Space Mountain: Mission 2

Orientation & Geography

Europe, France, Seine-et-Marne

Space Mountain: Mission 2 is a steel roller coaster-type attraction in Discoveryland at Disneyland Park in Disneyland Paris themed around a journey into space. The attraction opened on June 1, 1995, three years after the opening of the park, as a revival of interest to draw more guests to the financially unstable European resort. Paris' Space Mountain was the first roller coaster to feature a Synchronized On-Board Audio Track (SOBAT) and was originally themed around Jules Verne's classic 1865 novel From the Earth to the Moon. The audio track was written by Steven Bramson and was in keeping with the Victorian theme. Unlike other Space Mountains found around the world, this version has a grander and more detailed appearance, with a huge dominating Columbiad Cannon and a plate and rivet exterior, in keeping with Discoveryland's retro-futuristic theme. It is the only Space Mountain to feature inversions and a section of the ride outside the mountain, that being the station and cannon. The original version of the ride, De la Terre à la Lune, closed in January 2005 and the theme was changed to Mission 2, planned as a continuation rather than replacement of Verne's classic, where the rider is taken further into space on a new adventure. The track remains unaltered. The new onboard audio track was composed by Michael Giacchino, and the refurbished attraction debuted on April 9, 2005. Michael Eisner, ex-CEO of The Walt Disney Company, credited Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune and its creator, Imagineer Tim Delaney, as the savior of Disneyland Paris.