Space Mountain is the best Disneyland thing. The second of the four mountains (according to this post ) in the park (sort of--more on that later), Space Mountain is a thrilling roller coaster ride through space. Opening in 1977, Space Mountain lies nestled in the corner of Tomorrowland right next to what is currently Star Wars Path of the Jedi, which was formerly Captain EO. Launch Control, This is Space Center You may not be familiar with the storyline of Space Mountain, and that is probably because they don't really make it very clear. However, Jim Hill Media has a transcript from what was purportedly a preview recording from Disneyland before the ride opened. To sum it up: You are an astronaut on a space station orbiting Earth. The hill at the beginning of the ride is a “man-made solar field” that charges up your rocket cars, and then launches you into space. And then you fly around a large satellite and the rest of the galaxy, and land at the re-entry portal
Star Tours is the best Disneyland thing. Star Wars is maybe my favorite movie series. Many people feel this way, despite some being let down by the prequels (and now apparently the sequels, according to some people). Star Wars has been a cultural phenomenon since the first movie released in 1977. I personally didn't see Star Wars until after I had ridden on Star Tours at Disneyland, so to me this was my defining Star Wars experience (I also saw Spaceballs somehow before I ever saw Star Wars, but that's not what this article is about). Nowadays everything is different in the Star Wars universe. The Star Wars of my youth has changed, which was already different from the original Star Wars. I'm rambling. Let's talk about Star Tours. The Saga Begins It's hard for me to imagine Disneyland without Star Tours, as it's always been there since I was a kid. But Star Wars wasn't always the big sci-fi IP that Disney wanted in the parks. According to t