The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (114 page)

Observatron

[
FastView:
 
The oddly beautiful though mangled remains of the
Rocket Jets
, purportedly sending and receiving alien signals.  Guaranteed to make you jump when it unexpectedly blasts music.
]

A sore point among critics of 1998’s new
Tomorrowland
, and the present
Tomorrowland
, the
Observatron
is an oddity.  Located immediately southeast of the
Tomorrowland Terrace
, the
Observatron
is a sculpture mounted atop the now defunct
Rocket Rods
’ loading area, which closed in 2001.

The
Observatron
’s purpose when it debuted in 1998 was to add yet more light, color, music, and motion to
Tomorrowland
’s retro-future environment, which had been restyled to resemble Steampunk-ish
Discoveryland
at
Disneyland Paris
.

The back story
?  The
Observatron
is supposedly searching the universe and sending messages out into the reaches of space.  Many Guests sent messages of their own to
Disneyland
; by and large, they didn’t care for the new
Discoveryland
-ified
Tomorrowland
, including the
Observatron
.

Interestingly, t
he
Observatron
is fashioned from the skeletal hydraulic torso of the old
Rocket Jets
attraction.  Part of Guests’ dissatisfaction with the sculpture is that although programmed to perform a whirling, dazzling musical show every quarter hour, it frequently broke down and sat there on the old
Rocket Rods
roof like a very big, expensive paperweight.

While subsequent repairs
purportedly increased its reliability, the
Observatron
is often silent and still.  When it does suddenly lurch to life, it can scare the heck out of surprised Guests.

I know this because one time when I was standing near
by it suddenly blared its lovely but deafening classical sci-fi soundtrack and began whirling; I and the Guests around me all leaped about ten feet straight up like startled jack rabbits.  It happened again during another visit; my niece was with me and we both jumped.

When it comes to the
Observatron
,
Disney
message boards are full of complaints and regrets.

Guests fond of the
Observatron
defend it on the grounds that budget cuts or safety regulations prevented the thrilling light-and-laser show that the
Observatron
was supposed to present.

Critics call it an eyesore and a junk pile (those are the nice comments) and want it removed.  Guests who miss the
Rocket Jets
attraction want it restored to its former glory.

All I can say is this:  If you
’re standing in the shadow of the
Observatron
, be prepared–at any moment it could leap loudly into deafening life! 
Did You Know?
  Where does the classical music for the
Observatron
hail from?  It’s a compilation of segments from multiple sources, including the soundtracks of
Disney
’s live-action films
The Rocketeer
(1991) and
Iron Will
(1994) and attractions at
Disneyland Paris
. 
The Rocketeer
and the
Disneyland Paris
attractions have science fiction themes;
Iron Will
is a historical adventure film about a dogsled race, and has no science fiction or futuristic elements. 
FastPass:
  No.  As an interactive sculpture that Guests merely observe at intervals, this attraction isn’t suitable for the
FastPass
system. 
Kid’s Eye View:
  This can be cool or annoying.

Space Mountain
(FP) 
Must be 40” or 102 cm tall to ride.

[
FastView:
 
Guests’ favorite
Disneyland
“mountain”.  An exhilarating and beautiful journey through space.
]

Space Mountain
is one of the most popular attractions at
Disneyland
.  A slightly smaller and younger version of
Walt Disney World
’s
Space Mountain
, according to the Fall 2009 issue of
Disneyland Resort Backstage Pass
,
Space Mountain
was overwhelmingly awarded the top spot by surveyed
Annual Passholders
asked to name their favorite among the
Disneyland
mountains.

The result
s weren’t even close. 
Splash Mountain
was favored by 18.8% of
AP
’s,
Big Thunder Mountain
by 17.7% and the
Matterhorn Bobsleds
by 11.6%. 
Space Mountain
was preferred by a whopping 51.9% of
AP
’s as their favorite in the range.

Zagat Disneyland Resort Insider’s Guide
(2010) reveals that according to surveyed Guests,
Space Mountain
is the second most popular attraction in
Disneyland,
and the second most popular attraction at the entire resort, bested only by
Pirates of the Caribbean
, which has the advantage of not being a coaster and therefore accessible to Guests too young or too frail for
Space Mountain
.

A January 2012 FaceBook poll confirmed that
Space Mountain
is still king of the
Disneyland
mountain range.

When my family took that once-in-a-lifetime, truly
magical
journey to
Walt Disney World
in 1976, the two main things my brother and I had on our minds were
Pirates
and
Space Mountain
.  We had pored over the color photos of both attractions in the brochures Dad ordered. 
Pirates
’ palette was all inky-blacks and reds and burnt oranges, communicating mysterious, exotic, bloody adventure. 
Space Mountain
’s palette was icy white, cool blue, and bright red, evoking the cold and mystery and danger of space.

