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The idea for Space Mountain came from Walt Disney himself. After the success of the Matterhorn attraction in Disneyland, Walt was convinced that "thrill-rides" had a place in his park. In 1964, with this in mind, Walt approached designer John Hench with an idea for a new Tomorrowland attraction. Walt called the idea the "Space Port", a roller coaster in the dark that would feature creative lighting and other special effects to give the illusion that guests were in space <ref> http://allears.net/ae/issue695.htm </ref>.
Concept art for the attraction was created by Hench, Clem Hall, George Mcginnis and Herb Ryman. Early on, the attraction's name was changed to "Space Venture", and ideas for it continued to be refined <refname="mouseplanet_space"> http://www.mouseplanet.com/7135/WDWs_Space_Mountain</ref>. To help make the attraction a reality, WED partnered with the Arrow Development Company, who had helped to design the Matterhorn track. In June of 1966 WED employees voted, and decided to change the name once again, this time to Space Mountain. Plans for Space Mountain were put on hold indefinably however, in 1966 when Walt Disney died. After Walt’s passing, a new company wide focus was put on completing Walt Disney World. This, combined with the spatial and technological limitations of Disneyland made the construction of Space Mountain unfeasible for the time being. Although the Space Mountain idea was dead in Disneyland, it soon found life in the newly constructed Walt Disney World. The popularity of the new park surpassed even Disney's expectations, and Disney World proved to be especially popular with teenagers and young adults. Almost as soon as the park opened, plans were made for a new thrill ride <ref> http:name="mouseplanet_space" //www.mouseplanet.com/7135/WDWs_Space_Mountain</ref>.
Disney’s first choice for a thrill ride was to construct and east coast version of the Matterhorn. It soon became apparent however that Walt Disney World’s Fantasyland was not big enough to house the iconic attraction. Instead, Disney decided to revisit the tabled Space Mountain idea, as Disney World’s Tomorrowland had more than enough space for expansion <ref> http://disneylandreport.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-history-of-space-mountain.html.</ref> With the new location in mind, Imagineers back to work on the development of the coaster. One early decision that Disney made was to develop the track for Space Mountain “in house” as opposed to using the Arrow Development Company. WED Engineers further decided to make the coaster a "pure gravity" ride, meaning that Space Mountain would feature no boosters or retarders <ref> http:name="mouseplanet_space" //www.mouseplanet.com/7135/WDWs_Space_Mountain</ref>. . One of the next decisions that Disney had to make involved sponsorship. Like many of the early Walt Disney World attractions, sponsorship money was an intricate part of Space Mountain’s creation. Accepting Disney’s offer of sponsorship, RCA agreed to give 10 million dollars towards the construction of the coaster <ref> http://www.mouseplanet.com/10533/Remembering_the_Magic_Space_Mountain </ref>. Due to this agreement, Space Mountain’s original queue and post show were designed to feature RCA products <ref> http:name="mouseplanet_space" //www.mouseplanet.com/7135/WDWs_Space_Mountain </ref>. Although the basic concept of the attraction was agreed upon, the final designs of the interior structure, queue and post show all changed various times before Space Mountain was finally built. The shape of Space Mountain was also a topic of debate amongst Disney Imagineers. Some wanted Space Mountain to look like a dome, while others wanted to use a "cone" shape. The cone shape idea eventually won out, and on January 15, 1975 Space Mountain officially opened.
==Building Structure and Track Details==
From 1973 until 1994 Space Mountain was sponsored by RCA. Guests entered Space Mountain through an entrance building located in Tomorrowland which featured three large RCA logos as well as an original "four seat" ride vehicle, encased in a clear case. Inside the vehicle sat a family consisting of a father, mother and two children. Before guests entered the "entrance portal", they would pass a large quote on the wall which read:
{{Quotation|"ONE GIANT STEP... Dedicated to the men and women whose skills, sacrifice, courage and teamwork opened the door to the exploration of man's exciting new frontier...outer space. Because they dared to reach for the stars and the planets, man's knowledge of his universe, earth and himself has been greatly enriched. Presented by missile, space and range pioneers. January 15, 1975."}}<refname="omniluxe"> http://www.omniluxe.net/wyw/sm.htm </ref>
Just after entering the building, guests boarded a descending, moving ramp. On the right side of the ramp, guests could see RCA's mascot, Nipper the Fox Terrier and a phonograph machine inside a flying saucer. At this point in the attraction, RCA's Space Mountain theme song- "Here's To the Future and You" would begin to play. Further down the ramp guests could look out convex windows and see the Star Corridors, a series of different space themed displays. One display for example, showed an astronaut riding his moon buggy in space. On the left hand side of the descending ramp, a series of RCA products were displayed. The reason that guests had to be lowered, was because the queue actually ran underneath the [[Walt Disney World Railroad]] to the lot where Space Mountain is actually located. After guests finished descending, they reached the "zig-zag corridor". Here windows allowed guests to see out into space. Things that could be seen out these windows included:
*Shooting Stars
*And finally, a family riding the Space Mountain ride vehicle in space. <ref> http://www.name="omniluxe.net/wyw/sm.htm <" /ref>
After passing through the zig-zag corridor, guests finally reached the loading area. Here they watched a safety video featuring Astronaut Gordon Cooper, before boarding their ride vehicles on either the Alpha or Omega track (the two tracks were identical except for the fact that Alpha track was ten feet longer).
