We now know that the current version of Space Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland will close permanently on July 31, 2024, after a months-long celebration of the attraction. A new version of Space Mountain, already under construction, will open in 2027. Work is underway behind the current attraction on the new ride, which Disney and Oriental Land Company announced in April 2022.

Space Mountain Construction

Construction is visible from the Disney Resort Line Monorail.

A large swath of land has been set aside behind the current Space Mountain and between Cast Member parking lots. Site clearing began in the fall of 2022 and a groundbreaking ceremony took place in May 2023.

Since our last construction update, two large mounds of dirt have risen on either side of a backstage road.

Closer to the current ride, three tall cranes tower over the construction site.

A closer look reveals the beginnings of a structure. Steel frames stick out of concrete and surround wood walls.

Diggers are moving more dirt in the area.

Concept art (below) indicates the new attraction building and plaza will draw inspiration from both the iconic Space Mountain structure and Shanghai Disneyland’s Tomorrowland.

The building curves, ramp, and blue lights are similar to TRON Lightcycle Run at Shanghai Disneyland and Magic Kingdom.

Oriental Land Co. is spending approximately ¥56 billion ($437 million) on the new ride. The Space Mountain name and theme will be retained as well as Coca-Cola’s sponsorship.

The coaster will be the first new thrill attraction at Tokyo Disney Resort since Tower of Terror opened in 2006.

Space Mountain is in Tomorrowland at Tokyo Disneyland but is not far from Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea, which will open next year.

We caught a bird surveying the new land and Space Mountain.

History of Space Mountain

The original version of Space Mountain opened in 1975 at Magic Kingdom. It proved so popular that Disney constructed other versions at Disneyland Park, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Hong Kong Disneyland. Shanghai Disneyland is the only Disney “castle park” with no Space Mountain, instead opting to build TRON Lightcycle Power Run.

Each version of Space Mountain is slightly different, but they all take guests on a high-speed adventure through the iconic pyramid-like building.

The Disneyland Paris rendition of the ride was originally De la Terre à la Lune, inspired by “From the Earth to the Moon” by Jules Verne. Both the Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland versions later received the “Star Wars” Hyperspace Mountain overlay. The overlay was supposed to be temporary but ultimately became permanent. This overlay also sometimes comes to the Disneyland version of the ride.

This year, Disney added new projection mapping and projection effects to Space Mountain in Disneyland.

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