36 - Space Mountain
E-Ticket
Synopsis
Travel to the orbit of Xanadu with the Association for Intergalactic Reconnaissance and trek towards the Lavender Moon to face the perilous unknown of interstellar space.
Backstory
Upon successful missions to Mars, the construction of space colonies, and the global advancement in aeronautic technology, the United Nations agreed to privatize space exploration. While government funded space research facilities could still operate, space enthusiasts and explorers would have the opportunity to travel into space on their own.
The decision ignited a prodigious campaign to explore outer space. The moon base became open to the public, visits aboard the International Space Station were abound, and a trip to Mars became a popular "study abroad" program in colleges for engineering majors. This contemporary society bread imagination and answered questions that the human race had for thousands of years...our place in the universe.
Amid the vast interest in space exploration was a group of entrepreneurs that had dreamed of the opportunity to push the boundaries of human potential. To travel where only the imagination could envision. From a young age, Emmanuel Wu was surrounded by the theme of exploration. His great-grandfather, Alexander Wu, was part of the astronaut team that first landed on and colonized Mars way back in 2067. Considering the significance of his family name ("Wu" in Chinese means shaman), his great-grandfather would communicate with Emmanuel via intergalactic transmission logs, and inspire him to never give up on his dreams.
Those stories and intergalactic transmissions from Mars have been replayed over and over by Emmanuel throughout his childhood and early adolescence as inspiration when he could one day follow in his family heritage. Emmanuel also spent his childhood reading a book given to him by his great-grandfather called the Society of Explorers and Adventurers, which enticed and motivated Emmanuel to want to seek the beyond.
His success as a researcher and engineer gave him the prowess to design his own private spaceship, called Discovery and form a group that today is known as A.I.R - the Association for Intergalactic Reconnaissance - with the goal of pushing the limits of space travel.
Queue
As you enter Space Mountain, you travel through the laboratories and research hallways of A.I.R. as you pass by data analysis and more information about the places you are traveling to and that A.I.R. has researched, such as planet X171 or what the team at A.I.R calls, Xanadu.
On a television screen, you can watch and listen to the Xanadu Transmission logs from A.I.R. scientists as they report back to Tomorrowland with their findings.
As you go further into the queue, you notice that the mission log for today is to travel to the Lavender Moon, the largest moon of Xanadu. Passing through the rest of the laboratory, you see a transmission from the Aries rocket orbiting the planet. Emmanuel Wu comes online and greets the guests.
Dr. : "Welcome A.I.R. enthusiasts. It's so exciting that you made the expedition to visit our colony and we are so glad to share this discovery with you. Today's mission is to discovery this rock - called Secretous787 - which by our tests and analysis, is unique to the Lavender Moon. We haven't found this rock formation on any other planet or moon we have visited in the past, and we'd like to do some tests on it and maybe it could be valuable for the people of Earth and Tomorrowland, as some of our other discoveries have been.
You'll be traveling in this custom designed Space Pod - specialized to break Xanadu's atmosphere and pilot around the moon. You'll need to be split up into teams for this quest and for that I will turn you over to Dr. Wright who will describe what your tasks are"
Dr. Wright: "When you enter your pods, you will notice specialized dashboards in from of each of your seats. You will have to work as a team in order to complete this mission. One of you will pilot the pod throughout, another engage liftoff, another will ensure the shield is deployed, and lastly one of you will deploy the landing gear. Your pods are uniquely designed by Dr. Wu himself to ensure safe travels for you space enthusiasts. Happy exploring and thanks for joining us for this mission!"
You depart the land and enter the liftoff zone beyond it. There you board your vehicles and prepare for your mission.
Attraction Layout
Ride-Through
Dr. Wu: "Engage liftoff procedure Discovery 1."
Your vehicles swiftly ascend into the liftoff position at a 90 degree angle relative to the ground. You feel the force gravity pressing you back into your seat as you hear the countdown to ignition in the background. Your vehicles move up the chain and into the sky with projection screens 180 degrees surrounding you as the vehicle make its ascent. The ascent feels faster than it really is given that the screens around you are projecting visual stimuli such as the ground becoming smaller and the clouds becoming thinner.
