01x05 - Space Mountain

[bunniefuu]

ANNOUNCER 1: Remain seated, please.

(in Spanish)

Please remain seated.

(lively music)

(elephants trumpeting)

MAN 1: The love of liberty.

(moans)

(screams)

NARRATOR:

Years of research and development.

MAN 2: T-minus ten, nine

NARRATOR:

An unprecedented mobilization of manpower.

MAN 2: eight, seven

NARRATOR: A fortune spent on

never-before-seen cutting-edge technology.

MAN 2: six

NARRATOR: Culminating

in an historic Florida launch that

would change the world forever.

(firecrackers crackle)

NARRATOR: Launch trajectory

set for Space Mountain.

MAN 2: five, four, three, two, one.

NARRATOR:

Part of a majestic mountain range

that spans the globe

with five glorious peaks.

(speaking Japanese)

NARRATOR:

But the story of this iconic attraction

has more ups and downs

than a roller coa

It's not a roller coaster.

It's a thrill ride.

NARRATOR: Of course.

Because Space Mountain isn't just

a roller coaster,

even though it does have

-Dips

-Turns

NARRATOR: It's, shall we say,

out of this world, both metaphorically

-(screaming)

-(shrieks)

and in its very concept.

You are flying through space.

Hold on tight.

It's like nothing else you've ever seen.

NARRATOR: Well, yeah.

Of course, because

It's mostly in the dark.

NARRATOR: Well, let us shed some light

on the story of Space Mountain,

which kind of begins in the future.

Ladies and gentlemen,

here is your host, Walt Disney.

When Disneyland opened in 1955,

one of the keystone lands

was Tomorrowland.

NICHOLAS: All about the future,

all about going to space.

Walt really liked the idea of space

and Tomorrowland.

(echoing)

Tomorrowland. Tomorrowland.

NARRATOR: And with good reason.

In the 1950s, the limitless,

cavernous void of space

represented the next great frontier.

Many of the things

that seem impossible now

will become realities tomorrow.

NARRATOR:

Well, keeping in mind that in 1955,

VHS was still about 20 years away,

progress was, you know, progressing.

And even back during

the planning stages of Disneyland

Walt Disney felt very capable

of describing Frontierland, Adventureland,

and especially Fantasyland.

But Tomorrowland is a very curious idea.

NARRATOR:

Curious. But for Walt and the Imagineers,

a better word might have been

confusing.

This is one of the very first drawings

of Tomorrowland.

But we didn't know much about tomorrow.

NARRATOR: Well, why would you?

Because when your view of the future

is bursting with endless possibilities

Just a dream away.

those endless possibilities can start

to get a little

Curious.

NARRATOR: That's one word for it,

because soon enough,

Walt and his Imagineers found themselves

unclear on Tomorrowland's future.

There was so much discussion

and conjecture

I did this. It's not very good.

that it was the last land

to be developed.

NARRATOR: With crucial time lost

in the curious confusion,

when the original version of Tomorrowland

was finally finished

The result was we had only

a very few attractions.

NARRATOR: Including such classics

as Rocket to the Moon

Now, are you blasting off very shortly?

Uh, just a few seconds, I'd say.

and, of course, the timeless Autopia.

But beyond that

Tomorrowland was more of a place

that showcased a lot of new technology.

NARRATOR: Ah, yes.

Who could forget the Hall of Chemistry?

Um, anyone? Or, well, how about

The Bathroom of the Future.

If you can picture that.

I'm sorry I missed that.

NARRATOR: Well, you never want

to miss the toilet.

-So, take a look for yourself.

-(toilet flushes)

Walt wanted all that out,

you know, quickly.

So, it wasn't too long before we were

working on the newer Tomorrowland.

NARRATOR: So, in 1959, just four years

after Disneyland opened,

the Imagineers were flushed

with new top-tier attractions

for Tomorrowland,

like The Submarine Voyage,

complete with real live mermaids,

as well as the Monorail,

complete with real live passengers.

But also, in the great expansion of 1959,

Walt, almost single-handedly

from the looks of it,

built Disneyland's

very first roller coaster.

You can't say roller coaster. Thrill ride.

NARRATOR: Well, that thrill ride

is none other than

-(horn toots)

-the Matterhorn Bobsleds, of course.

(screaming)

That was the world's first

tubular steel thrill ride.

