Walt Disney World's Space Mountain ride to close in April.
Well...not for good. Magic Kingdom's Space Mountain roller coaster will get a make over. The ride will close on April 19, 2009 and will remain closed for many months as it's spruced up. Unfortunately, that means the ride will be closed through the busy summer season. Currently, there is no re-opening date set...as it will take some time to map out the project.
The upgrade will be more modest when compared to the make over the ride got in California's Disneyland. That remake took 2 years and changed the ride quite a bit. Disney officials say they don't want to change too much of the classic ride here in Orlando. Since it's opening in January 1975...many visitors have a special spot for the ride and may not like to see too much of it change. My guess is that they don't want to spend too much money during this economy mess. I think that is part of Disney's problem. They are too scared to make changes and that leads to a boring park. Sure...it's great to see the same stuff there as when you were a kid...but sometimes a park needs some new energy. Plus...kids today are a lot different than back in the 70's and 80's.
The current items on the 'improvement' list for the make over include:
-Installing new track on the ride...however, the layout will stay the same.
-A new enclosure for the queuing area.
-A new ceiling inside the iconic white dome. It's not clear if they will just re-do the structure and keep the same 'planet show'...or will give us a new show to watch while we are in line.
If you will be vising Disney World in Orlando this summer...and you must ride a rollercoaster in the dark....you might want to check out Aerosmith's Rockin-Roller Coaster in the Disney Studios park. It's a great alternative and a GREAT ride.
Comments