You hear on your on-board audio from the control center monitoring your progress
Dr. Wright: "O2 stat 97%, cabin pressure 1 atm, Nitrogen levels steady, prepare for hydrocarbonite engine boost and breaking of the atmosphere..."
Zoom...
You feel a thrust as your vehicle leaps over the incline and levels out in Xanadu orbit.
Dr. Wu: "Nice work in there. You can see us in orbit to your left...you're going to want to pilot the vehicle towards the planet, but be warned, the atmospheric pull of Xanadu might make the trip a bit bumpy"
You pilot the vehicle towards the Lavender moon as the projection screens around you create the sense of space travel and your vehicle stimulates turbulence by swaying and bumping along towards the planet.
Dr. Wright: "Excellent, now initiate the landing gea-....wait a minute....what's that coming towards you?
Ahead you see a bright light and a spaceship coming from the moon directly towards you and it fires a laser beam at you. Your vehicle sways to narrowly miss it...but the ship keeps coming closer and firing at your pod.
Dr. Wu: Abort mission! There's life on this moon...and they clearly don't want us here!
Bang...
Your space pod is hit and your vehicles spin 360 degrees around and dip towards the moon's surface...
Dr. Wu: You've been hit, quick, initiate the shields...forget the rocks you just need to get out of there!
Dr. Wright: They may not have enough fuel to last that long!!
You swerve in and out of the canyons of the moon as you are chased down by the extra-terrestrials who inhabit the moon...large, steep curves left and right give you the sensation of flying through the moon in a desperate attempt to escape.
Dr. Wu: You're going to need to need to activate the turbine engines!
Dr. Wright: But that's never been tested!
Dr. Wu: Well it will be now, those people are in danger...
You continue to fly across the alien landscape in a visceral display of projections and physical sets and on-board audio which put you right in the center of an other-worldly adventure as you fly around this moon to escape with your life.
Dr. Wright: Activating the turbine engines....now!
Dr. Wu: Hang on everyone!
Your vehicle thrusts forward and spirals up and away from the surface of the moon, evading capture from the inhabitants. The stars surround you as your vehicle soars through the atmosphere and makes a direct path back to Xanadu. In a last ditch effort, your landing procedure is initiated and you tip down at a 90 degree angle back to the landing platform and laboratory....
Dr. Wright: They made it...
Dr. Wu: Goodness...well that was certainly a quest for the ages...glad you all made it back in one piece. There was definitely something on the Lavender Moon....but maybe it's best to keep those things a mystery. Hopefully now you can see how unpredictable an adventure can be....thanks for flying with us...and enjoy the rest of your time on Xanadu.
Guests exit the launch platform and head back through a wormhole to Tomorrowland.
37 - An Adventure in Time
D-Ticket
Designed By @MCParradox
The Tomorrowland Interplanetary Convention Center - Exposition Hall:
E-Ticket
Synopsis
Travel to the orbit of Xanadu with the Association for Intergalactic Reconnaissance and trek towards the Lavender Moon to face the perilous unknown of interstellar space.
Backstory
Upon successful missions to Mars, the construction of space colonies, and the global advancement in aeronautic technology, the United Nations agreed to privatize space exploration. While government funded space research facilities could still operate, space enthusiasts and explorers would have the opportunity to travel into space on their own.
The decision ignited a prodigious campaign to explore outer space. The moon base became open to the public, visits aboard the International Space Station were abound, and a trip to Mars became a popular "study abroad" program in colleges for engineering majors. This contemporary society bread imagination and answered questions that the human race had for thousands of years...our place in the universe.
Amid the vast interest in space exploration was a group of entrepreneurs that had dreamed of the opportunity to push the boundaries of human potential. To travel where only the imagination could envision. From a young age, Emmanuel Wu was surrounded by the theme of exploration. His great-grandfather, Alexander Wu, was part of the astronaut team that first landed on and colonized Mars way back in 2067. Considering the significance of his family name ("Wu" in Chinese means shaman), his great-grandfather would communicate with Emmanuel via intergalactic transmission logs, and inspire him to never give up on his dreams.
Those stories and intergalactic transmissions from Mars have been replayed over and over by Emmanuel throughout his childhood and early adolescence as inspiration when he could one day follow in his family heritage. Emmanuel also spent his childhood reading a book given to him by his great-grandfather called the Society of Explorers and Adventurers, which enticed and motivated Emmanuel to want to seek the beyond.
His success as a researcher and engineer gave him the prowess to design his own private spaceship, called Discovery and form a group that today is known as A.I.R - the Association for Intergalactic Reconnaissance - with the goal of pushing the limits of space travel.
Queue
As you enter Space Mountain, you travel through the laboratories and research hallways of A.I.R. as you pass by data analysis and more information about the places you are traveling to and that A.I.R. has researched, such as planet X171 or what the team at A.I.R calls, Xanadu.
On a television screen, you can watch and listen to the Xanadu Transmission logs from A.I.R. scientists as they report back to Tomorrowland with their findings.
As you go further into the queue, you notice that the mission log for today is to travel to the Lavender Moon, the largest moon of Xanadu. Passing through the rest of the laboratory, you see a transmission from the Aries rocket orbiting the planet. Emmanuel Wu comes online and greets the guests.
Dr. : "Welcome A.I.R. enthusiasts. It's so exciting that you made the expedition to visit our colony and we are so glad to share this discovery with you. Today's mission is to discovery this rock - called Secretous787 - which by our tests and analysis, is unique to the Lavender Moon. We haven't found this rock formation on any other planet or moon we have visited in the past, and we'd like to do some tests on it and maybe it could be valuable for the people of Earth and Tomorrowland, as some of our other discoveries have been.
You'll be traveling in this custom designed Space Pod - specialized to break Xanadu's atmosphere and pilot around the moon. You'll need to be split up into teams for this quest and for that I will turn you over to Dr. Wright who will describe what your tasks are"
Dr. Wright: "When you enter your pods, you will notice specialized dashboards in from of each of your seats. You will have to work as a team in order to complete this mission. One of you will pilot the pod throughout, another engage liftoff, another will ensure the shield is deployed, and lastly one of you will deploy the landing gear. Your pods are uniquely designed by Dr. Wu himself to ensure safe travels for you space enthusiasts. Happy exploring and thanks for joining us for this mission!"
You depart the land and enter the liftoff zone beyond it. There you board your vehicles and prepare for your mission.
Attraction Layout
Ride-Through
Dr. Wu: "Engage liftoff procedure Discovery 1."
Your vehicles swiftly ascend into the liftoff position at a 90 degree angle relative to the ground. You feel the force gravity pressing you back into your seat as you hear the countdown to ignition in the background. Your vehicles move up the chain and into the sky with projection screens 180 degrees surrounding you as the vehicle make its ascent. The ascent feels faster than it really is given that the screens around you are projecting visual stimuli such as the ground becoming smaller and the clouds becoming thinner.
You hear on your on-board audio from the control center monitoring your progress
Dr. Wright: "O2 stat 97%, cabin pressure 1 atm, Nitrogen levels steady, prepare for hydrocarbonite engine boost and breaking of the atmosphere..."
Zoom...
You feel a thrust as your vehicle leaps over the incline and levels out in Xanadu orbit.
Dr. Wu: "Nice work in there. You can see us in orbit to your left...you're going to want to pilot the vehicle towards the planet, but be warned, the atmospheric pull of Xanadu might make the trip a bit bumpy"
You pilot the vehicle towards the Lavender moon as the projection screens around you create the sense of space travel and your vehicle stimulates turbulence by swaying and bumping along towards the planet.
Dr. Wright: "Excellent, now initiate the landing gea-....wait a minute....what's that coming towards you?