NARRATOR: And going totally tubular

was quite the advantage for Disney,

because while those traditional

flat track roller coasters

We can call those ones

roller coasters, right?

(riders scream)

had their own particular brand

of thrills and spills

With tubular steel,

you're able to have really sharp turns,

like going through a mountain

and going through caves.

Nobody had ever seen anything like it.

NARRATOR: But once they had,

park guests agreed

the Matterhorn Bobsleds were

Hello. Hi, dear.

peak entertainment.

NARRATOR: And so, with Matterhorn

mania sweeping the park,

Walt was looking to create

some space for his next idea.

Walt said, "You know, it would be great

if we could take a ride

like the Matterhorn

and use a space theme."

NARRATOR:

And so, they set out to do just that.

Walt and team had an idea

to do a space port within Tomorrowland,

and the feature anchor attraction

would be

NARRATOR: Space Mountain?

-Space Voyage.

-NARRATOR: Space Voyage, huh?

Well, this so-called Voyage

was inspired by the Matterhorn,

but this would be far more advanced

and twice as big.

Not as the real Matterhorn, obviously.

The original inception,

there were four tracks.

Separately weaving in and out

through each other,

through this very large mountain.

And it went out of the mountain,

just like Matterhorn.

Basically, four roller coasters in one.

NARRATOR: And if that doesn't sound

advanced enough

It's operated by a computer.

And the idea that an amusement park

would have a ride

that would use

that kind of technology was a big deal.

NARRATOR:

Maybe even too big of a deal, because

At the time, the technology

wasn't advanced enough to even build it.

NARRATOR: After all,

computers in the early '60s were

uh, computers in the early '60s.

So, the project was put on hold.

NARRATOR: And keeping true to the theme

of Tomorrowland

A step into the future with predictions

of constructive things to come.

Walt and the Imagineers knew

that these clunky old things

would catch up eventually.

NARRATOR: Because if you look at

a Disneyland map from 1968, you'll see

NICHOLAS: A thing that looks like

Space Mountain saying "Future Attraction."

And you don't know what it is,

when it's coming, but

NARRATOR: But Disney had recently come

into ownership of

-Forty-three square miles.

-Which is

Twice the size of the island of Manhattan.

for their East Coast Disney Resort.

And with so much manpower

going into Walt Disney World in Florida,

it didn't bode well

for Walt's tubular steel

passion project to the stars. In fact

That project, unfortunately, was shelved.

And just like that, the thrill ride

of tomorrow was a thing of the

past. But then

1971, Walt Disney World opens,

Magic Kingdom opens.

That was a major milestone

for the company.

NARRATOR: It was also a major success.

There are so many people that want to go

to the Magic Kingdom,

they close the gates.

There's a line of cars

leading out from the parking kiosk

simply waiting for people to leave

so they can park their car.

NARRATOR:

But by the early '70s, Disney's parking

wasn't the only thing that was stacked.

The theme park business

was kind of a thing at that point.

NICHOLAS: There were other competitors

that were building parks,

and at that time,

guests were looking for things

that were a little more exciting

and real-feeling.

NARRATOR: Such as

-JOE: Two spectacular upside-down loops.

-NARRATOR: Or even

JOE: The highest drop in the world.

NARRATOR: But because the Matterhorn

was so good, you could say

it was kind of Walt who ramped up this

steel tube arms race in the first place.

Of course, the Matterhorn had existed.

(riders scream)

And that really set the stage

for theme parks worldwide

at that point that tubular steel

was the way to go.

NICHOLAS: And in the '60s and '70s,

other companies thought,

"We want a piece of that pie.

We want to do that, too."

So, it sort of takes off.

(screaming)

And it starts to diversify.

Hey, let's try this one.

And it continued to grow

at increasing rates of speed.

NARRATOR: Well, clearly,

Disney was in pole position with

Well, the Matterhorn.

NARRATOR: Exactly, but Florida

wouldn't be getting one of those.

-Well

-NARRATOR: You know, no snow.

Uh, yeah.

NARRATOR: Uh, no. But Walt Disney World

wouldn't be doing the same old thing.

Uh, actually,

quite a few of the same things.

And who doesn't want to fly

in an elephant?

NARRATOR: Teenagers, actually.

But they'd be getting something

that even they couldn't turn

their noses up at.

