bhellmer
New Member
Could the sounds be attributed to its concrete enclosure?
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Space Mountain hurts me too much to ride it again until it's repaired. Anyone else feel this way?
- Thread starter Berret
- Start date
Could the sounds be attributed to its concrete enclosure?
I went on space mountain in 2013 and seat near the front very rough and bumpy. I went on the ride in November of last year I was in the middle seat near the back it did not seem as bad as it was in 2013 I am in great health and don’t have any heath problems. I think that I went on track B the fast pass + side that side did not seem as rough but more faster and more enjoyable it seems like they added more trm brakes to it than they had in 2013 that summer. I do think that space Mountain does need new track on both sides it is still one of my favorite coasters but after November almost 3 months ago I will never ride this coaster again unless they make it smoother or redo both tracks and have new trains like the one at Disneyland. I have been on wooden coasters I have a park that is 30 minutes away from me and they have a wooden coaster that opened in 1996 I went on that ride in 2006 and have never been on it again unless it gets redone by Rocky Mountain coasters now back to space mountain it is not the roughest coaster or the smoothest coaster the worst coaster I have ever been on was the dragon fire at bush gardens in VA I road that ride in 1998 it was closed a year later and cut up it was an arrow coaster I had a very bad headache after riding that coaster in 1998 and felt like I was going to though up I do not get that same felling on space mountain at Disneyworld also an arrow coaster I have been on the rock n roller coaster more than one time the last time I went on it was in 2013 I wanted to ride in November 3 months ago but the line was 80 minutes so I did not ride it the mine train coaster in new fansty land is much smother than space mountain I hope Disney uses the company that built that coaster to redo the track on both sides of space mountain sometime soon or I will never ride space mountain again until they retrack both sides of that coaster sometime soon.
Question: I can understand how repairing and welding tracks introduces vibrations in the ride, like driving on a flat road with a lot of rocks on them. But... how can that introduce the kind of lateral forces that are hurting people? Isn't all the rough sideways back-and-forth from the design of the path of the tracks and not the fact they've been patched up? Or are people saying that those vibrations are what's causing the ride to be rough to the point of injurious?
BTW, I rode Space Mountain for the first time in my life tonight! I don't like drops and so I stayed away from anything rollecoastery. But I tried 7DMT and enjoyed it. I tried it because it was a 'family coaster' for kids. And I saw in videos that there were no big drops. And so, I watched the videos for BTMR and SP and saw they had no big drops. So, I went on both tonight. And... OWWwww.
Both of them had huge forceful lateral jerking. Very unpleasant. The drops were nothing compared to the lateral jerking. Which, IMO, is on par with DINOSAUR, and why I hate DINOSAUR... STOP SHAKING ME!! Space Mountain also has horrible seats/cars which make the shaking worse. At least in BTMR, the lap bar was wide enough to get a wide grip. BTW... how is it a small child hasn't been thrown out of a BTMR car yet?
The kicker is tonight is the first time I did the Astro Orbiter (I don't mind spinners or heights, it was always too long of a line, but tonight was After Hours event). And boy, did that also have a strong lateral pull, which I really felt after just doing Space Mountain. I thought AO was going to be a relaxing ride... and it wasn't. Also discovered that AO is a forced-spooning ride.
In conclusion, WDW, unlike other theme parks with big-drop coasters, substitutes the big drops with sideways rag-dolling. Ow. I'll stick to the swinging cars of 7DMT that dampen the lateral rib punching.
BTW, I rode Space Mountain for the first time in my life tonight! I don't like drops and so I stayed away from anything rollecoastery. But I tried 7DMT and enjoyed it. I tried it because it was a 'family coaster' for kids. And I saw in videos that there were no big drops. And so, I watched the videos for BTMR and SP and saw they had no big drops. So, I went on both tonight. And... OWWwww.
Both of them had huge forceful lateral jerking. Very unpleasant. The drops were nothing compared to the lateral jerking. Which, IMO, is on par with DINOSAUR, and why I hate DINOSAUR... STOP SHAKING ME!! Space Mountain also has horrible seats/cars which make the shaking worse. At least in BTMR, the lap bar was wide enough to get a wide grip. BTW... how is it a small child hasn't been thrown out of a BTMR car yet?
The kicker is tonight is the first time I did the Astro Orbiter (I don't mind spinners or heights, it was always too long of a line, but tonight was After Hours event). And boy, did that also have a strong lateral pull, which I really felt after just doing Space Mountain. I thought AO was going to be a relaxing ride... and it wasn't. Also discovered that AO is a forced-spooning ride.
In conclusion, WDW, unlike other theme parks with big-drop coasters, substitutes the big drops with sideways rag-dolling. Ow. I'll stick to the swinging cars of 7DMT that dampen the lateral rib punching.