Ahead you see a bright light and a spaceship coming from the moon directly towards you and it fires a laser beam at you. Your vehicle sways to narrowly miss it...but the ship keeps coming closer and firing at your pod.
Dr. Wu: Abort mission! There's life on this moon...and they clearly don't want us here!
Bang...
Your space pod is hit and your vehicles spin 360 degrees around and dip towards the moon's surface...
Dr. Wu: You've been hit, quick, initiate the shields...forget the rocks you just need to get out of there!
Dr. Wright: They may not have enough fuel to last that long!!
You swerve in and out of the canyons of the moon as you are chased down by the extra-terrestrials who inhabit the moon...large, steep curves left and right give you the sensation of flying through the moon in a desperate attempt to escape.
Dr. Wu: You're going to need to need to activate the turbine engines!
Dr. Wright: But that's never been tested!
Dr. Wu: Well it will be now, those people are in danger...
You continue to fly across the alien landscape in a visceral display of projections and physical sets and on-board audio which put you right in the center of an other-worldly adventure as you fly around this moon to escape with your life.
Dr. Wright: Activating the turbine engines....now!
Dr. Wu: Hang on everyone!
Your vehicle thrusts forward and spirals up and away from the surface of the moon, evading capture from the inhabitants. The stars surround you as your vehicle soars through the atmosphere and makes a direct path back to Xanadu. In a last ditch effort, your landing procedure is initiated and you tip down at a 90 degree angle back to the landing platform and laboratory....
Dr. Wright: They made it...
Dr. Wu: Goodness...well that was certainly a quest for the ages...glad you all made it back in one piece. There was definitely something on the Lavender Moon....but maybe it's best to keep those things a mystery. Hopefully now you can see how unpredictable an adventure can be....thanks for flying with us...and enjoy the rest of your time on Xanadu.
Guests exit the launch platform and head back through a wormhole to Tomorrowland.
37 - An Adventure in Time
D-Ticket
Designed By @MCParradox
The Tomorrowland Interplanetary Convention Center - Exposition Hall:
Guests enter the main exposition hall of the Tomorrowland Interplanetary Convention Center, a large open space with floor to ceiling glass windows on the left, and exposition posters for such events as "Mission to Mars: History or Hoax?" And "XS-Tech Teleportation: Seize the Future" on the right, with planters and benches scattered throughout. The Tomorrowland Transit Authority looks into this hall from above, as guests are ushered into The Professor's booth.
[Above: The Tomorrowland Interplanetary Convention Center Exposition Hall]
The Preshow Stage:
As guests enter, they are greeted by BEN-E, the most advanced robotic simulation of intelligence, who has a quick demonstration of the professor's technology for the guests. He sits at a control panel, and is fumbling with the controls when guests enter. To either side of the control panel sits a time manipulation tube, and within each is an observation robot (SKP-1 and SKP-2), broadcasting a live feed of its vision to a screen behind the control panel. As the robots scan the room, showing the guests' faces on the screen, BEN-E introduces the professor's invention, describing the wondrous things it can achieve. He notes that he has a few destinations already planned out, and sends the two scouts off into the past and the future.
[Above: BEN-E]
With that, the lights dim, both tubes fill with smoke, and electricity flashes in the tubes. When the smoke clears and the lights return to normal, the two robots have disappeared, and their feeds on the screen have gone to static, with time/date indicators over the tubes flashing and changing. The first robot, SKP-1 arrives in the Jurassic period, it's feed displaying tropical foliage and a distant volcano. BEN-E explains that it is scouting around for landing locations, and takes it out to explore, locating a nest of Stegosaurus along the way. BEN-E then realises that the second robot is still moving forward through time, and pulls it out, a lot further into the future than intended. He proudly announces "the future!", but the location SKP-2 has arrived at is a post apocalyptic wasteland, with no living things in sight. The robot sets off to explore, finding nothing but rubble and dust. BEN-E initiates a lifeform scan, and finds a reading directly behind the robot. Turning it around, guests see a quick glimpse of a Morlock, before the feed switches to static.
