Who knew that a ride taking place in almost total darkness is home to so many secrets and insider jokes? Space Mountain has some of the best-hidden histories in the Magic Kingdom, but you have to know where to look.
The fun begins just inside the queue, where a large illuminated display dominates one wall.
D-Tales #3: Space Mountain is hidden Disney history
The giant logo of the attraction is labeled “Starport Seventy-Five,” a sly reference to 1975, the year when Space Mountain opened.
Look to the smaller signs just to the right of this large mural. Most of the panels use real names of star systems and people like scientists and astronauts, but the second category (“Active Earth Stations”) is chock full of tributes.
- Tomorrowland Station MK-1
- TL Space Station 77
- Discovery Landing Station – Paris
- Ashita Base – Tokyo
- HK Spaceport E-TKT
As you might guess, these refer to different versions of Space Mountain around the globe. The Magic Kingdom comes first, followed by Anaheim’s version, which opened in 1977. The Paris version is called Discovery Mountain. In Japanese, “Ashita” means “tomorrow”–fitting since the Tokyo version of Space Mountain is located in Tomorrowland. And Hong Kong’s version is truly an E-Ticket ride.
Later in the queue, look for the various (real) star names to be plastered across illuminated murals as destinations for intergalactic flights. One of them should catch your eye: Disney’s Hyperion Resort pays tribute to Hyperion Street, the address for the first Disney Brothers studio!
When the ride is done, look to the futuristic luggage to find stickers related to Space Station X-1, an early Disneyland attraction in Tomorrowland in the 1950s, and Mesa Verde, a fictional destination in Horizons EPCOT.
Where the moving sidewalk commences at the exit, look to your left to see a console with several hidden features in it. The far left panel mentions “closed sectors” (in other words, rides that have been removed) and includes acronym references such as:
- Fantasyland: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
- Fantasyland: Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
- Tomorrowland: Skyway to Fantasyland
- Main Street USA: Swan Boats
- Fantasyland: Mickey Mouse Revue
- Tomorrowland: Mission to Mars
Just above that are the “open sectors” (in other words, the rides that have been added more recently), including:
- Fantasyland: Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- Adventureland: Aladdin’s Flying Carpets
- Fantasyland: Mickey’s PhilharMagic
- Frontierland: Splash Mountain
- Tomorrowland: Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
- Tomorrowland: Monsters Inc. “Left” (meant to be an [botched] acronym for “laughed”)
In the center panel, watch for the “traffic codes” that pay tribute to real roads in Central Florida:
- A1A is a road that runs along the coast
- I-4 refers to Interstate Four, which often does feature construction
- 192 means US-192, the main road of Kissimmee along the “bottom” border of WDW
- C50 (C58?) could refer to Colonial, State Road 50 that cuts through Orlando
- Intl is a reference to International Drive
- VSTA is for Buena Vista (which translates to something like “visibility high”) – thanks to reader Alex for this correction!
The Imagineers are not above a little pun. This particular robot is “Okie Dokie,” I guess.
About Kevin Yee
After working for 15 years at Disneyland, Kevin moved to the East Coast, where he has been a weekly visitor of Walt Disney World since 2004. Kevin is the author of the second edition of Walt Disney World Hidden History (2014). This softcover book tracks Disney’s “hidden history” — remnants of former attractions and tributes to Imagineers and other Disney officials — hiding in plain sight in the parks. The book’s second edition has 164 new entries, almost doubling the number of remnants and tributes discussed in the first edition. The Kindle version costs $6.99.
Whether tribute or remnant, each item discussed starts with something visible in today’s parks; the idea is that this is something you could visit and see with your own eyes and then appreciate the historical thinking behind it. For the first time, this edition now includes a photo of every item discussed so you’ll know what to look for.