After 17 Years, Disneyland Confirms 31-Year-Old Space Mountain Feature Will Return

Few Disney rides have been reinvented as many times as Space Mountain.

What started as a trip through darkness has evolved differently around the world. Depending on the park and era, Disney has changed the music, stories, themes, and effects while keeping the famous Space Mountain name.

Now, two resorts are taking the attraction in very different directions. One is reviving an effect that hasn’t worked in years, while another is preparing an entirely new experience.

One Famous Coaster Has Many Different Stories

Space Mountain debuted at Magic Kingdom in 1975 and later expanded worldwide.

Disneyland welcomed its version in 1977, followed by Tokyo Disneyland in 1983. Disneyland Paris introduced Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune in 1995, while Hong Kong Disneyland followed in 2005.

Disney hasn’t kept every version the same.

Disneyland has featured Rockin’ Space Mountain, Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, and Hyperspace Mountain. Hong Kong Disneyland also received a Star Wars-inspired Hyperspace Mountain transformation.

Disneyland Paris has experienced even bigger changes.

Its original appeal drew on Jules Verne’s vision of traveling from Earth to the Moon. Disney replaced it with Space Mountain: Mission 2 in 2005, which took guests farther into the universe. Hyperspace Mountain later brought Star Wars into the experience.

Now, Disney is preparing another transformation.

A Long-Inactive Effect Is Getting Another Chance

At D23 earlier this month, Disney revealed plans to retire Hyperspace Mountain and revisit the attraction’s original identity.

Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune will return as a new interpretation of the 1995 experience.

The project will revive the Jules Verne influence and original musical score while adding changes to the scenery, queue, effects, and technical elements.

Hyperspace Mountain will remain open until the end of 2027, then close for a several-month refurbishment

That work will include the Columbiad Cannon.

The 22-meter structure played an important role in the original storyline, in which the Baltimore Gun Club constructed the cannon to launch moontrains toward the Moon. Its design includes an archer, smiling suns, colorful decorations, and the Baltimore Gun Club emblem.

Frequent breakdowns left the cannon stationary in 2009. Roughly 17 years later, Imagineers plan to restore its working effect.

The coaster will launch riders from zero to 44 mph in less than two seconds, accompanied by new effects designed to enhance the sequence.

Fans Can Take Home a Smaller Version First

Disneyland Paris is also bringing back a limited-edition replica of the Columbiad Cannon.

The collectible returns September 4 while supplies last. Guests can find it at Deco by Disney in Disney Village and Harrington’s Fine China & Porcelain on Main Street, U.S.A.

Its return comes shortly after Disney confirmed plans for the full-size Cannon, giving fans another way to celebrate the attraction’s history before the larger transformation gets underway.

The timing also puts more attention on a feature that played an important role in the original version of Space Mountain. Guests won’t have to wait until the refurbishment is finished to see the Columbiad Cannon represented around the resort.

After years as a stationary reminder of the attraction’s past, the real feature is preparing to come back to life.

Meanwhile, another Disney resort is taking Space Mountain in a completely different direction.

Tokyo Is Starting With a Much Different Approach

Tokyo Disneyland plans to introduce Space Mountain Earthrise in 2027.

Despite the familiar name, this isn’t a minor update. Disney is developing a new indoor coaster with different architecture, a new ride system, theatrical effects, and a new storyline.

Guests will travel away from Earth and deeper into space as lighting and sound effects inspired by cosmic phenomena surround them. Rather than simply updating the previous experience, Disney is building a new adventure around the basic idea that has defined Space Mountain for decades.

Earthrise will also introduce onboard audio, making it the first Tokyo Disney Resort roller coaster to offer the feature.

The name refers to the moment when Earth appears above the Moon’s surface. Disney will use that imagery to focus the story on Earth’s beauty and its place in the universe.

Space Mountain Is Moving in Two Directions

The projects show two very different approaches to Space Mountain.

Tokyo Disneyland is creating a new experience while preserving the familiar Space Mountain identity.

Disneyland Paris is doing nearly the opposite by returning to the Jules Verne-inspired world that originally distinguished its coaster.

That comeback will also give the Columbiad Cannon another chance to move.

The structure never physically disappeared, but its working effect has been absent since 2009. After roughly 17 years, Disney is preparing to make it an active part of the experience once again.