Space: 1977
The commercial heralding the opening of Disneyland’s Space Mountain holds a special memory for me. Growing up in suburban Phoenix, I felt fortunate because Disneyland was located close enough for the family to visit regularly, yet far enough away that the place had acquired a fabulous mystique. Especially to an eight year-old boy. That shot of the Space Mountain vehicle hurtling away into an endless field of stars was pure manna to me back then. “Mom, Dad, we’ve gotta go to Disneyland!!”
Postscript: once the family got to the ride, I was so scared off by the numerous warning signs that I took off and waited at the end of the queue. A few years would pass before I felt brave enough to conquer the Mountain.
i’m not sure if i’ve ever seen this before or not. but i do remember longing to go on that ride for years. i finally got to ride it when i was 15, but sadly i missed most of the ride since i spent most of it turned around trying to convince my little brother to open his eyes so he wouldn’t miss it. oddly enough, i’ve seen a knock off of space mountain at at least one amusement park here in taiwan.
How funny, William. See if you can snap a picture of the Taiwan SM knockoff – I’d love to see it!