Space Mountain, Paris...Woooooaaaaahhhhh!!!!

[Maria G Enriquez Harris]

Guess what???

They opened Space Mountain, Disneyland Paris for a special preview to ANYONE,
days prior to the official opening (which is tomorrow).

And I was lucky enough to be visiting...having heard the official launch date
and cursed my bad luck at booking only unitl 31 May.

My friends and I rode that machine FOUR times in one hour, line-waiting
included!

I have news for you, my fellow Disney fans across the Atlantic...
Space Mountain (Disneyland, Paris) is one HELL of an experience! It makes
anything thrill ride in any Disney park (okay, I have never been to Tokyo)
seem tame...

Oh my goodness. Okay, the details.

The exterior and interiors are a dream design...all the colours of
Discoveryland, the huge cannon on the outside embossed with the magnficent
symbol of the Columbiad Gun. The attendants wear these wonderful, bold and
beautiful uniforms, gold, turquoise, burgundy and beige with epaulets, cool
brass buttons, and a William Morris style intricate fabric pattern on the
sleeves. Oh..and the caps...
The line waiting area looked pretty interesting although I only had a long
look at the final lobby :-) Its like a turn-of-the-century domed antechamber,
the dome painetd with a star map, all the stars labelled M456 etc. Ornate
lamps hang down, all brass and Jules Vernesian astronomic instrument styles.
lamps hang down, all brass and Jules Vernesian astronomic instrument styles.

And the music. Yeah, the music plays all the way down the line, but soars
when you get into the final launch area. The cars stll have the DM logo, and
they look like something out of The Rocketeer, only more fantastically
intricate.

As you sit in the car, stereo speakers behind your head blare the Discovery
Mountain theme music, which is like some inspired synthesis of John William's
themes for Star Wars, ET and John Barry's Black Hole music all rolled into
one. Triumphal, soaring, it immediately lifts the spirit as you prepare to
ride the rocket to the moon...
The music bursts into life, the train moves rapidly into the cannon,
surprising everyone with a surprise teaser of a dip before it does. Then you
take your position in the cannon...you shudder with expectation, waiting
there. Doors at the cannon roll shut and then....you are catapulted skywards
as the air rumbles with a sound that can be heard all the way across the park,
the new sound to which people are becoming accustomed in DP, the roar of the
Space Mountain cannon. The music swoops bravely, rising to a deafening
crescendo as you hurtle towards the end of the cannon, pressed back hard in
your seat. Everyone screams in delight. Then you spiral downwards, no direct
drop but a crazy careering as you plunge into the darkness, like a rocket
totally out of control, like a catherine wheel released from the pin. Bright
meteors rush by, you tumble into a tight loop that crushes you into your seat,
and then shoots out into another hard curve. Then a sudden deceleration.

Another crazy adventure begins, this time swooping into a corkscrew and then
another, tight corner upon tight corner. Everyone is laughing, screaming,
roaring; the music too. Luke Skywalker meets Vader, wins a light saber
duel, the Empire is crushed, ET goes home and YOU fly to the moon as the Man
in the Moon looks on, an ironic smile playing about his lips. The music rises
to its final crescendo and cadence as the train returns to the hangar. And
you know just one thing....

You HAVE to ride that baby again.

Pita
(whose neck is still stiff from trying to look around..I don't advise it mid
flight. Oh and one more thing...ride at the rear!!!)