Florida was the new park,

and they wanted to do

something really special.

NARRATOR: Something stellar.

Something out of this world.

-Something like

-Space Voyage.

NARRATOR: Which, just before Walt

put it on pause

Oh, yeah, VHS exists now.

Anyway, the attraction had been renamed

Space Mountain.

NARRATOR: Which made sense,

seeing as this whole thing

-started with this one

-MAN 3: Hello.

-MAN 4: Hi, dear.

-NARRATOR: Yep, hi.

So, they decided to build

Space Mountain

-NARRATOR: Not in Anaheim.

-In Florida.

NARRATOR: And why not?

The conceptual work had already been done.

But more importantly, by the early '70s,

these old clunkers had finally caught up

with Walt's original vision.

So, what exactly would these computers

be controlling?

A block system.

(beeping)

NARRATOR:

That does not compute. Please elaborate.

Block systems,

which are basically just brakes

throughout the ride,

allow multiple cars to run

on the track at the same time safely.

NICHOLAS: If one were to catch up

to another, it would slow down or stop it,

so it doesn't run into the other ones.

NARRATOR: Although, block systems

weren't a new thing, mind you.

The Matterhorn had been running on one

since '59, minus the computer control.

But Space Mountain

was extremely elaborate for its time

because it has a lot more zones

and brake areas.

NARRATOR: And, in addition to that

-Disney wanted high capacity.

-NARRATOR: Meaning?

To be able to put more guests

on the ride at one time.

NARRATOR: A longer track with more cars

on it at the same time

was way more than those old-fashioned

block systems could handle.

So because we had

the computer-controlled system

(beeping)

we can get a lot more rockets

and a lot more people through the ride.

NARRATOR: And good thing, too,

because it was looking like

there'd be a little bit less ride

than originally planned.

In the original inception,

there were four tracks.

NARRATOR: But the only scaling

on this mountain would be back.

What we ended up with was two.

NARRATOR:

Which was still quite cool. After all

-It's essentially the Matterhorn.

-(honks)

But inside a fully-enclosed mountain.

-NARRATOR: And what a mountain it is.

-It's just a cool-looking thing.

NARRATOR: Surely one of the most iconic

You know, you want

a little sculpture of it.

imaginative Disney Park designs

ever committed to paper.

NARRATOR: Before being thrown out.

And committed to paper again.

Then, eventually built.

-In Florida.

-NARRATOR: A conical dome that, in fact,

sprung from the mind of legendary

Disney Imagineer John Hench.

I think I made the first little sketches

on the thing.

NARRATOR: "Little sketches on the thing."

He designed Space Mountain

before the technology was available.

BO: You know, he was just a man

that was ahead of his time.

He could read any language

and he could talk technology

and knew color like nobody else.

That's why Walt would refer to him

as his expert at everything,

because he knew a lot.

NARRATOR: And that universal know-how

would come in handy

when designing this modern monolith.

I thought I would have to invent

a new kind of architecture.

NARRATOR: So, he kind of did.

And with an unparalleled knack

for artistry and spectacle,

John Hench whipped Space Mountain

into shape. A cone shape.

The cone is a logical way

of dispersing the energy

that is represented by lifting a car

to a certain height

and letting it run out by gravity.

(echoing)

Gravity. Gravity. In a spiral.

(sniffs)

NARRATOR: And Magic Kingdom guests

would soon grasp the

-(echoing) Gravity. Gravity.

-of their situation.

NARRATOR: Because on January 15, 1975,

Space Mountain opened its airlock

in Florida for the very first time.

They had a huge celebration,

and they called in some NASA astronauts.

And it was a big occasion

because this was the first significant

expansion to occur at the Magic Kingdom

since the park had opened,

and it really kind of set it

on a trajectory

that was the beginnings

of what became the park we know today.

NARRATOR: Now, speaking of trajectories,

well, guests were being launched on one.

It was unlike any theme park

attraction ever ridden.

You, basically, are dropped into darkness.

(upbeat music)

It really does give you a sense of like

you're flying through outer space.

There's no more lights,

there's only stars.

It feels like you're going super fast

because you can't see where you're going.

And you don't know which way is left

and which way is right.

Is that a drop or is that a hill?

You don't know what's going to happen.

NARRATOR: Which is exactly what guests

found so thrilling.

And even a little chilling.