[Above: Preshow Chamber]
BEN-E panics, and pulls both scouts back into the vortex. The lights flicker off, the tubes fill with smoke, and electricity flashes again. SKP-1 rematerialises intact, and begins scanning the room again. SKP-2, however, has been reduced to a pile of scrap metal, broken and sparking. BEN-E assures the guests that everything will be fine, and ushers them into the theatre.
Main Theatre - The Time Capsule:
As guests enter the time machine's passenger chamber, they see a central vortex induction coil, surrounded by 4 tiers of seats, each with a safety harness. On the walls behind the seats are a series of shutters, behind which lie CircleVision screens, and two large portholes on either side of the chamber. Below these screens are various vents, displays and machines, and above the guests heads are a series of supporting vaults. Between each vault is a metal mesh screen, above which are assorted pipes and tubes, and a maintenance catwalk. BEN-E appears on screens surrounding the top of the vortex induction coil, and encourages guests to move around the rows and fill every available seat. Once guests are seated, the harnesses lower onto their shoulders, the main lights are dimmed, and a series of spotlights illuminate the coil.
[Above: The Time Capsule]
BEN-E informs guests that they will first be visiting the Jurassic period, and that the scout robot has located a suitable landing site. He flicks a few switches on his panel, and the machine whirs into life. Lights flicker and fluctuate on the various pieces of machinery around the room, and the vortex induction coil begins to glow blue, as the containment tube fills with smoke. Electricity courses through the tube and the supporting ceiling vaults, and guests' seats rumble as time/date indicators tumble backwards rapidly. BEN-E suddenly realises that he forgot to compensate for the additional passengers, and boosts the power, inadvertently sending the chamber back too far. He opens the shutters, and the CircleVision screens show a fiery, molten world outside as the chamber begins to heat up. The guests have ended up at the birth of the planet, and BEN-E quickly attempts to send them forwards again.
[Above: The Time Capsule, In The Vortex]
When the shutters reopen, the environment outside is a lush, prehistoric jungle, with numerous animals flying over the capsule. A T-Rex is spotted a few metres away, and seems to be looking right at the capsule. BEN-E assures the guests that it can't see them, as the transpari-phase system is activated. Nevertheless, the T-Rex begins pacing towards the capsule, while an eye appears just outside the opposite porthole. With an ear-splitting roar, the chamber shakes and creaks, and smoke starts to pour out of one of the vents. BEN-E reactivates the machine, leaving the shutters open as it enters the vortex.
With the transpari-phase system functional again, BEN-E informs the guests that they are heading somewhere "more civilised", and they materialise at the Paris 1889 Exposition Universelle. They arrive a few years early, and BEN-E moves them forward 'slowly', so they can watch the Eiffel Tower being constructed outside. After watching Paris develop a little, they move to the 1964/65 New York World's Fair, and then EPCOT Center, watching both grow and develop around them, before BEN-E takes the guests into the future.
Unfortunately, BEN-E has loaded up the time co-ordinates from the second scout, and the capsule arrives in the post apocalyptic distant future. As the machine phases in, it begins to malfunction. The landing was not properly planned out, and so the machine phases into the same space occupied by a Morlock nest. Sparks fly, lights flicker, and the room begins to fill with smoke. A Morlock phases into the vortex induction coil containment tube, a few ceiling panels fall, allowing loose pipes and wires to dangle above guests' heads, and the lights go out completely. BEN-E is panicking, making a lot of noise and getting nothing done, while Morlocks roam the capsule. Binaural sounds, misters, warm air, water spray, seat vibration, and restraint motion all combine to create the illusion that the Morlocks are really there, while the occasional flash of light reveals one hanging onto the ceiling snarling at guests, or standing on the broken containment tube. Eventually, BEN-E gets the power working again, and pulls the capsule back into the vortex. The electricity flashing around the room catches the Morlocks, and they begin to screech until it causes them to explode, showering the guests with blood (water).
[Above: The Time Capsule, Crashed]
[Above: Development for Morlock]
The capsule arrives back in Central Florida, and the view out of the windows shows a fully functional Tomorrowland city, with the TTA and monorail whizzing around, and Space Mountain and the Astro Orbiter visible in the distance. The Tomorrowland Interplanetary Convention Center is being constructed around the guests, and once complete, the capsule lands with a thud, and the lights flicker back on. The smoke begins to clear, and BEN-E lifts the restraints, wishing guests a happy trip onwards, and pleading them not to mention the "little detour". As guests leave the theatre, he can be heard muttering about how much this will cost to fix, and how much work he will have to put into it.
[Above: The Time Capsule, In The Future]
Exiting the theatre, guests will now enter either Mickey's Star Trader's or Merchant of Venus, depending on which theatre they entered, both of which now stock items based on the experience, and the characters of BEN-E and the Morlocks.
References and Easter Eggs:
Throughout the experience, there are many references to previous attractions. Firstly, when you enter the main Exposition Hall, there are posters on the wall advertising "Mission to Mars: History or Hoax?" and "XS-Tech Teleportation: Seize The Future", referencing Mission to Mars and ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter, respectively. Then, BEN-E refers to himself as "the most advanced robotic simulation of intelligence, a reference to SIR, who hosted the preshow for Alien Encounter. The two scout robots in the preshow are named SKP-1 and SKP-2, in tribute to Skippy, who appeared in the two tubes in both preceding versions of the show. Finally, throughout the experience, many pipes, tubes, displays and panels are labelled with the following codes:
- CL-NCH
- LC-C
- SP-LK
- Fe-MS
- GN-2
- X-STK
- ST-CH
- L1-L0
- M2M-75
- F2-TM-71
- AIT-16
See if you can work out what these reference for yourselves!
Realism:
Realism:
The whole experience was designed to be something that Disney would realistically build, as opposed to a fantastic pipedream that has no chance of ever happening. Therefore, the layout was kept roughly the same, with only minor structural changes, and many show elements were retained from previous iterations of the attraction. The biggest structural change is the new glass wall for the Exposition Hall, followed by the new wall and ceiling structure for the two theatres. The preshow area is kept the same structurally, with a new copper and brass colour scheme to better fit the new story, a few new props, and a new TV monitor installed behind the control panel to display the two scout robots' feeds. BEN-E is a repurposed SIR / Sergeant 90210 animatronic, featuring a new head and body panelling.
Inside the theatre, the seating is the same, with enhanced effects and a new colour scheme. The teleportation tube now contains the vortex induction coil, and has a space at the base of the tube for the Morlock animatronic to rise from, along with another section of coil. This Morlock animatronic is a repurposed Stitch animatronic, and the Morlock hanging from the capsule ceiling is a newly built version of the same model, mounted onto a system whereby it can be swiftly lowered into and raised out of the theatre, allowing it to appear to scuttle around the ceiling vaults. The walls and ceiling of this theatre have been completely rebuilt to accommodate all of the assorted machinery, vents, ceiling vaults and panels, pipes and tubing, and the CircleVision screens and portholes necessary for the new story.
Technical Specification:
Preshow length: 5 minutes
Main show length: 12 minutes
Load / unload: 3 minutes
Theatre capacity: 162
Theoretical hourly capacity: 1296
Fastpass+: No
Ticket rating: C-Ticket
Height restriction: 40in (101cm)
Notice: This attraction may be too scary for young audiences
Other Notes:
The attraction would be the launching point for a return to the New Tomorrowland update that launched Alien Encounter, with the TTA now referencing buildings such as the Tomorrowland Interplanetary Convention Center, Tomorrowland Metropolis Science Center, and Rockettower Plaza again. This would provide a cohesive overall story to the area, and remove all of the characters and IPs that don't really belong in a futuristic spaceport city such as Tomorrowland.
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Excited to have you with us for the next park!