Fans of Walt Disney's classic theme parks — Disneyland in California and Magic Kingdom at Disney World in Florida — resist changes to the classic rides at those parks.
Part of the experience of visiting either park is getting to ride rides and see shows that date to each park's founding.
While Disney's other parks have pushed into areas that Walt Disney the man could never have imagined when Disneyland opened in 1955, or even in 1971 when Disney World brought his vision to the East Coast, Disneyland and Magic Kingdom retain much of their founder's vision.
Related: Universal Studios makes a huge move to take down Disney World
That's something Walt Disney (DIS) -) the company has been protective of. The company has made changes to its classic rides, but "Pirates of the Caribbean," "The Haunted Mansion," and many other rides stand much as they did when they first launched.
It took a lot of pressure to get the company to change the theme at the former Splash Mountain because it was themed to "Song of the South," a movie that has some problematic racial content. It's not that today's Disney continues to hold the biases many believe its founder embraced; the company has simply been very protective of its history.
Walt Disney has added modern rides to Disney World and Disneyland, but the changes to its classic rides have been minor. Yes, the company updated the "Jungle Cruise" ride and has modernized the story in "Pirates of the Caribbean," but those changes were more tweak than substance.
Now, the company has decided to overhaul a version of one of its iconic rides. That's not a decision made lightly, even if the changes won't be taking place (at least at first) at the company's U.S. parks.
Disney
Tokyo Disney 'reimagining' Space Mountain
Space Mountain first opened in 1975 at Disney World before a version of the ride was brought to Disneyland in 1977. The company has brought the ride to three other Disneyland-style parks around the world, leaving it out only at its Shanghai theme park.
That omission in China was a cultural decision, not one based on the actual ride. In fact, a number of classic Disney attractions — including "Jungle Cruise" and "It's a Small World," along with "Space Mountain" — are not part of the Shanghai Park for political, not entertainment, reasons.
Disney did bring Space Mountain to Tokyo Disneyland, but the ride will soon shut down for an overhaul that will completely reimagine the classic ride.
"Space Mountain, an exhilarating indoor roller coaster that takes guests on a high-speed joy ride through space, has been a favorite of guests since the Grand Opening of Tokyo Disneyland in 1983," Inside the Magic reported.
"This entirely new attraction will maintain its original concept as an indoor roller coaster, but will have enhanced performance and immersive special effects that will give guests even more thrills on this exciting rocket ride."
Tokyo's Space Mountain could be a blueprint
While the original Space Mountain at Disney World still delights audiences — line there often take more than an hour — the ride mechanism is dated. The car is cramped and forces riders into an unnatural position.
It's not unrealistic to think that the changes coming at Tokyo Disneyland could create a blueprint for the other four installations of Space Mountain to be updated.
That may happen on a more limited basis than the massive changes coming in Tokyo, which will see the ride close in July 2024 and reopen in 2027.
"Disney broke ground on the reimagining back in May 2023 with work mostly taking place in backstage areas behind the attraction," BlogMickey reported.
Walt Disney plans to invest $60 billion in its theme parks over the next decade. Its theme parks head, Josh D'Amaro, has hinted at a massive expansion to Magic Kingdom but has not shared any specifics.
Unlock the secrets of the stock market with Real Money Pro. Gain direct access to elite portfolio managers' top stock picks and time-tested investment strategies. Embark on your journey to financial success — start now.