I followed the first ride

and waited for it when they disembarked.

One woman struggled out

and knelt down and kissed the carpet.

(laughs)

NARRATOR:

But Magic Kingdom was puckering up, too,

because with Space Mountain taking off,

Walt Disney World was kissing

its thrill ride blues goodbye.

Space Mountain was extremely popular

in Disney World.

NARRATOR: Disney was on a roll, and soon,

they were ready to take the Space Mountain

launch sequence to the next stage.

NICHOLAS:

They wanted to bring it to Disneyland.

NARRATOR: And finally,

the dream of raising those spacey spires

above the Anaheim skyline

would come to fruition. But

There wasn't as much room

in Disneyland in California.

NARRATOR: In fact, the Magic Kingdom

at Walt Disney World in Florida

has dozens of acres

on Disneyland in California.

But that wouldn't make their plans

go supernova.

The solution was simple.

A smaller mountain. The one in Florida

was 300 feet in diameter.

LUC: The one in Anaheim

was 200 feet in diameter.

NARRATOR: That's a lot of track

to squeeze into a third less dome.

Walt Disney World has two tracks running

similar but opposite of each other.

NARRATOR: Luckily, Imagineers

have a one-track mind

for problem-solving,

'cause two tracks weren't going to fit.

So, they found a way to develop

their own single-track version.

NARRATOR:

But half the track meant half the cars,

and half the cars meant

half the park guests kissing the carpet.

(laughs)

But it has just as many guests on it

because the trains are bigger.

NARRATOR: Which meant

Space Mountain Anaheim would be

Just as thrilling, just as exciting.

NARRATOR: However, as thrilled

and excited Disneyland guests

boarded Space Mountain

for the first time in mid-1977,

around that same time,

secret talks were underway

It took about five years of negotiation.

the likes of which would change

the Walt Disney Company forever.

But then in 1979,

we signed an agreement

to create Disneyland.

-NARRATOR: Uh Thank you.

-Tokyo.

NARRATOR: Tokyo Disneyland

opened in April of 1983.

And being the first Magic Kingdom-style

Disney Park in over a decade,

Tokyo Disneyland would be a showcase

for Imagineering's newest

state-of-the-art innovations.

It was a creative relationship.

We brought everything we

could possibly bring to it.

NARRATOR: So, when opening day guests

lined up for Tokyo Space Mountain

(in Japanese)

it would be revealed

just how Disney had updated

this iconic ride

for a new culture and a new decade.

Tokyo Space Mountain is a carbon copy

of Anaheim Space Mountain.

NARRATOR:

Well, you can improve on perfection.

The track layout

and everything's the same.

NARRATOR: Because, as it turns out

ANNOUNCER 2: The Japanese wanted

an American experience.

NARRATOR: So

Tokyo Disneyland took the greatest hits

of Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom

at Walt Disney World,

and brought them together.

-NARRATOR: Which ended up

-ANNOUNCER 2: Saving Disney the effort

of designing a new theme park

from scratch.

NARRATOR:

Which is exactly what they'd be doing

on their next international park.

Rocketing ahead to the late '80s,

the new guard of Disney leadership

was buoyed with confidence

after the success of Tokyo Disneyland.

So, they began carving

a new and ambitious course.

And they wanted to go to Europe.

NARRATOR: Specifically,

just outside of Paris, France.

Welcome to Walt Disney Company.

NARRATOR: And assigned to oversee

this gargantuan project,

Imagineering legend Tony Baxter.

One of the most exciting things

I got involved with in my career

was getting the assignment

to bring a Disneyland to the Parisians.

NARRATOR: And Imagineer Tim Delaney

was equally excited about the plan,

although clearly too cool to show it.

And I went to Tony and I say,

"Sign me up." And he's like, "You're on."

NARRATOR: But this dream team

would have their work cut out for them,

because unlike Tokyo Disneyland, where

ANNOUNCER 2: The Japanese wanted

an American experience.

NARRATOR: what was known at the time

as Euro Disney

would have to cater

to the sophisticated tastes of the French.

And everyone was aware of,

"How do we make this park

more European-like?"

NARRATOR: But before Tony and Tim

could envision a French Space Mountain,

they'd have to consider the corner

of the park in which it would reside.

So, now we get to Tomorrowland,

and the scary thing

was most of the futures that we showed

in Disneyland and Walt Disney World

are American futures.

NARRATOR: Which would make Tomorrowland

problematic in France.

There was a consideration one time

of not having a Tomorrowland at all.

NARRATOR: What? No Space Mountain?

That's crazy talk.

So, the idea,

because we were going to France,

was that let's create a land that is more

dedicated to great visionaries.

TIM: Jules Verne. HG Wells.

Even Leonardo da Vinci.

And the idea was that each one

of those visionaries

had their vision of the future,

so this became now

a history of the future.

NARRATOR: And with Tony and Tim's vision

of a shared history,

France's Tomorrowland

became Discoveryland.

But as the costs began piling up,

Tim's discovery

was that compromises

would have to be made.

There was a gentleman

who was running our project

from a construction management

point of view.

He just said, "Look, Tim, the studio

just wants you to put

another Space Mountain in there

and be done with it."

NARRATOR: As in,

just like the one in Orlando.

And Anaheim. And Tokyo.

No. We can't do that.

We've got to do something different.

NARRATOR: But doing something different

meant Space Mountain would be pushed

to Euro Disney's Phase Two of development.

This was gonna be, you know,

the next big thing

that we did after the park opened.

NARRATOR: So, Tim got to work designing,

while Euro Disney

got on with the business of opening.

(in French)

Euro Disneyland is officially open.

(people cheer)

NARRATOR: And, with that out of the way,

time for Tim to show off his work.

TIM: I started doing a whole series

of renderings.

A bronze, brass-covered

Jules Vernian Space Mountain.

NARRATOR: Prominently featuring

what appeared to be a giant cannon.

That cannon comes

from the Jules Verne story,

TRACY: From the Earth to the Moon.

He dreamed of using things like cannons

for something peaceful rather than w*r.

And so, in our story, you're in the 1800s

and being shot to the moon

-in a cannonball.

-NARRATOR: Sounds like a ball.

But what makes that different

from the other Space Mountains?

I said, "Why don't we"

-(g*nsh*t)

-"sh**ting, going to the moon."

(grunts)

A catapult launch system

is the most exhilarating effect

you can have.

TIM: Like acceleration in a car.

It's extraordinary.

So, like, why not just do this

and sh**t it up the hill

and let it just drop into the mountain.

NARRATOR:

A higher-caliber attraction, to be sure.

The cannon was a massive, animated prop.

It was so complex. It was so big.

(creaking)

TIM: There were these gears that turn,

you see the train go in

(hisses)

TIM: You sh**t it out,

there's a big steam

It was probably

the largest asset that we've had

connected to an exterior

of a ride building, ever.

NARRATOR: And that's just the launch.

There's stuff that happens

once you get inside, too.

The ride goes twice as fast

as any other Space Mountain.

We introduced the first loops

for a Disney Park.

NARRATOR: And, as if that wasn't enough

to have park guests head over heels,

this next Disney Park first would be

It's the first onboard audio

that was ever done on a roller coaster,

where you've got to sync the soundtrack

without spoiling the tempo of the music.

TONY: And the poor composer had to ride it

a million times to get those beats

just right as you go through.

We arrived at the first parking point.

The music was still going.

It was like a slight delay there.

All right, get in. We will ride it again.

It's exhausting.

NARRATOR: But there was no time

for sleeping on the job,

because Space Mountain's

most important launch yet

was scheduled for June 1st, 1995.

Disneyland Paris launches its

latest attraction, Space Mountain.

be the most stunning thrill ride

ever created.

NARRATOR:

It seemed to be going over well on TV.

the ride of a lifetime.

NARRATOR: But of course,

it would be the park guests

who'd decide if Space Mountain

was a smash.

-And aside from one awkward thud

-(thuds)

a smash is exactly what they got.

The ride delivered.

I had never seen so many happy people

in my life.

(people cheer)

It re-launched the park.

I mean, the attendance went took off.

(whooshes)

Taking Verne's trip from Earth to Moon

and being exploded out of the cannon

up into this world of outer space,

-that just grabbed all of Europe.

-Stupendo!

All these people coming off the ride,

and this one Italian woman came off,

and she was like

(mumbles)

It was great.

I have no idea what she said.

But in fact,

you knew exactly what she said.

(shrieks)

Well, it sounds absolutely incredible.

NARRATOR: But things were about to sound

even more incredible,

because back in Anaheim,

that in-seat onboard soundtrack

developed for Paris

sounded like a good idea

to the Californian crew

That's when they brought

in the first onboard audio.

who, in 1996, went down to the beach

and brought in

pioneer surf rock guitarist

d*ck Dale, surf rock tunes.

who strummed a fusion

of science fiction and surf music

into this iconic riff.

(upbeat music)

Actually, it's really cool.

I'm kind of bummed

that I never got to experience it.

NARRATOR: And the reason for that is,

nine years later,

with the mature Space Mountain

showing its age,

the attraction underwent a major overhaul

in celebration of Disneyland's

50th anniversary.

So, an updated attraction

would need updated music.

They brought in the composer

who did, like, The Incredibles.

ALISON: Michael Giacchino,

he did an updated score.

That's what's there now.

NARRATOR: And, as well as this arguably

more iconic music track,

Space Mountain got

yet another new track.

Like, the track.

Meaning, the old one had to come out.

It's like a ship in a bottle.

OWEN: Parts by parts,

they have to get the track out.

It was just dirt, and I was like,

"Wow. This is amazing."

All that that track and all that

spaghetti goes into this, but

NARRATOR: Don't worry, because

They recreated the track

exactly as it was originally.

NARRATOR: And, with Hong Kong Disneyland

under construction at the same time,

why not recreate it twice?

Hong Kong's Space Mountain is a

identical track to the one in Anaheim.

NARRATOR: But this refurbishment

wasn't just an excuse

for Anaheim Space Mountain

to clone itself all around the world.

There was still refurbishing to do.

Like the space probe

above the loading area. Most would say

It's a fantastic design,

but my job was to embellish it

with some details

to make it much more

up to date. Some propellant tanks.

(hisses)

-Emphasize the boosters.

-(dings)

The attachment gantry

that's holding the the probe up.

NARRATOR:

But Owen was just getting started.

One of the biggest tasks that I had

was coming up with the Space Station 77.

That was this imaginary space station

that we are teleported to,

to go on our journey

through outer space from.

NARRATOR: And in a kind of ode

to Space Mountain's

Tomorrowland heritage

I've designed it so that

you have all these other

ships flying in and out of it.

OWEN: You saw the Space Mountain vehicles

that are flying out of it,

as well as the X2 rocket

from Mission: Space

So, then it was kind of

this space port, airport hub.

NARRATOR: And to unveil the updated

Space Mountain, none other than

-Mr. Neil Armstrong.

-(crowd cheer)

And I congratulate

the entire Disney organization.

NARRATOR: A joyous occasion

which may very well have been

the most exciting day of his life.

That's one small step for man,

one giant leap for mankind.

Or maybe the second most exciting.

And if you're wondering

what happened to the old track

This is a part of the actual track

of Space Mountain.

It's a pencil holder or

or a paperweight.

(chuckles)

But it's kind of neat to

to own a piece of history that I didn't

know that I'd be so involved with.

So, it means a lot to me.

NARRATOR:

And Space Mountain means a lot to us all,

be it the original in Florida,

the classic in Anaheim,

as well as Tokyo, Hong Kong or Paris.

There wasn't something like Space Mountain

before Space Mountain,

and so, I think that

that's what makes these things iconic.

NARRATOR: But this iconic attraction

isn't above getting dressed up

every so often just to keep things fresh.

LUC: Ghost Galaxy,

which started in Hong Kong,

is really kind of a chance

to do a Halloween overlay

for Space Mountain.

(people screaming)

And then that became, later on,

what we could use to make,

Hyperspace Mountain.

(action music)

LUC: The Star Wars overlay is fantastic.

It's fun.

I mean, it puts you in the world,

and then, you know,

that overlay can stay on for a while,

then you go back to, you know,

classic Space Mountain,

and on to something else.

NARRATOR:

Which got the Imagineers thinking.

After almost 40 years,

just how far could they push the idea

of Space Mountain?

We said, "Why should we repeat

the thing we've already done,

no matter how great it is?"

We wanted to do something

a little different.

NARRATOR:

And they were about to get their chance,

because when they broke ground

on Shanghai Disneyland,

this time, they weren't going to wait

till after opening day

to get their own Space Mountain.

We had the budget for Space Mountain.

-We had the time for Space Mountain.

