urban sprawl. Therefore stores are single floor, as are parking lots. In other places, surface area is scarce, there is an urban tradition of building compactly, so there are parking garages and multiple story supermarkets:

walkalator-33-638.jpg
 
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DisneyJeff

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
America has got space, and a culture of cars and urban sprawl. Therefore stores are single floor, as are parking lots. In other places, surface area is scarce, there is an urban tradition of building compactly, so there are parking garages and multiple story supermarkets:

walkalator-33-638.jpg

If the automated walkway is going to look like this... I think I'd rather walk!!
1546966069409.png
 

Jon81uk

Well-Known Member
America has got space, and a culture of cars and urban sprawl. Therefore stores are single floor, as are parking lots. In other places, surface area is scarce, there is an urban tradition of building compactly, so there are parking garages and multiple story supermarkets:

walkalator-33-638.jpg

The Speedramp ran at a much steeper gradiant in a narrower tunnel. Retrofitting those into that tunnel would not have been possible.
 

Jon81uk

Well-Known Member
Fair enough, but....44 years ago they could built a speed ramp in Space (that lasted 44 years), and now, half a century of technological progress later we can't built one anymore?

From what I understand the new exit has gradiants that are more wheelchair friendly. I think its already been said in this thread that if the Speedramp broke down you can't push a chair up and out the exit. Also I don't think Goodyear make the belt style speedramps anymore, all the examples in the photo are metal plates similar to an escalator, hence why they can't work with the steep gradient.
 

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
From what I understand the new exit has gradiants that are more wheelchair friendly. I think its already been said in this thread that if the Speedramp broke down you can't push a chair up and out the exit. Also I don't think Goodyear make the belt style speedramps anymore, all the examples in the photo are metal plates similar to an escalator, hence why they can't work with the steep gradient.
Metal plate travelators work with steeper gradients if they have to. My local airport used to have a dozen in a parking garage.
 

Bocabear

Well-Known Member
We have a Publix grocery store with belt style ramps and the grade feels much steeper than the Space Mountain speedramp was...
 

matt9112

Well-Known Member
i reallly enjoy space mountain the age of the track and support structure and knowing its welded together on some kind of regular basis and that my car legitimately feels like its going to jump track adds to the excitement. i will put a bet on there not being a coaster of this slow speed that makes you feel these levels of thrill anywhere else.
 

The Empress Lilly

Well-Known Member
Since it's an exit, maybe they don't want you to hang around? I can think of other attractions with long exits that aren't very exciting:
  • TSMM (with the creation of TSL, now you just have a long winding path to get back into TSL
  • Soarin (long carpeted hallway back into The Land pavilion)
  • M:S
  • FEA (okay maybe not that long but a hallway that you leads you to, surpise!, the gift shop)
  • POTC
  • ST
  • SplM
  • Safari (Foliage. Lots of foliage)
  • FOP
  • DINOSAUR
When you think about it, none of these exits has anything worth hanging around to see. They want you to progress out of the attraction as people are coming up behind you.
Your last statement is important: an exit serves to move people out as people are coming up behind you. So there are two solutions:
1) A plain, boring exit so nobody lingers
2) A fun, themed, exciting exit that moves the guests out through other means than boring ugliness

As your list so painfully shows, 1 is modern WDW design philosophy, 2 classic WDW. (Although it is mostly even worse: classic designers managed to not have long exits to begin with)

The Space ramp also served the function of keeping the guests moving despite the exit being a veritable darkride. A function now lost.
 

The Empress Lilly

Well-Known Member
The whole concept of a space "mountain" really doesn't make any sense when you think about it.
The name Space Mountain really comes from the fact that there were the Bobsleds of Matterhorn Mountain in Disneyland's Tomorrowland (which appropriately moved over to Fantasyland) and that for a full fledged outerspace rollercoaster....it would be a mountain...a Space Mountain for Tomorrowland....and thus it has been.

Now, story wise....Space Mountain is a nickname or a code name. The one in Florida is actually Space Station 75, but due to it's architecture as it orbits in Space, it does, to a visiting spaceship, look like some otherworldy snow covered mountain floating in space....thus Space Mountain.
https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/space-mountain-a-visual-history-thread.495379/page-2
 

gerarar

Premium Member
Apologies for the (huge) bump! But rather than make a new thread, thought the existing SM exit thread would be a better fit.

A friend of mine was in MK today and sent this picture to me.
The Space Mountain exit ramp was flooded today, most likely from the rain that’s been pouring over the MK. They had guests walk through it apparently, soaking their shoes.
D914755F-4A8C-4E12-81EC-B21496E88124.jpeg


This is what it normally looks like:
980E719B-18D6-4852-B006-5CB5F163DFDB.png

39CE92A1-23BE-49AF-AFE9-A16E7C126E7F.png

Also not sure if anyone noted this, but I just noticed that ever since the renovated ramp exit was reopened late 2018, lots of cosmetic changes were added since. For comparison, first picture is from Dec 2018, bottom is from mid 2019.

Regardless, how the heck did that much water leak through the roof and into the building?!?
 

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