Space Mountain at Walt Disney World Celebrates 50 Years

When Space Mountain opened in Magic Kingdom Park at the Walt Disney World Resort 50 years ago on January 15, 1975, nobody could have imagined the impact this one “mountain” would have on the world. For the first time ever at a Disney park, guests would blast off into space on a coaster-like attraction, dipping and careening past shooting stars. Now 50 years later, Space Mountain remains a must-do attraction on any visit to Magic Kingdom Park.

Space Mountain at Walt Disney World

At 183 feet tall and 300 feet in diameter, Space Mountain has become a Tomorrowland landmark. The attraction was not an opening day attraction when the Walt Disney World Resort opened in 1971, but the Imagineers at WED Enterprises (now called Walt Disney Imagineering) quickly realized that park visitors wanted some sort of thrill ride coaster experience when visiting the Magic Kingdom. So instead of building Matterhorn Bobsleds which are at Disneyland park and which wouldn’t fit in Florida, the Imagineers decided to go back to an idea that Walt Disney himself had pitched for Disneyland Park which was an indoor outer space roller coaster similar to Matterhorn Bobsleds. And so, Space Mountain was born.

The success of Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom Park at the Walt Disney World Resort sparked a galactic trend, inspiring versions of Space Mountain at Disney Parks around the world—each with its own unique twist. While no two Space Mountains are the same, they all share that timeless mix of wonder, adventure, and out-of-this-world thrills that started it all in Florida.

Space Mountain at Disneyland Resort

While Space Mountain wasn’t built at Disneyland Park while Walt Disney was alive, Disney Imagineers hadn’t stopped thinking about bringing the attraction to the park. And following the success of the attraction at the Magic Kingdom, it was finally time to make Walt’s vision come to life in Anaheim!

On May 27, 1977, Space Mountain opened with a grand dedication at Disneyland Park, including a few of its own unique touches. Rather than having two tracks, similar to the Magic Kingdom version of the attraction, Imagineers developed a single track version with bigger trains, ensuring just as many guests could experience the West Coast version of the attraction.

Space Mountain at International Disney Parks

During the development of the first Disney park outside of the United States, Imagineers knew their “greatest hits” needed to make an international debut and, of course, Space Mountain was in the lineup.

On April 15, 1983, Space Mountain blasted off at Tokyo Disneyland Park in the form of a nearly identical version to the one in Anaheim. And with no surprise to Disney Imagineers, the attraction became a fan-favorite with Japanese guests too!

But after over 40 years at Tokyo Disneyland Park, Disney Imagineers are currently hard at work bringing an entirely new Space Mountain to life. Scheduled to open in 2027, a new version of Space Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland Park will feature enhanced performance, immersive special effects, and provide a greater connection between Earth and the universe. The attraction will stay true to the original concept as a thrilling indoor coaster but the building itself will look a little more futuristic.

With three Space Mountain attractions under their belts, Disney Imagineers knew they wanted to do something different when some of the other Disney Parks opened internationally. For Disneyland Paris, the usual Tomorrowland setting would instead be Disneyland Paris’ Discoveryland, a place dedicated to great visionaries throughout history. Space Mountain: de la Terre à la Lune in Paris, inspired by Jules Verne’s classic tale From the Earth to the Moon, shoots guests to the moon by cannon.

The Hong Kong Disneyland Park version of Space Mountain is similar to the Disneyland Park version in California. However both Disneyland Park in California and Hong Kong Disneyland Park offer limited-time versions of the attraction like Hyperspace Mountain themed to the Star Wars franchise with Star Wars music and special effects.

And in Shanghai Disney Resort, instead of Space Mountain, Disney Imagineers decided to go with something completely new and different so they developed an all-new, futuristic-themed attraction called TRON Lightcycle Power Run which is now also in Florida, adjacent to Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom.