— Ch. 1 · Discoveryland Genesis And Design —
Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain.
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 5
Disneyland Paris opened its doors in 1992 with a financial crisis looming over the resort. The park lost millions of French francs during its first three years of operation due to low hotel occupancy and lower attendance than projected. Cold winter weather in France contrasted sharply with Tokyo Disneyland, which saw crowds year-round regardless of the season. Original plans for Discovery Mountain called for a massive building one hundred meters in diameter. This structure would have housed Space Mountain alongside an underwater restaurant themed to Jules Verne's Nautilus. A copy of the Horizons attraction from Epcot was also part of the initial design. The budget for this ambitious project became so huge that cuts were inevitable. The resort needed a financially stable solution immediately.
The final decision settled on a Victorian-inspired design named Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune. Imagineer Tim Delaney led the team that transformed the original concept into a steampunk-detailed attraction. The new building shrunk to a diameter of sixty-one meters to fit the available funds. It featured a huge Columbiad Cannon and a plate-and-rivet exterior under its previous theme. This version became the largest Space Mountain installation at any Disney theme park. It remains the only Space Mountain to feature inversions and a launch system. The ride opened on the 1st of June 1995, three years after the park debuted. Michael Eisner later credited this specific attraction as the savior of Disneyland Paris.
Jules Verne Themed Launch System
De la Terre à la Lune opened on the 1st of June 1995 with a unique $89.7 million price tag. It was the first full-circuit launched roller coaster in history. Riders experienced a 1.3G uphill catapult launch from zero to forty-four miles per hour in just 1.8 seconds. The track included three inversions including a sidewinder, corkscrew, and a cutback. A portion of the track exited and re-entered the interior mountain structure. Guests entered through an open walkway known as the Stellar Way where they could see trains during their journey. They reached Victorian chambers of the Baltimore Gun Club filled with plans for the Columbiad Cannon.
The ride vehicles called moontrains were made out of copper and bronze. Hanging patriotic red, white and blue flags decorated the station alongside barrels of gunpowder. Steven Bramson composed the first Synchronized On-Board Audio Track or SOBAT for the attraction. This music loop created a proper Victorian atmosphere featuring themes from movies such as Krull and The Rocketeer. The trains took riders through a tunnel into the Columbiad Cannon before blasting off to the top of the mountain. They passed through a field of asteroids and nearly came into near collision with one. Colonel Impey Barbicane's Blue Moon Mining Company Machine appeared as an industrial space machine built by the President of the Gun Club.