Space Mountain hurts me too much to ride it again until it's repaired. Anyone else feel this way?

[Almac97]

There are extremes on the other end where the coaster is so smooth that it looses some of its thrill factor. Bizarro at Six Flags Great Adventure in NJ is so smooth that even through multiple inversions and corkscrews it doesn't feel intense at all.

I love Space Mountain's jerky wild-mouse coaster feel, like wooden coasters that have a little play in the wheels so it really feels like the car is flying off the tracks.

Respectfully disagree. Some B&Ms get bad raps, not because they're "too smooth", but because they're considered "forceless". I haven't ridden Bizarro yet, but our Batman in SF New England gets a similar reputation for being a "forceless" coaster, despite it being incredibly smooth.

Meanwhile across the park is Wicked Cyclone, arguably smoother than any coaster I've ever been on (including tamer coasters like SDMT and SDD), and provides the most thrilling experience I've ever had. There's never a dull moment across it's entire layout, but you also never bang into anything. It's as close to perfect as possible (Fingers crossed for Gwazi RMC remake). Smooth doesn't equal zero intensity.

 

[clarabellej]

I’m just under 60 and haven’t ridden space mountain ein forever.

I used to love wild coasters.

We had one at Houston Texas’ Astroworld: The Texas Cyclone. Fantastic wooden coaster!

I get too roughed up now. My back can’t take it.

Even with the smoothness of 7DMT, I was a wreck after a few tight curves.

A shame because I love these things.

Probably better to play it safe though.

I remember the first time we stuck my young niece in Space Mountain.

My kids loved it, but she came off it in complete hysterics.

 

[Almac97]

The best seat for me by far is the front seat.

Ok, two "respectfully disagrees" in a row.
Across my two visits to MK this past December, I rode SM about 5 times each day as my son decided it was his new favorite ride in the park. I find that the front seat was by far the worst, both sides/tracks.

As mentioned earlier, the front seat overhangs the front wheels. In the beginning twice after you do some turns you go up a hill to a flat to reduce speed, the 2nd of which has a strong brake. The front seat gets jerked back a lot worse than the back seat, not only because you're practically past the brakes when they're engaged but you went up and then flat at the fastest your train can go... and then were jerked back. That's not a smooth transition. Back seat is slowed down during that transition a bit better and therefore less jerky.

Also, I personally find the brake before one of the drops to be far too jerky given the sudden transition down immediately after it which speeds you right back up.

I have a pretty high tolerance for coaster pain, have been on some real rough ones and in relatively good health... but man do I think SM needs some serious TLC to make it a good coaster. That thing is unnecessarily rough and I don't see how others are surviving this ride.

 

[bhellmer]

I do not think that the ride has substantially changed over time. As people age they become more sensitive to and less tolerant of physically harsh environments. This is especially true for those that have also put on weight. Force equals mass times acceleration. You may have simply aged out of the more extreme roller coasters as the thrill is no longer sufficient to justify the increased discomfort. I am 61 and a little overweight. Nonetheless, "My body's old but it ain't impaired. Well I don't need your rockin' chair." (George Jones)

 

[disneyfireman]

No issues at in for this 48 yo. We love it. It has character. Don’t change anything except maybe on board audio like DL

 

[RileyB22]

I’m 5’8’’ and 16 years old and Space Mountain is always awful for me. My legs barely fit in the seat and it really messes my neck up. Last time I rode it in December I rode in the middle seat and it was still super painful. I definitely think that they should do a refurb, possibly replace the whole track like DL, and I think that Tron is definitely a step towards that.

 

[Paper straw fan]

It was probably never silky smooth- it’s an old ride. That said, there’s nothing wrong with giving a forty four year old ride a refurb. I doubt anyone expected it to be there that long (considering the original idea was to have a constantly innovative area w Tomorrowland) So, unless the goal is just to ride it into the ground, then put in the Incredicoaster, they probably could and should refurb it, otherwise once Tron is done, it’s just going to make all but the biggest fans see how old and clunky it is by comparison

 

[disneyfireman]

Bunch of softies. I was so lucky to have ridden son of beast at kings island. In Ohio. They had to tear it down. It’s being replaced by a record setting giga coaster. However. Son of beast was known for causing hernias, broken backs, fillings falling out, intra cranial bleeding and a few deaths. But me and my son survived it. It was a great ride. So space mountain is like a soft kitten in a feather bed compared to that. Love space mountain. Very nastalgic.

