Chapter 12:Time for Take Off

After our ride on TTA, we realized we still had time before our Fast Pass for Space Mountain was ready. So, we decided for another spin on Buzz Lightyear. The ride never has much of a wait because of the great capacity, and by the time we'd finish, it would be time for our Space Mountain ride. So, we went over to Buzz Lightyear, which posted a 20 minute wait, which is usually the norm for this ride. We ended up waiting about 15 minutes, shorter than the posted time. The posted time is usually more than you'll actually wait. I discovered this at many attractions during our visit, but I'd rather it have a longer posted wait and the line being shorter than the time being short and the wait being long. Anyway, we took another spin on Buzz Lightyear. I'm not going to go in-depth about this one, as I already have. In the end, my score as about the same as the time I rode before, 35,000 points. Still not very good, but I'll get better as the trip goes on, as we'll see in later updates. Anyway, Buzz was again a very fun ride, and by the time we were out, it was time to head over to Space Mountain for our first ride of the trip. I was excited because SM is one of my favorite MK attractions of all time. We passed the plaza and headed over to the opposite end of Tomorrowland, where our attraction is found. We checked in at the Fast Pass entry to the Mountain and showed the Cast Member our three tickets. After that, we made our way into the dark depths of the Space Mountain queue line.

The queue starts off with a few sets of steps downward into the mountain. The bright lights on the walls shine in this part of the queue, but as we go on, we'll be plunged into darkness. After the steps, the queue is basically just a lot of walking straight. Since we're in the Fast Pass line, we have no one in front of us, yet. It's sometimes funny to look at the people in the stand-by lane...their reactions to you passing them aren't very sincere. Anyway, as we walk straight, the darker it gets. At one point, I really could not even see where I was going, and I hoped that there wouldn't be and turns in the queue. If there was, I was sure to run into one of the pole liners. The only light we had is from the small white stars in the windows at both sides of the queue...but that light is minimal at best. After quite a bit of walking, we get some light, and the queue starts to zig-zag. This area features some space constellations in the windows...which can be entertaining if you're in the stand-by line. After some more zig-zagging through the queue line, we finally came to a halt, as there were people waiting before us. I could just see the station queue area, so I knew we were close. We were only there for a mere amount of minutes before the Cast Member let all Fast Passers into the station. The CM took them, we arrived at decision time...would we go to the right side, or the left side? As the great Birnbaum's Guide to WDW always says..."stick to the left!". That's what we did. We could see an evident line forming for the right line, and no one in the left lane. We ended up walking right through the station queue line...until we finally stopped at numbers on the floor. We got assigned to numbers 4, 5, and 6. I would've liked to be in the 1st car of our train, but first seat in our car would be sufficient. After two trains full of guests loaded and departed, it was finally time for blast-off.

We quickly boarded our train and got ready for the great ride ahead. As soon as I got in, I noticed the small amount of space in the first seat. I had to squeeze my legs in there somehow, which was uncomfortable, but oh well. I just wanted to ride. I stored some of my things in the little net basket they have in the cars, and realized we were on the moved. My restraint wasn't even checked, and we were moving. I had no idea what was going on until we stopped just before the turn into the mountain. A Cast Member quickly checked our restraints, and before we knew it, it was time to roll. The brakes released, and we went around the turn and into the darkness. After a quick mini-dip, we were given light by a sign that said "60 seconds till blast-off". Next, we found ourselves surrounded in bright blue lights, going faster, faster, faster through the tunnel. The space music sped up as we moved our way through, until bam! We made an immediate, sharp left turn, and proceeded out of the tunnel. It was now time to go up the lift hill. The lift is full of theming, from a rocket to astronauts to brightly colored panels telling us how many seconds till blast-off. The anticipation builds as we slowly climb towards the top, with each light-up signs giving us a lower time till blast-off. Finally, we reach the top, where it says 3 seconds till blast-off. Shortly after, we hear the sounds of our rocket taking off, and we find ourselves out in the middle of space.

We start off with a quick left hand turn, no speed here yet. After that, the ride is pure chaos. We zoom off into numerous twists, turns, hills, and curves that make up Space Mountain's track. The ride is full of fast helices and quick drops that make you think you're going faster than you really are. After some helices and swooping turns, we come to my personal favorite part of the ride. This contains of the drop, hill, and turn near the lift hill. The drop gives you a great amount of speed, thus resulting in some sweet floater air over the hill. Then you get thrown at a quick, intense curve before heading back out into the mountain. Next, we have numerous more sharp turns and curves, as well as some quick bunny hops thrown in, which will indeed give you some quite unsuspected floater air. Towards the end is where the ride, to me, got more intense than I'd ever remembered it. After riding it 2 times during my WDW trip this year, I can honestly say I have no idea how this ride goes a pathetic 28 MPH. It is the mere complete darkness that makes you feel like your faster? I don't know, but this thing feels like it could be going double the posted speed. The out-of-this-world ride (ehh...pun intended) really is just out of control. With what feels to be nothing around you, the ride zooms through numerous ride elements that give it an out of control feeling. The jerky twists and turns along with the element of complete darkness really makes you feel like your speeding through space on an out of control mission. I love the ride for what it is, one insane coaster ride in darkness.

The ride finishes you off with a few last helices and and little bunny hills, before you head into the flaming red tunnel, with the sounds of rockets all around you. This is when you know that your ride is now over. The ride feels like such a blur once you reach that tunnel and then head into the brake run. Once you finally slow down, you just have to think about what really just happened. That's why I love SM, I love the insane, out of control feeling it gives. Along with what I have mentioned, SM is my favorite attraction in Tomorrowland, and maybe even the entire Magic Kingdom. The rush it creates is awesome, and once you reach that brake run, you're just begging for more. Anyway, the we gain a bit of speed and more sliding into the exit area, where our rocket comes to a complete stop for the last time. I took my things out of the net basket, lifted up my restraint, and got up out of the train, which ended up being a little hard as I really was scrunched up in there. We all walked to the long, long PeopleMover, which would transport us to back to our own world. The PeopleMover on the way back to Tomorrowland is extremely long, so there's a bit of theming to entertain us while we slowly make our way back. As we finally reach the end of the conveyor belt, we look to the right, and there we are, on the TV screens on the wall! Hidden cameras show us riding up the PeopleMover, eagerly awaiting our return to Tomorrowland after our long journey into space.

KKR05's Expert Advice-I've pretty much said all that has to be said about the ride, other than this is the perfect ride for the "tweener" group. It's the ride to get them hooked on rollercoasters, and is perfect for their age-group. The ride is enjoyable to everyone older as well, but a tweener's experience on SM may be the deciding factor in whether they'll become a coaster freak or not!

Once we arrived back in Tomorrowland, we met up with the others, who were at the "Cinderellabration" show in front of the castle. Wow, we got quite a bit done while they were at the show. Their reaction to the show was "just all right". Anyway, it was time to make a decision. It was getting late, and everyone was pretty hungry. We could stay at the park and eat there...but everywhere to eat would probably be packed. Everyone was tired as well, and hey, it was our first day at the parks. We decided to head out, but not before hitting an attraction that was a favorite among everyone in our family. After that, it was time to get something to eat at the Crossroads, we we'd discover that cockroach eating isn't only at Six Flags. Finally, after fleeing, we'd make our way back to the hotel, hit the sack, and dream about a "great big beautiful tomorrow...."