May 04, 1977
Space Mountain Opens at Disneyland
Attention space travelers: It was on this day in 1977 that Space Mountain
first blasted off guests at Disneyland, rocketing them into a
simulation of outer space, aboard a roller coaster dark ride. But this
attraction, which still remains popular today in the year 2011, actually
has a history that goes back to the 1960s. Disney Legend John Hench
designed this attraction, years before the technology was readily
available. The first Space Mountain opened in the Magic Kingdom
at Walt Disney World in 1975, and after it proved its success, it
landed at Disneyland two years later, with the first American men in
space, consisting of the U.S. Mercury Astronauts Scott Carpenter, Gordon
Cooper, John Glenn, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, Donald “Deke” Slayton
and Betty Grissom (widow of Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom) on hand for the
opening ceremonies. Over the years, the attraction has seen improvements
with all new visual effects and a fully synchronized onboard audio
soundtrack. The next time you walk thru the queue for the attraction,
take a look around at the symbol for “Space Station 77,” paying homage
to the year Space Mountain first took flight.
No comments:
Post a Comment