WDW
’s
Space Mountain
’s design was sci-fi as we knew it from “Star Trek,” but also had graceful, timeless elements that put one in mind of Art Deco and Streamline Moderne influenced sci-fi comic worlds like that of the original Buck Rogers’ comic strips.

Walt Disney World
had just opened in 1971. 
Walt
had passed away in 1966, but his older brother and business partner
Roy
carried on with
Walt
’s plans for an
Orlando
theme park on an ever larger and more efficient scale than the California park.  Despite all of his hard work on the Florida project,
Roy
recognized that
Walt
had been the visionary and grand architect behind it, and named the park for his brilliant little brother.

When
our family visited in the spring of 1976, the
Magic Kingdom
was only five years old, still thrillingly new. 
Space Mountain
had just launched in 1975, so the paint was practically still wet.  My brother and I boarded our rocket ship with gung-ho elation and enjoyed the ride so much that we rode it again!  This was one of the times in life when reality was even more amazing than high expectations.

The
Imagineers
had been noodling with an idea for a space-themed roller-coaster-in-the-dark for years, but as is sometimes the case, their vision far exceeded the technology of the times.  Sure, they could create the show building, and they could form the track–they’d invented the flexible, easily shaped tubular steel coaster track when they created the
Matterhorn Bobsleds
back in 1959.

The challenge wasn’t building the
attraction, it was being able to safely control the ride vehicles so that multiple vehicles could travel the tracks simultaneously without accidents and crashes.

In its earliest incarnation,
a design by
Legend John Hench
in the mid 1960’s, the coaster tracks would’ve been visible to
Tomorrowland
Guests passing by, since the sinuous tracks would’ve interlaced
outside
a gorgeous domed-and-spired
Space Port
building. 
Hench
later revised his designs, placing the coaster
inside
the dome.

Eventually the computer technology
was developed to allow safe travel for multiple coaster vehicles, but by that time it made more sense to
Imagineers
to launch the roller-coaster-in-the-dark in the new park,
Walt Disney World
, rather than
Disneyland
. 
Walt Disney World
had opened without thrill rides because of Florida’s elderly retiree population, but
WDW
Guest quickly made it clear that, whatever their ages, they wanted thrill attractions too. 
Space Mountain
was built as one such attraction.

Space Mountain
launched at
WDW
in 1975.  There were challenges and kinks to be worked out initially, not only in terms of technology and safety, but in terms of how to explain and market the experience.  Guests were told that they’d be going on an amazing journey through the universe, but
not
that they were boarding a roller coaster. 
Surprise!
  The coaster ride was simply too much for some of the unsuspecting Guests.  Lessons were learned and the attraction and its marketing were fine-tuned.

Despite early bugs and challenges,
WDW
’s
Space Mountain
was incredibly popular and a
Disneyland
version was immediately put into production.  Due to space constraints, it had to be smaller than its Florida sibling, and it had to suffice with one coaster track, not two. 
Disneyland
’s
Space Mountain
would, however, feature vehicles that seated two Guests side-by-side, rather than the single-file
WDW
rockets.

Disneyland
’s
Space Mountain
filled the footprint that had hosted the air-cushioned, air-propelled
Flying Saucers
that Guests remember with a mixture of fondness and exasperation; the mini hovercraft frequently stalled and didn’t go where you wanted them to, but were fun when they worked.

According to
Chris Strodder
’s
The Disneyland Encyclopedia
,
Disneyland
’s
Space Mountain
complex also overtook the
Space Stage
, which launched in 1967 and hosted acts as big as Linda Ronstadt and the then-fledgling rock band the Eagles. 
Space Mountain
was constructed rapidly, for a cost of $20 million, and opened in 1977 to immediate and enduring popularity.

The $20 million price tag gave
Disneyland
’s
Space Mountain
the distinction of being the first
Disneyland
attraction to cost more than the whole park did when it was build in 1954 and 1955.  How much did it cost to build
Disneyland
?  About $17 million.

Today’s
Space Mountain
has been overhauled over the years, from the entrances to the light effects to the addition of a more contemporary, synchronized soundtrack.  Yet the attraction maintains its core design and its core mission.  As announced by the vintage sign that hangs on the wall between the queue and
FastPass
entrances,
Space Mountain
exists to give Guests the opportunity to “Race Through the Universe” and “Careen Through the Stars”.

Because of its popularity, you’ll want to make
Space Mountain
your first stop of the day, whether to hop in line or to get a
FastPass
so you can return later in the day. Queues can be as short as ten minutes when the park first opens; die-hard
Space Mountain
fans who arrive early enough can ride the attraction three times in a row in less than an hour, and then pick up a
FastPass
for another ride later.