Loud and clear

Roller coasters, you either love ‘em or you hate ‘em, either way roller coasters have always played a large part an amusement parks and fairs around the world.

Just last week I was lucky enough to ride one of the more popular of
these reveled attractions six times in a row, six times too many.

I’m sure that many of you have ridden, or at least heard of, Space Mountain, one of Disney Worlds most sought after and ridden rides. If you haven’t been blessed with the experience of this ride, it’s basically just a roller coaster that operates in the dark. There are very few lights, and turns and drops come out of nowhere with little to no warning. For real roller coaster buffs this ride could seem tame, but there was just something about not knowing what was coming up out of the dark that thrilled me.

Something that I found interesting was that the ride has two very different routes that you can take. The one that you approach to your right of the entranceway is much more timid than the one on the left. Having this type of variety on a coaster was a good idea from the designers because now more people can enjoy the attraction. No wonder the Magic Kingdom is called the “Happiest Place on Earth.”

Although Space Mountain is fun, it’s definitely one of those rides that had to be taken in moderation, not because of motion sickness, or fear, but simply out of sheer boredom. Yes even the infamous Space Mountain got boring after the sixth voyage. Its not that the ride really got boring per se, but you just found yourself knowing every turn, wondering why the ride seemed to be going slower this time, and why you chose to sit in the back of the car, the most jerky seat on the ride by far. On our last ride, Ryan, the Colonnade editor and I were actually able to carry on a conversation for a while.

For Roller Coasters buffs out there I would highly recommend this coaster because of its pure fun factor. There aren’t any loops, nor are there any corkscrew turns, but there is just a classic fun feeling that engulfs you as soon as the ride is over. I guess that’s why they call the Magic Kingdom “The Happiest place on earth.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 8 2002. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry