Star Wars: Hyperspace Mountain (formerly known as Space Mountain: Mission 2 and Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune) is an indoor/outdoor steel roller coaster in Discoveryland at Disneyland Paris. Originally themed around Jules Verne's classic 1865 novel From the Earth to the Moon, the attraction first opened on June 1, 1995, three years after the park's debut in an attempt to draw more guests to the financially unstable European resort. Unlike other Space Mountain attractions at Disney theme parks, the installation at Disneyland Paris had a steampunk-detailed appearance with a Columbiad Cannon and a plate-and-rivet exterior under its previous theme. It is the only Space Mountain to feature inversions, a launch, a section of track that exits and re-enters the interior, and a synchronized on-Board audio track. It is by far the largest Space Mountain installation at any Disney theme park. The original Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune closed on January 15, 2005, and later reopened as Space Mountain: Mission 2. This version of the ride used the same track layout, but without the Jules Verne theme. A refurbishment took place in 2015 to improve the special effects and overall presentation. A Star Wars theme was implemented into the ride in 2017 to celebrate the resort's 25th anniversary. The latest renovation is set to happen at the end of 2027, with the removal of the Star Wars branding in favor of restoring the original Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune.
Original concept Originally, Disneyland Paris wanted to make the Parisian and European Version a replica of Space Mountain from Tokyo Disneyland. However, after the Parisian site had been chosen and work began on Discoveryland, a showcase attraction was planned. Discovery Mountain was initially designed to feature not only Space Mountain, but a variety of other attractions, exhibits, and restaurants. The building was originally going to be 100 metres in diameter but was later shrunk to a diameter of 61 metres. Inside, the following items were to feature:
A large version of the Nautilus (which ended up outside of the attraction and as a walk-through attraction) An underwater restaurant with a Nautilus theme alongside a café A copy of the Horizons attraction of Epcot A Disneyland Railroad stop Free-fall ride concept, themed to Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth Space Mountain based upon Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon Walkway tubes linking to CinéMagique and the Videopolis dining and stage complex (which still features two huge windows in that place) The budget for Discovery Mountain became so huge that cuts were inevitable. In addition, the resort had encountered a loss of millions of French francs in its first three years of operations. This was due to low hotel occupancy, low guest spending and lower attendance than projected, partly due to the colder winter weather—in sharp contrast to Tokyo Disneyland, which sees crowds year-round regardless of the weather. The Victorian-inspired design of Space Mountain (initially named Discovery Mountain before its name change), with its huge Columbiad cannon, and containing the only indoor roller coaster, was decided upon as the best choice for the financially unstable resort, as well as a nearby walk-through recreation of the Nautilus, entitled Les Mystères du Nautilus. However, in 2001, Tokyo DisneySea opened, featuring Mysterious Island, a recreation of Vulcania Island from the movie 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. This island features some elements from Discovery Mountain (for example the ride Journey to the Center of the Earth or the Nautilus ride). 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.
Attraction
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