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Trackmaster
Well-Known Member
Every coaster is a family coaster really. Almost any coaster will have a max height minimum (paradoxical word choice right?) of either 48" or 52". 4'4" pretty much covers more human beings that are alive right now. Probably 85% of the human population or mile. Sounds to me like that's a universal family coaster to me. And kids usually like the extreme thrills more than the old adults who have to worry about their body's falling apart and their blood pressure anyway.
I have a lovely chart for that!...
So, for Space Mountain with a 44" height restriction, half of all 5 year olds can ride, and just about all 6 year olds.
Trackmaster
Well-Known Member
So average human being lives to about 76 or so. So 92.1% of sapiens can ride it. For those who can't, they're be able to ride it in a very short time frame anyway. I'd say that 92% is a very high percentage that encompasses most people. And that's including newborns who obviously aren't going to be going to parks anyway.
Waiting for the first post to claim that this chart discriminates against 5-year-old girls...
The demographics that show up to a theme park, especially the MK, don't match the general population.
Trackmaster
Well-Known Member
That's kind of the point that I was driving at. Its pointless to call something a kiddie ride or a family ride when the amusement industry is so heavily geared towards families and kids already. When something its a thrill ride, its a thrill ride geared towards kids and families. When something is a "non-thrill ride" its a "non-thrill ride geared towards kids and families." Get the picture?
Adults who go without kids are a small portion of the total population, and aren't really that statistically significant.
Minnesota disney fan
Well-Known Member
Berrett, I'm late to the game, but my husband had back pain for years and had to stop riding Space Mountain. It really got him down because he loves that ride. He had back surgery 2 years ago, and rode SM for the first time in years this past December!
He really looked forward to it and enjoyed every minute of it. I was so happy for him
So, I know how you feel. Hopefully you will have your condition treated and be able to ride again!
How new is this? I swore off mind eraser after riding it in 2010 and... 2016? Maybe the second year was somewhere in between there, idk.
I also swore off Lake Compounce's Wildcat after it damn near broke my back in sixth grade, but as I understand it's been almost entirely rebuilt in the past couple years.
Almac97
Active Member
According to Screamscape, it looks as if it was new for the 2018 season. Shame it took, what, 20 years (?) for them to turn SLC's into an enjoyable experience.
Trackmaster
Well-Known Member
My complaint about SLCs isn't the fact that they're rough, its that they're just a lazy way to get a coaster with five inversions in your park. Its not hard for a designer to go out and give you an original design. I've been on 10+ different SLCs in my life, I'd prefer to get on an original design.
WEDway Inc & Company LLC
Well-Known Member
Normally, I love roller coasters (like Rockin' Roller Coaster and Expedition Everest), but yesterday I rode Space Mountain and it was rough as heck. Not intense rough, more painful rough. Had a headache afterward for the rest of the day.
So, I feel like SM has gotten rougher over the years, but I’ve also gotten older. However, even normalizing for my aging, I still feel like it’s gotten more physically intense. I still ride but I have a whole check list that has to be met now, no soreness from a run or workout, no hangover, no overly large backpack that contains lunch for 4-8 people at my feet, and most importantly, no hemorrhoids. Only then will I ride. I can almost close my eyes and experience the whole coaster. I can do this with Horizons, but that was a very different type of ride.
One time (about 8 years ago), I was riding with sunglasses perched jauntily on my forehead. My head jerked back and I thought the glasses were gone. However, my 8 year old son in the seat behind me reached out and made a beautiful one handed catch. Neither here nor there, but SM jerkiness got me to thinking about this.
One time (about 8 years ago), I was riding with sunglasses perched jauntily on my forehead. My head jerked back and I thought the glasses were gone. However, my 8 year old son in the seat behind me reached out and made a beautiful one handed catch. Neither here nor there, but SM jerkiness got me to thinking about this.
ELG13
Well-Known Member
I think a lot us to just do with age. Our bodies just aren't built for it like they used to be. Younger kids ride it no issue. I feel fine after I ride it but I'm sure there will come a time when I can't. I do think that track could use a little reno but I think that's also part of the ride. It's jarring, it dark, it's not supposed to be smooth and predictable. I have a hard time on thunder mountain. That to me is much more jarring. But, it's supposed to be.
docandsix
Active Member
Not the first time this has been discussed on these boards over the years, but it’s still nice to be reminded that I am not the only one. I will say that I am far more fit, thinner, and healthier than most people my age, yet Space Mountain at WDW is still a miserable experience for me, causing neck and back discomfort that I am not willing to pay $100+ per day to suffer, unlike almost any other roller coaster I have ever ridden. (The only comparable rides in can think of are the Matterhorn and “wild mouse” coasters, like Primeval Whirl.) Disneyland’s version, however, is in my opinion better in every regard—smoother, darker, much more well themed, and featuring much better music and sound. I eagerly anticipate Space Mountain at Disneyland, but actively avoid that dated, neglected, uncomfortable attraction in Florida.