DP Questions

[Superdasher]

I've never been on Space Mountain at Disneyland Paris myself, but I've heard all sorts of rave reviews about how it is different and intense, and has inversions and a unique Hulk-style uphill launch.

 

According to Rcdb, the ride has three inversions, the third of which is a really weird inversion called a "Tongue". But not everybody seems to classify it as being a complete inversion. Is it kind of like Tatsu's "Egg Turn" then?

 

How does the layout compare to say, Hulk or Flight of Fear? The launch is probably not as powerful as Hulk (although I could be wrong), but what's the layout like? Does it feature the usual circles and "hyperspace drop" featured on the other Space Mountains in addition to the launch and inversions, or is it more like the second half of FoF?

 

Super "Sorry for all the questions, I need to decide if plane tickets to Paris are worth it" Dasher

[SharkTums]

I thought that the new Mission 2 lost a lot of charm from the original. It's still quite rough and Vekoma! Rock n Roller Coaster and the Premier Spaghetti bowls are all better.

[martinb]

Well I love Space Mountain, its one of my all time favourite coasters.

 

The launch is cool, although the launch on RnRC is much better.

 

After the launch, you enter the 'mountain' and you seem to circle the whole building, then a sudden drop into a half loop/ half corkscrew(sidewinder?) after that more circling drops etc then cokscrew then more circling until you come to the lift hill which seems to take you to the top of the mountain, then you drop, gradually to the bottom of the mountain and into this tounge inversion, its more of an over banked turn, then a helix then brakes.

 

It probably sounds really dull how I explained it but trust me it isn't, I didn't bother mentioning any of the special effects because I don't want to spoil it for you. But its definetly worth the trip.

 

Its much more intense than the RnRC, IMO, especially the corkscrew.

 

Alot of people have said its definetly the best Space Mountain out there.

 

Disneyland Paris also has the best Big Thunder Mountain, according to Robb & Elissa, I've only been on the paris one and I love it, and if Robb says its the best, I'll take his word for it.

 

-Martyn

[Superdasher]

Rode the ride...

 

By far the best Space Mountain, still trying to figure out where it ranks on my list of 157 coasters...

 

Space Mountain Mission 2 is in what I would consider to be that "middle range" of coaster intensity. It's not as intense as the "big thrills" at Six Flags (Tatsu, Batman The Ride, Goliath, etc.), but it IS much more intense than most Disney rides, and then again, Six Flags are very thrill-oriented - Disney has to cater to the many families that visit their parks.

 

It would be hard to compare Space Mountain Mission 2 to another dark coaster, since there hasn’t been one I can think of to compare it to. I guess you can say it’s like “What Rock ‘n Roller Coaster SHOULD have been” or “A shorter enclosed version of IOA’s Incredible Hulk”, but what the ride experience actually “feels” like is more along the lines of Tennessee Tornado or California Screamin’. It has a nice unique layout that I really like, it isn’t too forceful yet it’s certainly NOT "forceless", and it has some excellent effects (the spiraling red neon tunnel during the final helix was great!).

 

I also liked the little dive into the cannon at the start of the ride, and when the dude did the French countdown just before the launch ("Trois, deux, un..."). As for the Tongue, yes, it felt like an overbank to me. It seemed more like an "egg turn" than like a Silver Bullet/Maverick overbank, but nonetheless, the motion was highly unexpected and great fun. By the way, "Tongue", IMO, is one of the COOLEST inversion names ever, behind "Flying Snake Dive" and "Twisted Horseshoe Roll".

 

The only problems are the natural things that come due to the fact that it's a Vekoma ride. It is quite rough in parts, and I did hear complaints about headbanging, so be warned if that's a problem for you. There's quite a lot of padding in the trains, but even that doesn't really absorb the impacts. The train design is also much more enclosed than that of the Premier Rides Spaghetti Bowls, providing riders with a sense of security that doesn't exist. But to be fair, Vekoma was a much cheaper option, and I'm sure Disney had to focus a certain amount of money on the ride theming.

 

Also, as for the changes from Mission 1, I actually kind of like the new soundtrack, as I like techno music. It's not very different from the new soundtrack for the Space Mountain in California. But after watching videos of the Mission 1 ride, I completely understand why most people feel it has lost a lot of charm.

 

Overall though, this coaster did NOT disapoint!

[Absimilliard]

Space Mountain layout is actually pretty simple... You get launched, now from the bottom of the cannon (before Mission 2, you launched from the middle and due to that, the ride could run 5 trains) and at the top, dive to the left, do a complete circle of the mountain before diving to the ground and doing a powerful sidewinder. A right hand 3/4 helix brings you in the block brake. It takes off a little speed, turn to the right and the train does little up and down hills before diving under the waiting line into the corkscrew. What follow is the ride's roughest turn, which is an elevated right turn into the B lift. You drop from the B lift to the right, powerful turn to the right. A little hill (looks like it could give airtime, but alas... none) brings you into the "Tongue", which is like this: http://www.rcdb.com/ig112.htm?picture=4 . The train then dives to the right in a trench, do a full circle of the bottom of the building and then rise up into the final brakes.

 

When it was Space Mountain: De la Terre a la Lune, it had the most awesome music ever! The new one doesn't fit at all... As for the ride itself, we lost a ton of scenery and effects for not much. Before, you went through a "moon sweeper" after the sidewinder and there was a lot of asteroids... Now, beside some lighted disco balls, some neons around the entrance of the trench and some revived effects from the first version, there's nothing much to look at during the ride.

[cobra_roll06]

OMG! I have always wondered what the tongue was! I have always regarded it as a cutback (see pic above). But yeah I absolutely loved this ride, but I rode it back in June and it was incredibly rough! Was really disappointed with it. It's a great ride when it's smooth.

[Team Thriller]

Its very different from the Hulk, but yet it has a Flight Of fear feeling, it is a different layout. All the inversions are very different from the average loop. The launch seems to be more like California Screamin'. It is worth riding, even if the line is 40 minutes.

______________

But the Rockin Roller Coaster is a HUGE lot better!