Walt Disney World Resort’s iconic Space Mountain attraction in the Magic Kingdom was shut down most of the day on Tuesday, June 24. Disney rarely makes public statements regarding ride breakdowns, but the length of this closure prompted the resort to notify guests through the My Disney Experience app. While many Disney Park guests were disappointed by the downtime, others took the opportunity to get a rare view of the indoor attraction with the lights on.
Space Mountain is one of Disney’s most iconic attractions, with the original version of the roller coaster opening at Magic Kingdom Park in 1975. The roller coaster has since become a beloved staple of Tomorrowland and is known for its dark, high-speed thrills. Space Mountain spires are now an iconic feature of Disney parks worldwide, including Disneyland Park, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris (the latter two have a Star Wars-themed version called Hyperspace Mountain). Tokyo Disneyland is currently rebuilding its version with an expected reopening in 2027.
During Tuesday’s Space Mountain closure, guests at Magic Kingdom Park were given a unique opportunity to view the attraction from an unusual perspective. Many guests flocked to the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover, which passes inside Space Mountain, to get a glimpse of the empty indoor ride with the lights on. Reddit user u/fullmoon119 shared several photos from the ride, revealing the typically dark and mysterious attraction in a whole new light.
Space mountain with lights on
Space mountain with lights on
byu/Ucwhatididthere inWaltDisneyWorld
“This will never not be cool,” said u/Ghost_Turd. “I have always dug the behind the scenes stuff.”
Another commenter, u/GalaxyC7, was fascinated by the ride’s layout, saying, “It’s always interesting to me how little space the actual track takes up compared to how large the building itself is. If they wanted to they could make the track way longer.”
Walt Disney World Resort issued an apology to guests for the technical issues that caused Space Mountain’s extended downtime, but did not provide specific details about what caused the ride’s closure. Despite the breakdown, Space Mountain was up and running again later that day, and the attraction was operating normally at the time of this article’s publication.
Have you ever seen Space Mountain with the lights on? Share your memories with Disney Fanatic in the comments!
When I chaperoned my daughter’s science trip to Disney many years ago we rode Space Mountain first with the lights on and then in the dark to experience how much faster the ride seemed in the dark.
We did a wind velocity experiment on Big Thunder Mountain as well – all before the park opened.
One time I did see Space Mountain with it’s lights on & never did notice any people or cars moving. I rode the TTA through the facility & was worth observing.