-NARRATOR: But

Our goal was to create something

that was authentically Disney

-Well, Space Mountain is certainly that.

-and distinctly Chinese.

NARRATOR: Hmm. Maybe.

In a world of high-tech architecture

and fast trains and incredible airports

NARRATOR:

Space Mountain could fit right in, right?

It didn't relate to the Chinese at all.

NARRATOR: After all,

Shanghai's maglev train,

the fastest train in the world,

moves at almost 270 miles per hour.

And Space Mountain?

Well, Space Mountain's not that fast.

Shanghai already

is the city of the future.

Which posed a problem,

not just for Space Mountain,

but for Tomorrowland itself.

It was all founded around these big

technological breakthroughs in the 1950s,

and the major one being going to space.

And the future was about going beyond

our planet and seeing what was out there.

NARRATOR:

Well, going to space? China's done that.

Space travel has lost some of the magic

some of the unknown.

NARRATOR: And, for what's it worth,

they even kinda had mountains covered.

So, we had to invent,

"What is our storyline?"

What was the ride experience

for Shanghai's Tomorrowland?

NARRATOR: With an almost blank slate,

you might say

Shanghai's Tomorrowland could be

a celebration of possibilities.

NARRATOR: And so, work began

on a promising, optimistic Tomorrowland.

Now, what to fill it with?

How we were gonna tap into the optimism

of the Chinese audience

NARRATOR: Well, having some

awesome attractions might help,

of which Space Mountain is definitely one.

So, the Imagineers got to work,

optimistically optimizing Space Mountain

for the Chinese audience.

We put all these ideas on the table.

NARRATOR: Scouring their minds

and digging deep.

SCOT: What was the ride experience

for Shanghai's Tomorrowland?

NARRATOR: Clearly, the answer

couldn't be found in 1977.

They couldn't go that far back

in the past.

So instead, they drew inspiration

from something far newer

-Tron.

-Where did you hear that name?

Well, that's your name, isn't it?

NARRATOR: Well, it's from the '80s,

at least. Cutting edge in its day.

You know, perhaps with a little bit

of updating, you could

In development was a new Tron film.

NARRATOR: Oh! Phew!

Nice.

And we saw early concept art for it,

and it was gorgeous.

Everyone saw the excitement

of doing something new and unique.

NARRATOR: And instead of guests

zipping about on rockets

Well, it's gotta be a Lightcycle.

(rattling)

NARRATOR: Of course, it does.

(whooshing)

SCOT: The Lightcycles

were such an iconic vehicle,

and I felt that those lived up

to every other iconic vehicle

that we have in all of our parks.

NARRATOR:

Well, certainly a little faster than some.

And I wanted to bring that to life.

NARRATOR: Please do.

But there's just one little problem.

(screams)

The one vehicle.

NARRATOR: Uh Yeah, there's only room

for one on a Lightcycle.

So only a fraction

of the guests of the park

would be able to experience it

throughout the course of a day.

NARRATOR: And so, similar to how

their predecessors maximized capacity

while altering Florida Space Mountain

for Anaheim

We needed to kind of configure

the Lightcycles in a train

so that we had so many people

kind of boarding at one time.

And each coach has two Lightcycles,

so you could ride right next

to your family or friend.

It's great in that everyone

gets to board their own Lightcycle,

but then they're all linked together

for the common experience.

It's a very different

ride system configuration,

the vehicle and the way you

you sit in it.

NARRATOR: But don't worry, it's not just

a matter of hanging on tight.

We found a restraint

that put people face forward,

holding on to these grips

like a motorcycle.

NARRATOR: And like in Paris,

it's all about the launch.

Space Mountain uses a

a traditional lift hill.

(rattles)

Tron uses a launch.

(action music)

It can blast outside the building

NARRATOR: You did just say outside.

-The building.

-NARRATOR: Right.

Every month, somebody tried

to convince me not to do that.

BOB: "Keep it inside the building.

We'd get rid of the whole canopy

and it'll just be inside the building.

It'll cost a lot less."

NARRATOR: Yeah, but it'd be

a lot less fun.

So, Bob kept chipping away.

'Cause it is easier to take

a conservative solution,

but that's not the Imagineering way.

We wanted to push forward,

try to do something great.

NARRATOR: Don't you mean launch forward?

And they did.

