Ever since Space Mountain was relaunched in 2005, I've made a point of riding it every time I go to Disneyland.
What I also make a point of, however, is getting a Fastpass the moment I enter the park. So there have only been two times I've actually waited in the Space Mountain standby line.
The first was back in September, on a trip we took for my birthday. It was on a Friday and relatively early in the morning so we were able to walk right on.
The second time was two weeks ago, on a busy but not-too-busy Sunday. While everyone else rode BLAB I figured with only a 40 minute wait for Space Mountain I'd just get in the standby line.
The wait was not, in fact, nearly that long (which I expected) but it did give me a chance to examine an area of Disneyland I rarely take the time to look at.
I was just struck by how much wasted space there is here. The second level of the Space Mountain concourse area, formerly a hotspot of the land, is empty now and remains mostly unused other than the Space Mountain queue that wraps around its perimeter.
And then there's the Starcade. The second level of the Starcade has been blocked off for a while now, with trash cans placed in front of the (I assume still working) escalators. All that's visible is the life-sized X-Wing hanging from the ceiling, and that remains all that's visible even when you peer through the glass on that level. It just struck me that this relatively large, empty space is just sitting there next to another relatively large, empty space. Why not do something with this?
Now a shop or an extension of the Starcade arcade could certainly work, but I don't think the land really needs that right now. But how about a new attraction? Perhaps a large new highly-themed table service restaurant with good food and a view of Tomorrowland? Let's put something in there and make that space active again. Perhaps the Space Mountain queue could be restructured and the deck area there could be used for something as well.
What do you guys think? It seems to me that (almost) anything would be good for this space, as opposed to just sitting there padlocked.
What I also make a point of, however, is getting a Fastpass the moment I enter the park. So there have only been two times I've actually waited in the Space Mountain standby line.
The first was back in September, on a trip we took for my birthday. It was on a Friday and relatively early in the morning so we were able to walk right on.
The second time was two weeks ago, on a busy but not-too-busy Sunday. While everyone else rode BLAB I figured with only a 40 minute wait for Space Mountain I'd just get in the standby line.
The wait was not, in fact, nearly that long (which I expected) but it did give me a chance to examine an area of Disneyland I rarely take the time to look at.
I was just struck by how much wasted space there is here. The second level of the Space Mountain concourse area, formerly a hotspot of the land, is empty now and remains mostly unused other than the Space Mountain queue that wraps around its perimeter.
And then there's the Starcade. The second level of the Starcade has been blocked off for a while now, with trash cans placed in front of the (I assume still working) escalators. All that's visible is the life-sized X-Wing hanging from the ceiling, and that remains all that's visible even when you peer through the glass on that level. It just struck me that this relatively large, empty space is just sitting there next to another relatively large, empty space. Why not do something with this?
Now a shop or an extension of the Starcade arcade could certainly work, but I don't think the land really needs that right now. But how about a new attraction? Perhaps a large new highly-themed table service restaurant with good food and a view of Tomorrowland? Let's put something in there and make that space active again. Perhaps the Space Mountain queue could be restructured and the deck area there could be used for something as well.
What do you guys think? It seems to me that (almost) anything would be good for this space, as opposed to just sitting there padlocked.
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