 

[KikoKea]

The front seat is fun, but we love the back and swear the last car comes off the track at times. You can feel it lift and slam down- scary and exhilarating! LOL I think it's how I've lost about an inch of height in the past few years....

 

[Paper straw fan]

Bunch of softies. I was so lucky to have ridden son of beast at kings island. In Ohio. They had to tear it down. It’s being replaced by a record setting giga coaster. However. Son of beast was known for causing hernias, broken backs, fillings falling out, intra cranial bleeding and a few deaths. But me and my son survived it. It was a great ride. So space mountain is like a soft kitten in a feather bed compared to that. Love space mountain. Very nastalgic.

Whatevs- last time I went in Oh Canada at Epcot, someone fainted!

Also I used to ride state fair rides. That’s just putting your life on the line

 

[disneyfireman]

Whatevs- last time I went in Oh Canada at Epcot, someone fainted!

Also I used to ride state fair rides. That’s just putting your life on the line

thats true!! I think the combined IQ of the carni workers is like 66..lol

 

[GenerationX]

If you get off a roller coaster and don't feel as though you've been pummeled, have you really ridden a roller coaster?

SM is nothing compared to the American Eagle at Six Flags Great America. An ancient outdoor wooden coaster in Chicago's climate. An awesome, rickety mess. I fear for my life every ride.

If you really want to feel like a pinball in a pinball machine, ride the concussion-inducing bobsled run some summer day in Igls, Austria just outside of Innsbruck. Even though we had an actual Olympian driving for us, I have never been more thrown around in my life. They have what I believe are intended to be "safety bars" around the bobsled, but in reality they were just convenient places to test the shock absorption of the helmets.

We are coaster fans in our family and will gladly exchange getting beaten up for the exhilaration of riding SM.

 

[Paper straw fan]

There was a time I’d ride anything. These days there’s just rides that I have to weigh wanting to ride versus how I’ll feel later. Yeah that’s age. WDW and to a lesser extent Universal are more rides as ‘experiences’ as opposed to just white knuckle thrill rides.

But like son of beast, Gwazi at Busch, Hulk @ USF, some rides just are rough to a majority of people. Some don’t mind, and of you can still handle those I’m envious- I’d still like to visit Busch Williamsburg and Cedar Point one day, but at least with the latter i might have missed the window to fully appreciate.

I live in Tampa and own AP’s to Universal and WDW, so I’ve sort of chosen experience over thrill, though there’s nothing at BG I won’t ride.

As far as crazy thrills, I offer my college buds insanely fast boat we pulled inner tubes behind in local lakes. 60 MPH on the water knowing your friend is doing whatever he can to throw you off. Being 19 is nice for being able to shake that extreme water anema off and get back on’

 

[bhellmer]

I am confident that the WDW inspection and maintenance crews keep the tracks and carriages at near original specifications. I suspect the carriage wheel and suspension parts are replaced on a regular basis. The tracks, critical structural welds, and carriage chassis are regularly x-rayed to identify fractures and excessive wear long before they can result in failure. The ride's age may have little impact on the rider's experience.

Our nostalgic memories may trick us by forgetting how rough the rides have always been. But no rides at WDW are a rough as the wooden coasters at most other large amusement parks. Nor do the WDW rides exert the g-forces that large steel coaster exert at most other large amusement parks.

Now the go carts on the speedway, they are another story. I believe that they intentionally allow slop in the steering to humiliate adults in front of their kids.

 

[Trackmaster]

Respectfully disagree. Some B&Ms get bad raps, not because they're "too smooth", but because they're considered "forceless". I haven't ridden Bizarro yet, but our Batman in SF New England gets a similar reputation for being a "forceless" coaster, despite it being incredibly smooth.

Meanwhile across the park is Wicked Cyclone, arguably smoother than any coaster I've ever been on (including tamer coasters like SDMT and SDD), and provides the most thrilling experience I've ever had. There's never a dull moment across it's entire layout, but you also never bang into anything. It's as close to perfect as possible (Fingers crossed for Gwazi RMC remake). Smooth doesn't equal zero intensity.

Yeah, all other construction companies/designers have to take a backseat when there's a Rocky Mountain Construction ("RMC) coaster available. I've ridden Wicked Cyclone, Twisted Colossus, Storm Chaser, Twisted Cyclone, and Steel Vengeance. Of my 318 coasters, SteVen is #1, and in total 4 out of my top 9 are RMC (the only one out of my top 10 is Twisted Cyclone). They've just really upped the bar, and have ruined me for most other designs. If it doesn't have crazy airtime, hangtime, focus on 0-G rolls, outward banking, etc. its all pretty meh. And yeah, they're crazy smooth.

Interesting fact about B&M: They're forceless by design (other than high vertical G's on their inverts). SeaWorld wanted more airtime for Mako, but B&M refused due to the strain it puts on the track. So they forced SeaWorld to run the trim on Mako. One of the reasons I'm not big on B&M now. They basically don't understand the most important part of an amusement park ride: airtime on a coaster -- nothing beats it.

 

[larryz]

Respectfully disagree. Some B&Ms get bad raps, not because they're "too smooth", but because they're considered "forceless". I haven't ridden Bizarro yet, but our Batman in SF New England gets a similar reputation for being a "forceless" coaster, despite it being incredibly smooth.

Meanwhile across the park is Wicked Cyclone, arguably smoother than any coaster I've ever been on (including tamer coasters like SDMT and SDD), and provides the most thrilling experience I've ever had. There's never a dull moment across it's entire layout, but you also never bang into anything. It's as close to perfect as possible (Fingers crossed for Gwazi RMC remake). Smooth doesn't equal zero intensity.

The B&M Hypercoasters (Diamondback, Apollo's Chariot) fit this category -- super smooth, and anything but forceless... both have ridiculous amounts of airtime.

Interesting fact about B&M: They're forceless by design (other than high vertical G's on their inverts). SeaWorld wanted more airtime for Mako, but B&M refused due to the strain it puts on the track. So they forced SeaWorld to run the trim on Mako. One of the reasons I'm not big on B&M now. They basically don't understand the most important part of an amusement park ride: airtime on a coaster -- nothing beats it.

I wouldn't call the cobra rolls on Montu and Kumba "forceless"...

 

[xdan0920]

I do not think that the ride has substantially changed over time. As people age they become more sensitive to and less tolerant of physically harsh environments. This is especially true for those that have also put on weight. Force equals mass times acceleration. You may have simply aged out of the more extreme roller coasters as the thrill is no longer sufficient to justify the increased discomfort. I am 61 and a little overweight. Nonetheless, "My body's old but it ain't impaired. Well I don't need your rockin' chair." (George Jones)

I am confident that the WDW inspection and maintenance crews keep the tracks and carriages at near original specifications. I suspect the carriage wheel and suspension parts are replaced on a regular basis. The tracks, critical structural welds, and carriage chassis are regularly x-rayed to identify fractures and excessive wear long before they can result in failure. The ride's age may have little impact on the rider's experience.

Our nostalgic memories may trick us by forgetting how rough the rides have always been. But no rides at WDW are a rough as the wooden coasters at most other large amusement parks. Nor do the WDW rides exert the g-forces that large steel coaster exert at most other large amusement parks.

Now the go carts on the speedway, they are another story. I believe that they intentionally allow slop in the steering to humiliate adults in front of their kids.

The track is in desperate need of replacement. Management put it off a decade ago, and things have only gotten worse. This isn't nostalgia speaking. It's a 50 year old track and it needs to be replaced. Simple as that.

 

[Trackmaster]

The B&M Hypercoasters (Diamondback, Apollo's Chariot) fit this category -- super smooth, and anything but forceless... both have ridiculous amounts of airtime.

I wouldn't call the cobra rolls on Montu and Kumba "forceless"...

I believe I said in the post that B&M seems to be OK with positive G's. They just do not want to do the negative G's (the ones that are actually fun). And, in the coaster community, there's a lot of discussion about how the newer generation B&M coasters do not have the same intensity as the older gen coasters. Montu and Kumba are from the 90's when B&M was pumping out tons of inverts, stand-ups, and seven inversion floorless/sitdowns. I loved Banshee, but a lot of people thought it was forceless (their one invert that they've made in years and years). B&M is mostly sticking to their wing coasters, dive machines, and hypers, which have drastically dialed down the intensity.

Diamondback does have the most airtime of any B&M hyper, and that's why its in my top 10. Its been a few years since I've been on AC, don't remember it too well. But if you think that B&M hypers have airtime, we need to get you on an RMC pronto. Even the Intamin hypers have a ton more ejector airtime than B&M. B&M is floater airtime at most. You haven't lived until you have airtime that is incorporated into an inversion like RMC has.

 

[Oh Boy!]

As much as I love it, I feel that Space mountain needs a refurb more than any ride in Magic Kingdom.

 

[joejccva71]

When you compare Space Mountain to literally every other roller coaster not only at Disney but at Universal, it's very rough on your neck and back with the jerking. It's not smooth at all. I still love it but I can see and understand others views on this.