Because Walt's original idea

for what would become Space Mountain

was now finally realized here in Shanghai.

SCOT: That's something that

I think is truly unique

to the Shanghai Disneyland experience,

and we thought that was a unique way

to experience a roller coaster.

You can't say roller coaster.

NARRATOR: Especially now,

because on June 16th, 2016,

the world of high-speed thrill attractions

was about to change forever.

As Tron Lightcycle Power Run

powered up at Shanghai Disneyland,

the response was

Well, what do you think?

Look at this thing!

(rattles)

NARRATOR: At 3,169 feet long

and over 88 feet tall,

it's one of the fastest Disney coasters

at any Disney Park anywhere on Earth.

It is a very high-speed attraction.

ALEX: I think

when you come out of the building,

you get a real sense of speed.

When you're inside the building,

you have all these amazing show elements

and story points

being told all around you.

But it is just so much fun

to be face-first

and just launched out into the land.

Now, that's what I'm talking about!

NARRATOR: This Tron attraction is building

upon 40 years of history and innovation,

while probably also setting the stage

for the next 40 years of Disney

high-speed thrill attractions.

So, in the place where it all began,

Walt Disney World in Florida,

well, things are going to change.

I think that, you know, Tron is

it's a natural next evolution in this,

but it's also a step forward,

which is great.

NARRATOR:

And so, tomorrow has come to Florida

as work begins on installing Tron

at Walt Disney World.

Tron is being built right next

to Space Mountain itself.

NARRATOR:

Of course. The more, the merrier.

Because here's the thing

about Space Mountain.

If I if I was on my very last trip

to Disneyland, if I

if I could only go back one time,

and I only get to ride one ride

There are so many spectacular

Disney attractions

I've done over the years, and if I had

to just pick one to do one more time

-I think it might be Space Mountain.

-I have to ride Space Mountain.

NARRATOR: Space Mountain is unquestionably

and overwhelmingly

a favorite the world over.

It and it has such a sense

of nostalgia for me,

growing up, when I would come here,

there as a kid, to ride it.

I was a big chicken.

It was kind of bragging rights

to go on Space Mountain as a kid.

There was this moment when my

my dad took me to Space Mountain.

I must have been just a little tot.

My sister had just arrived, and Mom

was in the hospital with baby sister,

and it was gonna be

Dad's day out at the park.

And I had never been

on Space Mountain before.

And he took me on Space Mountain,

and I got off,

and my heart's thumping 200 beats

a minute, and he sets me down,

and he was so nervous.

But there's that connection.

(sniffles)

Wow.

(laughs)

Wow.

Yeah. It's, it's It's family.

Space Mountain is really, really special.

NARRATOR: It surely is.

But why does Space Mountain

mean so much to so many?

It was done so right.

The the architecture

of the building is so iconic.

MICHAEL: Once you see it,

it's like nothing else you've ever seen.

NARRATOR: But as for the experience

inside that dome,

it's not the heart-pounding speed.

Space Mountain doesn't go that fast.

But feels extremely fast.

NARRATOR:

Well, come on. It is pretty fast.

And this simple idea of a rocket ship

hurtling through space,

used not so much a vision of the future

Many of the things that seem impossible

now will become realities tomorrow.

but more a creative vision

that used both technology

There are so many firsts

on Space Mountain.

and ingenuity,

and took it to a whole new level.

JOHN: And letting it run out by gravity.

NICHOLAS: You might be,

what appears from the outside,

to be inside a dark dome.

But when you're inside that,

you don't really think of that.

You don't remember that.

You're in the star port.

You're going into the spaceship.

You're getting on. The music intensifies.

You're going up the hill.

The lights are flashing.

It builds a lot of excitement,

a lot of anticipation.

The countdown at the top of the hill.

It's really dark.

And then, before you know it,

you're going down the hill.

And you're going, and you're going,

and you're going, and you're going.

And you don't know which way is left

and which way is right.

Was that a drop, or was that a hill?

You don't what's gonna happen.

NARRATOR: Well, Walt knew.

WALT:

After entering the Disneyland space port,

visitors may experience the thrills

that space travelers of the future

will encounter when rocket trips

to the moon become a daily routine.

However, scientists tell us

that it could be many years

before space travel becomes a reality.

If only Walt could see us now.

MAN 2: Five, four, three, two, one.

(rattles)

(closing theme music)