Space Mountain Rehab?

[MuRkErY]

I agree 100% with Lee and Flbeachbum.

 

[TheDisneyMagic]

I love space mountain just the way it is, yes I admit that parts of the journey are some what "bumpy", but I find that that makes it feel more realistic, I agree with what was said prior to this post that having single rows for the vehicle enables to guest to experience the ride to a better ability.

The one thing that I think needs to be done is the pre show/que. During Fed-Ex 's sponswership of the ride we used to have video screens above the que which if memory is correct was some form of news report from a different galaxy. This report was telling us what we was going to experience and there for the ride had a meaning.

Now with out this pre video the post part of the attraction has no meaning and the phrases such as "in the future packages will be sent to distant planets through beams of light" do not make sense to the guest. Meaning that they are confusted by what these packages are that they are seeing going up the moving walk way.

I also agree that it would be a great effect to add on board audio but I think the ride track its self is perfect.

Jamie
:wave:

 

[Epcot82Guy]

I agree that the queue/preshow is where the most work could be done. I personally think puting a roof over the line with windows looking out into "space" similar to those in the initial bridge area could be cool. Also, the return of the TV programming could be great. I like the quick statements of PNN and the advertisement. Sadly, the airport theme is being taken by Soarin', but I think it could still work in part. By that I mean having "departure" and "arrival" lists could be a good touch (including statements of flights that "crashed" and were "lost in black hole"). I also think various ads for destinations could be used here. In addition to the moons of Jupiter and other space-related things, a trip to The Walt Disney Planet Resort should be included (poking fun by stating the 384 resort hotels and 5 parks available).

Anyway, just my thought. Bottom line is that the queue needs to have a bit more of a story (since it is kinda half space adventure mission, half space-age airport at the moment). Then the ride needs just small touches of effects to go along with that, including a darker main building with more disorienting stars).

 

[Lynx04]

Where's the rule that say's Theme Parks cant have a good Roller Coaster :veryconfu

I can name two great coaster that are in a theme park. Dueling Dragons and the Hulk. There is no denying that they are two of the greatest coasters out there along with other coasters. Most people that I have heard from put the Hulk in their top three and DD in their top five or 10.

 

[AEfx]

So....Disney can't have coasters?

It can...and it should. In fact they should be the highest quality coasters in the world.

This is the concept I wish some people could wrap their heads around.

People say, "We don't need cheap thrill rides!" and they are right. What we need are REAL thrill rides done Disney style. Why don't people get that Disney quality could be applied to any type of ride, including those dreaded coasters.

With the exception of RnR, there are really no decent coasters at WDW. My favorite rides are dark rides, I'm not a "thrill seeker", but I do enjoy a good coaster and my mind boggles thinking about what Disney could do with them.

That's why I'm all for a Villian park at WDW. It's such a shame that semi-thrill rides like M:S and TT (which have very mild thrills compared to a true thrill ride) replace such immersive experiences as WoM and Horizons - if they had a park just for thrill rides then we wouldn't have to watch our beloved other rides depart so they can shoe-horn in what they think the public wants.

AEfx

 

[adr315]

Lee,

At the risk of sounding snobbish & elitist, I've ridden over 160 different roller coasters across the country and not one single 'enthusiast, coaster fanatic, person who knows alot about roller coasters thinks too much of The Hulk. Yeah the "General Public" make like it, but they also like Wonder Bread and various other questionable products. :lol:

I've probably been on about 50ish coasters, but I consider myself an enthusiast, a fanatic, and also very knowledgeable about coasters. Although I would prefer a great Intamin (Superman ROS, Millennium Force, or even Dragster), I happen to love B&Ms too, and I think Hulk is a quality ride.

And while B&M HAS been plagued by cookie-cutter syndrome, I think Arrow and Vekoma suffer cookie cutter sydrome 300 times worse. And I would never say that Hulk is cookie-cutter, b/c it's layout is VERY different than any other B&M. I think B&M has been working on originality in track design, and this is evident in some of their newer rides, such as Hydra and Sheikra. At worst, B&M makes high capicity rides that may lack in intensity, but are smooth as glass and age very well.

 

[Lynx04]

The big thing to understand is a lot of enthusiast are bias when it comes to picking what their fav coasters are. Most coaster enthusiasts don't give the Hulk props because it is in a "theme park" instead of an amusment park (ie Cedar Point). If it came to judging what a great coaster is, then how would you judge it. The Hulk has an original layout, a launch, some Gs and a storyline. DD has a story, nice intensity, and a one of a kind layout. To me if you design two coasters with different layouts that meet in three locations that is visible from the entrence, is genious. Werner Stengel doesn't get enough credit by enthusiasts. Most think that these coasters are designed by B&M or Intamin but in reality most of the coasters have been designed by Werner Stengel's company.

Here is a list of just some of the over 400 coasters Stengel has been involved in.

List is from Coasterforce.com

Dragon Khan (B&M) Port Aventura
Dueling Dragons (B&M) Islands of Adventure
Incredible Hulk (B&M) Islands of Adventure~
Oblivion (B&M) Alton Towers
G5 (B&M) Taiwan
Medusa (B&M) SF Great Adventure & Marine World
Son of Beast (RCCA) King's Island
Alpengeist (B&M) Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Riddler's Revenge (B&M) SF Magic Mountain
Volcano: The Blast Coaster (Intamin) King's Dominion
Monte Makaya (Intamin) Terra Encantada
Batman & Robin (Premier Rides) SF G/ Adventure
High Roller (S&MC) Stratosphere Tower
Big Shot (S&S) Stratosphere Tower
Superman (Intamin) SF Darien Lake
Speed: The Ride (Premier) NASCAR Cafe
Millennium Force (Intamin) Cedar Point
Expedition GeForce (Intamin) Holiday Park
Goliath (Intamin) Six Flags Holland
Colossus (Intamin) Thorpe Park

and some of the companies he has worked with B&M, Vekoma, Giovanola, Mack, Intamin, RCCA and more.

So it is funny how most enthusiast are baised thinking that parks or the manufactors design most of these coasters when it is really the same company. I think any enthusiast would have a hard time looking at that list and saying that non of those are great coasters.

The formula for building a great coaster doesn't automaticly have Cedar Point in it, nor PKI, nor Six Flags.

I think EE has the potential for being a great coaster, I will have to find out when it opens. At least it will probably have a great experience which can be even better than a "great coaster" I think Space Mountain was a great experience when it first opened, but now it is just a "classic" and nothing more. I think it is time to make it a great experience again.

 

[AEfx]

The problem is, Space Mountain is the roughest coaster I've ever been on that doesn't do anything.

I was shocked last time I rode it - it shakes you around like you are in a blender. It's old and rickety and is nothing more than two mouse coasters intertwined.

No one is saying that it needs some ten-inversion soul-killing end-all roller coaster, but just something worthy of the name Space Mountain.

I'd be perfectly happy if they do what they are doing at Disneyland - keep the same layout, but gut the whole thing and rebuild it. I can't imagine that Walt would have let his space mountain deteroriate the way it has, a relic of the past instead of a beacon to the future.

AEfx

 

[ogryn]

The big thing to understand is a lot of enthusiast are bias when it comes to picking what their fav coasters are. Most coaster enthusiasts don't give the Hulk props because it is in a "theme park" instead of an amusment park (ie Cedar Point). If it came to judging what a great coaster is, then how would you judge it. The Hulk has an original layout, a launch, some Gs and a storyline. DD has a story, nice intensity, and a one of a kind layout. To me if you design two coasters with different layouts that meet in three locations that is visible from the entrence, is genious. Werner Stengel doesn't get enough credit by enthusiasts. Most think that these coasters are designed by B&M or Intamin but in reality most of the coasters have been designed by Werner Stengel's company.

....

Good point, well made. (Although designing Oblivion's layout doesn't really take a genius, just a Post-It note, and 30 seconds :lookaroun ). John Wardley is a bit of a legend in this country as well.

Stengel is indeed a master designer.

 

[Lynx04]

Good point, well made. (Although designing Oblivion's layout doesn't really take a genius, just a Post-It note, and 30 seconds :lookaroun ). John Wardley is a bit of a legend in this country as well.

Stengel is indeed a master designer.

Are you kidding me, you know how hard it it is to design a drop and then turn. It is almost as difficult a launch, up a hill top hat then 270 degree spiral down then breaks. J/K.

I agree not much to oblivion, or TTD. I guess most of oblivions lack of layout could be do to the height restriction. At the same time, that height restriction has led to one of the best Inverted coasters.

 

[zone15int]

As of July 15, Magic Kingdom will officially have the weakest, most craptacular Space Mountain of them all...sad. Give it the Disneyland treatment, at the very least.

Lets save that statement until after july 15. It hasn't opened yet. Everybody knows here that Disney does "drop the ball" frequently with rehabs.

 

[zone15int]

Space Mountain is like a classic slice of pizza. No reason to change the recipe and add BBQ chicken or some other junk on it, if what you have works and delights people.

If you want a DIFFERENT roller coaster go build one from scratch

I wholehartedly agree with your post. There are also other roller coasters you can ride as well.

 

[PhilharMagician]

Does anyone know the daily guest capacity of SM??

There are a lot of good points and ideas going around. I am very interested in hearing ride reports from DL's SM when it opens. The article describing sounds great and I am thinking about how some of that could be put into WDW's version. I would personally hate to SM go down for a 2 year rehab , but it would be worth it in the end.

 

[Figment1986]

Good point, well made. (Although designing Oblivion's layout doesn't really take a genius, just a Post-It note, and 30 seconds :lookaroun ). John Wardley is a bit of a legend in this country as well.

Stengel is indeed a master designer.

and then few years later evolve it into SheiKra.. 2 drops... a inversion, tunnel & splash down... hmm....

This man is a genious for his coaster designs.. (i dont know if he is SheiKra.. but thayt was taken from some of his designs..)...