- For other Space Mountains, see Space Mountain.
Space Mountain: Mission 2 is a steel roller coaster-type attraction in Discoveryland at Disneyland Park (Paris) in France. It is themed around a journey into space. The attraction opened on June 1, 1995, three years after the park's opening, as a revival of interest to draw more guests to the financially unstable European resort. Paris' Space Mountain was the first roller coaster to feature a Synchronized On-Board Audio Track (SOBAT) and was originally themed around Jules Verne's classic 1865 novel From the Earth to the Moon. The audio track was written by Steven Bramson and was in keeping with the Victorian theme. Unlike other Space Mountains in other Disney theme parks, this version has a grander and more detailed appearance, with a huge dominating Columbiad Cannon and a rivet exterior, in keeping with Discoveryland's retro-futuristic theme. It is the only Space Mountain with inversions and a section of the ride outside the mountain, that being the station and the cannon.
The original version of the ride, De la Terre à la Lune, close in January 11, 2005 and the theme was changed to Mission 2, planned as a continuation rather than replacement of Verne's classic, where the rider is taken further into space with a new adventure. The track remains unaltered. The new onboard audio track was composed by Michael Giacchino, and the refurbished attraction debuted on April 9, 2005. 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.
Trivia
- The ride was originally named Discovery Mountain, but this name was changed, shortly before the opening, for marketing reasons. This is why the letters "DM" still exist today in the building (on the bridge over the Nautilus lake, on safety warnings panels or some devices).
- The ceiling of the Baltimore Gun Club's main lounge is painted as a starry sky. Each star features a name of two letters followed by three figures. These are actually engineers' initials and birth dates (for example, "TD748" means "Tim Delaney, born July 1948").
- In the original concept art, the cannon was slightly different from what it looks like now. It featured a trap door on its back which opened for trains to be loaded. Since this effect was too expensive, this door now stands on the side of the cannon, opening everytime trains pass by.
- Another concept art showed Space Mountain: Mission 2 featuring a retrofuturistic spaceship moored at the ceiling of the station, but this idea never came to pass either.
- A shop, called Light Speed Photography, sells photos at the exit of the ride. This is currently the only part of the building which still displays American flags (all others were removed in 2005 when De la Terre à la Lune closed).
- In promotional material for Tomorrowland, the Columbiad cannon from the attraction and its source material were referenced, as being used by Plus Ultra to find another dimension.
- This was the second Disney roller coaster to feature inversions, after Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril.
