Disney’s Huge Space Mountain Replacement Advances, Eclipses Original Attraction

in Tokyo Disneyland

Crowds gather around Space Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland

Credit: ARICAD via Wikimedia Commons

One Disneyland is set to replace its Space Mountain – and the project is making significant progress according to latest pictures from the park.

It isn’t an opening day attraction, but Space Mountain has become one of Disney’s most iconic rides. First opened at Magic Kingdom in 1975, the indoor roller coaster still pulls in some of the park’s longest lines nearly five decades later.

Space Mountain at dawn
Credit: Disney

Related: Disney Preparing to Destroy Iconic Space Mountain Coaster

After its immediate success at Walt Disney World Resort, Space Mountain was quickly built at Disneyland Resort, where it still resides in Tomorrowland today. Versions of the attraction also featured at Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Hong Kong Disneyland on their respective opening days.

Over the years, minor changes have been made to each and every Space Mountain location across the world. At Disneyland Paris, the ride – which is considerably more intense than its international counterparts – is now known as Star Wars: Hyperspace Mountain.

Nautilus pokes out next to Hyperspace Mountain
Credit: Disney

The same is true of Hong Kong Disneyland, which made its initially temporary Star Wars overlay a permanent feature. Both Hong Kong Disneyland and Disneyland Resort previously also had Halloween overlays for the ride known as Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy.

The biggest change to any Space Mountain worldwide is currently a work in progress. In 2022, Tokyo Disneyland announced a massive overhaul to its Tomorrowland. This massive, multi-million dollar makeover will take several years – and involve demolishing and rebuilding Space Mountain.

Tokyo Disneyland Space Mountain transformation concept art
Credit: Tokyo Disney

Related: Space Mountain Officially Closed

For now, little is known about how the new Space Mountain will differ from the original. However, concept art suggests that it will take on a more futuristic aesthetic. The 56 billion Japanese Yen (approx. $438 million) project is set to take four years to complete, with everything – including Space Mountain 2.0 – scheduled to reopen in 2027.

Pictures shared on X (previously Twitter) by user @TowerHack shows the scale of the project. The space cleared and prepared for the new version of Space Mountain is considerably bigger than the original.

Latest progress on the Tokyo DisneySea large-scale expansion project (Fantasy Springs) and the large-scale development of Disneyland. I’m looking forward to the new attraction.

Space Mountain will close in 2024 to make space for its replacement. As the project continues, we’ll be able to see the full-scale of the attraction. If the amount of land cleared is anything to go by, this might be the most epic version of Space Mountain yet.

There’s plenty more to enjoy at Tokyo Disney Resort in the meantime. Early 2024 will bring the opening of Fantasy Springs – the latest expansion at Tokyo DisneySea, which will feature mini-lands inspired by Peter Pan (1953), Tangled (2010), and Frozen (2013).

Are you excited for the new version of Space Mountain? Let us know in the comments!

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