I consider myself fortunate that when I was a kid, my parents enjoyed taking us to Disney World in Orlando. I had a beloved aunt in Florida, my Dad's sister, and we went to visit her and my (also beloved) Uncle several times when I was a kid.
On our first trip, I was about six years old and my brother four, we drove from northern Indiana to Florida over two days with my parents and my maternal grandparents. Six people in a car for hours on end with my grandfather smoking like a chimney. Still, it was hugely memorable and I'm amazed even today about how much we accomplished. In addition to visiting my Aunt and Uncle, we saw almost all of the popular attractions of the day - Disney World, Silver Springs, Six Gun Territory, Cypress Gardens, Marineland, Cape Kennedy, Busch Gardens, and St. Augustine. I'm probably forgetting a few.
A few years later, we went without the grandparents. I don't know for sure but I was probably around 10 years old. We went to Disney World, of course, (which was only the Magic Kingdom back then) and the newest and best Disney attraction was Space Mountain, then in its first year of operation. All day we wanted to go on the ride, but the lines were too long. Finally, as we neared the park's closing time, we went one last time.
 |
| Awesome vintage-style poster by Greg Maletic |
As we arrived we could see there was no line. We quickly polled who would go and it turned out my brother couldn't or wouldn't (he may have been too small) so my Aunt would stay with him. That left me, my parents and my Uncle. We headed into the long corridor that leads into the ride.
It should be noted at this point that I have never been a fan of roller coasters. It's just not something I really enjoy. But this was SPACE MOUNTAIN! I'd be on a roller coaster flying . . . through space! What's more, the decor was futuristic as if I was walking through a real space station on my way to my rocket. Cool space art and dioramas lined the walls as we made our way. As a space geek, this was the ultimate thrill.
Unfortunately, with every step towards the loading area, my nerves ratcheted up a notch. My footsteps grew heavier and heavier and my panic increased. Basically, I was the Cowardly Lion approaching the Wizard of Oz's chamber. When we reached the loading queue, I had had enough. I couldn't do it.
We sent my Dad and Uncle on ahead and my Mother and I retraced our steps back down the corridor. I felt bad that I was depriving her of the ride, but she was an awesome mom and very supportive. Hilariously now, but terrifyingly back then, when we reached the entrance, the doors were closed. We had been the last granted admittance and they had closed the doors behind us. At this point, I'm about in full freakout mode as I think I have no choice but to ride the roller coaster in order to exit. My Mother and I once again head down the long corridor as she assures me that they can't MAKE me ride the coaster.
When we arrive at the gate, we tell our tale of woe and are introduced to the full wisdom of Disney: the chicken-out door. On most Disney rides, there's an exit that the faint-of-heart can take before entering the ride proper. Even the Haunted Mansion has one. The cool thing about it is that if you just want to see the marvelous interiors of attractions you don't want to ride, you can go through the queue and then "chicken-out". (Disney actually encouraged walkthroughs on Space Mountain because of the coolness of the interior, though we didn't know it at the time.) We did this a few years ago to see the interiors of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. My ten year old self was immensely relieved and we arrived in time to photograph my Uncle and Father coming off the coaster.
Very coolly, as you left Space Mountain, you rode on a moving sidewalk that took you past the RCA "Home of Future Living", a series of rooms with animatronic people living awesome futuristic lives. That display is no longer there so I'm really glad I got to see it. Here's a page with a really good summary and some pictures.
That chickening-out was one of the most memorable moments of my life. I really felt I'd let myself down, but in subsequent trips to Disney I was never able to conquer that fear and ride on Space Mountain.
Which brings us to last summer.
Aside from immense age and (some) additional wisdom, I've become a bit more brave in dealing with Disney coasters. I rode Disney World's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad a few years ago (after a similar "chickening out" experience) and loved it so much that I rode it a half dozen times. This time, last summer, on our first trip to Disneyland, I was determined to ride Space Mountain.
Another tool I didn't have as a kid was the Internet. Thanks to the Internet one can now ride Space Mountain through YouTube. In fact, almost every coaster and ride at every theme park is represented on YouTube by a first-person front seat view video. In addition, there is a really cool virtual ride-through at Spacestation77.com. After watching the ride-through simulation - there's even a version with the lights on - I knew I could handle the real thing. Especially since, at a top speed of around 35 mph, it's a relatively slow coaster.
The first night we were in Disneyland, we determined to give it a go. Fittingly, it was late in the evening when we headed to Tomorrowland. We arrived at Space Mountain to find the worst case scenario; the ride had broken down. But there was word it would be up again soon so we decided to ride something else and try again afterwards. Unfortunately, the worser case scenario presented itself - we were right next to the "nostalgia" showing of Michael Jackson's 3-D film, Captain EO. Oy, was that corny.
After Captain EO, we found that Space Mountain had reopened and there was only a very short line! Hooray, instant Karmic reward for sitting through Captain EO!
We waited a bit in a line and finally made it onto the ride. I was exultant as we reached the top of the lift hill and entered into the cavernous dark interior, stars and planets visible all around us. Following a countdown, we launched. After we hit the first curve, realizing that being in the dark made the ride seem a lot faster, I yelled "Curse you, Internet!"
I loved it. We rode it again a couple of nights later.
So I accomplished a lifelong ambition. I rode Space Mountain. Of course, the Disneyland and Disney World Space Mountains aren't the same coaster. So technically I rode A Space Mountain, not The Space Mountain.
That challenge awaits another day. I have no doubt I'll meet it.
1 comment:
Good write-up.
Post a Comment