The Missions of Space Mountain

Space Mountain at Disneyland Paris has undergone three distinct looks through its lifetime, getting new enhancements and effects and a track refurbishment each time to fit a new experience through this exciting and unique ride.  Though I never rode the original, I did experience the "Space Mountain: Mission 2" overlay twice, spanning eight years apart.  The first was back in 2006, when the new version first debuted.  Though I had heard complaints that the ride was rough, I experienced a thrilling and smooth roller coaster ride through multiple inversions, twists, and turns.  My second visit, in 2014, however, was a different story.  The ride was noticeably rougher, on par with what I had originally heard complaints about, and it was unpleasant enough that after going through a 15 minute wait for my first ride, I eschewed my second ride with FastPass to photograph the park during golden hour instead.

Fortunately, since then, the ride has become Star Wars: Hyperspace Mountain, and when I visited a couple of years ago at the end of 2019, I once again found a smooth experience.  I guess a ride like this just needs some deep refurbishment every decade or so!

Space Mountain: Mission 2 at Disneyland Paris, the previous iteration of the ride before the Hyperspace Mountain makeover of a few years ago.