===RCA's Home of Future Living===
From 1973 until about 1985 Space's Mountains post show was known as the RCA Home of Future Living. After unloading from their ride vehicles, guests would board another moving ramp which took them up. On the right side of the ramp guests would begin to see scenes of how future homes would look. The first scene depicted a father wearing a blue jumpsuit and lounging in his chair. In front of him was a TV the size of a briefcase which showed a female business associate, showing that the man was able to conduct his business meeting, while in the comfort of his own home. Continuing on, guests saw a model of the house which was shaped like a hexagon, with each room connected by stairways. <ref> http://www.name="omniluxe.net/wyw/sm.htm <" /ref>
[[Image:Daughter.jpg|300px|thumb|The daughter in the Home of the RCA Home of Future Living. Seen here talking on her phone.]]
The next room that guests saw in the Home of Future Living was the nursery. Here, while a baby stood in her crib, a clown with a camera was broadcasting her to the rest of the house. This allowed her family to keep an eye on her even though they were not in the same room. Continuing on, guests passed the family room, where an unidentified female could be seen taking a pottery lesson over her TV. She was able to talk and communicate with her professor who was being displayed on the TV. The next scene guests saw showed a boy named Billy who was wearing an orange jumpsuit. He was standing outside of his house with a frog and a dog. Billy would talk into a camera mounted next the door saying "Don't you like frogs Mrs. Brown?” and his mother would then tell Billy that he would have to stay outside with his pets.
Going back inside the house, guests could then see the recreation room, which was located above the family room. Here a teenage boy could be seen taking a ski lesson from the SelctaVision. His younger brother, who was also in the room, was shown building a model rocket using instructions from the television. Next to the recreation room was the kitchen where the mother of the house and a neighbor sat in front of a large TV, shopping. In the corner of her screen, Billy could be seen, still pleading to bring his pets inside. Moving on, guests would come across the teenage daughter's room. Here a teenager was watching a classic SelctaVision disc (usually featuring Elvis, Kurt Russell, or Blondie). While she was watching, she was on the phone with Judy, who she would tell to come over. The final room of the house was the entertainment room, which housed the biggest TV in the post show, which was being watched by a young girl and boy. <refname="youtube"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=femFW0HfahM </ref>
After viewing the home of the future, guests would see various RCA products as the attractions theme song again played. Before finally exiting the attraction however, they would also get one final encounter with Billy, who was now holding a video camera (pointing it at them). A monitor above would allow guests to see themselves on TV (this was considered one of the highlights of the attraction). Finally, guests would arrive back in Tomorrowland having completed their journey into space. <ref> https://www.name="youtube.com/watch?v=femFW0HfahM <" /ref>
==Postshow Changes and Federal Express (1985-2004)==
In 1985 RCA replaced the "Home of Future Living” with a new post show that allowed guests to see what it would be like to live on a space colony. One of the most notable changes was that Billy and his dog) who once recorded gusts and put them on TV) were replaced with a robot boy and a robot dog. Furthermore, the TV monitors that used to advertise RCA products were changed to show astronauts in space. Although the story of the post-show changed, its main purpose was once still to show and advertise RCA televisions <ref> http://www.name="omniluxe.net/wyw/sm.htm<" /ref>.
Bigger changes came to Space Mountain in 1994, when Federal Express took over sponsorship of the attraction. During this time, Space Mountain (as well as almost all of Tomorrowland) was redesigned to fit into the New Tomorrowland theme. After the refurbishment, the attraction’s entrance was noticeably shorter, and storm shutters were added to its doorway. Furthermore, the left hand entrance wall (which had previously been used for signage) was demolished. Now when entering the attraction, guests simply saw the words “Space Mountain” written on the right hand wall in a new orange font (the new font was used throughout the attraction). Finally, the spiral outside of the entrance which had one read “RCA” was replaced by a new spiral that held signs for both Space Mountain and Fed Ex.
Further on in the queue, the windows that guests could previously look out to see various scenes from space were removed, and were left empty for a number of years. The flying saucer which held the RCA dog and a phonograph machine was also taken out (for obvious reasons). Although Space Mountain went through a series of changes during its refurbishment in 1994, the attraction itself was not changed in any significant ways.
Finally, although Fed Ex did not change many of the post show's props (although "space packages" were added) it did change the story they told. Instead of focusing on a space colony and the technology that could be used there, the new post show focused on the future of package delivery, and gave guests the idea that one day packages could be sent over spatial distances. Following the 1994 refurbishment, Space Mountain’s exit building was removed, and the attraction now dumps guests into the Tomorrowland Arcade <ref> https://www.youtube.com/watch?vname=femFW0HfahM </ref"omniluxe">.
In 2003 Federal Express chose not to renew their sponsorship, leaving Space Mountain sponsorless <refname="omniluxe"> http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/space-mountain/news/23jan2003-space-mountain-lose-fedex-sponsorship.htm </ref>.
==Current Attraction (2009-Present)==
*If you want to see the RCA Fox Terrier mascot in the old Space Mountain preshow check out: http://www.omniluxe.net/wyw/smnipper.jpg
* Space Mountain is the oldest operating roller coaster in the state of Florida <refname="orlandosentinel"> http://touch.orlandosentinel.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-82542866/ </ref>.
* Astronauts Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper and Jim Irwin took the first ride on Space Mountain <ref> http://touch.name="orlandosentinel.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-82542866/ <" /ref>.
==References==
