The train briefly go outside before diving into space. The launch cannon and the track leading to the mountain. In the winter, the trap door effect is deactivated and kept closed so that the cold Paris air does not interfere with the launch mechanism. Mechanically, in the summer, it provide extra air circulation for the ride’s electrical motors and flywheels. The silver trap door serves a dual purpose: in the ride storyline when it opens, it appears as if we are being loaded inside the cannon and then it closes down. The launch is housed inside this large cannon. That is where Vekoma got involved, as that cart run on a second set of track welded inside the main track that the trains run on. A large gauge steel cable run from the drum to the top of the cannon and then down to a pusher cart.
Those two large motors are connected to flywheels and then a large drum located at the base of the cannon (the launch is housed inside a very elaborate cannon that has special effects). Two large electric motors were buried under a cement slab between the waiting line and station. The launch catapult was sourced by Disney with Dassault Aviation assistance and they began with aircraft carriers electric plane catapults as a starting point.
The same foam headrests, padded shoulder restraints and sound system were retrofitted to the old seats. This picture was found on, an amazing website that shut down a few years ago.Īfter the Mission 2 transformation, the old car bodies were repainted and the safety system aligned with what present next door at Rock n Roller Coaster. The soft roll solution was also tried in 2001 by Parc Asterix on the Goudurix. Second, the Vekoma harnesses received additional soft fabric padding that was held in place by the leather snap on wraps near the guest’s head. The idea here is that the two soft rolls (made of compressed fabric and covered in leather as well) would absorb some of the side to side head movements. First, notice the headrest now is padded and covered in brown leather. Next, in 2000-2001, the park experimented with various solutions and you can see two of them in this picture. Notice the themed headrest, standard Vekoma shoulder restraints and the lack of air gates in the queue. We discovered on the web this promotional photo of the original Space Mountain: De la Terre a la Lune train. On a funny note, one of the train’s had large 4 feet tall Mickey and Minnie Mouse plushes locked in so guests would not try sitting in those seats. That is to avoid over speeding and blocking issues. So, while the conversion was going on, the Vekoma trains would have their back row condemned and harnesses locked in place so that that the weight of those trains matches the original ones. The major difference with the new trains is that they are a molded block of steel with minimal welds and they are a lot heavier. That year, due to the ride rather strong forces and extensive use, Disneyland Paris had new car chassis designed and built by Vekoma and when one of the ride 6 trains went into its annual refurbishment, the original Disney chassis were replaced and the car shells and hardware retained. Originally, WDI sourced the trains themselves and they ran from 1995 to 2000. WDI and Vekoma had a major challenge with this installation, as they had to fit transfer tracks for 4 trains and 3281 feet of track among walkways, a maintenance area and an employee break room inside the dome. But, the project was revised and the planned walkway between the nearby Videopolis restaurant/theater and the mountain was cut and the current 200 feet dome was built. The name was changed shortly before opening to Space Mountain: De la Terre a la Lune.īut wait! The original project was much larger in scope and would have been housed in a 328 feet wide dome that would have also housed a restaurant, train station, walkways and a freefall attraction (A First Generation Freefall from Intamin/Giovanola). The height of the coaster track is 105 feet tall and that is reached at the top of the launch catapult. Originally known as “Discovery Mountain” and built at Disneyland Paris (Chessy, France), Vekoma provided a MK-1200 Looping Coaster layout that was customized to fit inside a 200 feet wide dome that goes underground as well. In 1993 and concluding in 1995, Vekoma was one of the partner in one of Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) largest project.