Question about Space Mountain

[Meettherobinson]

I don't know if anyone has ever felt that some of the supports to the top right of the ride seem to be very low.

Please use this youtube video as a reference; please focus at the following times:

0:11
0:14
0:18
0:20
etc etc


I'm always afraid of getting my head or arm ripped off; this is why I'm always slouching and tensed up.

Question: Has anyone ever had any injuries relating to these supports?
Anyone ride with your hands up through the entire ride and had anything happen to them?

[Gregmh48]

I don't know about injuries. That video is of the old Space Mountain track. The newer one uses fewer supports and at least appears to have wider clearances.

[Noctourne]

I personally feel the same way. Thunder Mountain's tunnels also seem particularly low. I'm sure they're safe, though.

[MsSarah]

The last time I was at Disneyland, I was curious about that so I rode the entire ride with my hands up....now that I think about it, it wasn't a very bright thing to do - but I was curious. Nothing happened to me. Keep in mind that I'm fairly short, 5'3" so I might sit lower.

[Nautilus]

The envelope around these rides--especially roller coasters-- are very wide. You would have to have really long arms to touch the lowest beams with the just the very tips of your fingers. As mentioned before, this is the old Space Mountain, the new one has a larger area around the track between supports, beams, etc.

I wouldn't be worried about wacking your head on a beam or getting you hand cut off.

[dizzneeland]

On Thunder Mountain, the front engine is higher than any riders head, but I don't know about having your hands up...EDIT:^^^^^It might be alright. Someone try it out on their next visit???


Pretzels: You're crazy...lol Good thing you didn't end up like this:

[trippyhop]

I tend not to have my hands up on Space Mountain, usually just because it's dark and that sort of thing freaks me out. My brother, however, always has his hands up and he's 6'2. I have my hands up at all times on Thunder, and I've never even been close to touching the top of the tunnels.

[Eric5675]

By law, I believe, you have to have enough clerance so riders can't touch anything. This would make it so you won't hit anything on Big Thunder.

However, on Muhulland Madness you can easily touch the track so I'm not sure...

[MsSarah]

On Thunder Mountain, the front engine is higher than any riders head, but I don't know about having your hands up...EDIT:^^^^^It might be alright. Someone try it out on their next visit???
Pretzels: You're crazy...lol Good thing you didn't end up like this:

I'm glad that I didn't end up waving good-bye too. Haha, oh and I have tried it on Big Thunder - nothing happened then either, not even close.

[trippyhop]

By law, I believe, you have to have enough clerance so riders can't touch anything. This would make it so you won't hit anything on Big Thunder.

However, on Muhulland Madness you can easily touch the track so I'm not sure...

I can't count the amount of times I almost had my head knocked off on Mulholland Madness. And, yet, I keep riding it. Why am I stupid?

[JFSebastian]

My friend was riding with his hands up on Big Thunder and touched the top of one of the caverns. We weren't going fast, so he wasn't hurt, but he definitely touched it. He's only about 5'11" so he's not incredibly tall.

[SingingAngel7242]

I always wondered wat would happen if Shaq went on those rides and put his hands up...

[StrikeYerColors]

I'm 6 foot with long arms... I don't put my hands up on SM or Thunder. I don't think I'd be able to touch anything on Big Thunder though, the track's bumps create the illusion that you're doing to hit it, but it dips low enough that you won't. I can't see on SM very well... but I keep mine down just to be safe, since I'm way over average tall and long.
The one that I'm sure I could touch is the ceiling on the drop on Pirates... Haven't been willing to try it yet, but it's much lower than you think... the darkness hides it. If you have someone on the boat with a camera backscreen on (or cell phone, or heaven forbid a flashy necklace), you can kind of see it and it seems quite close.

[ISeeTheMatterhorn!]

I had never put put my hands up on SM until last year. But when it became Rockin' Mountain, it was obvious anyone, even Shaq, can put his or her hands up and not worry about hitting anything.

The only remotely possible place to hit would be on the overhang on the second turn (I'm 6-3 with long arms and I can't come close to reaching it) and the U-shaped braces that hold the lights for Rockin' Mountain. They're still there...We got stuck on SM ealier this year and they turned the lights on. Those braces are probably 10 feet high.

Now, I go the entire ride with my hands over my head (Except at the finish, because I have fun covering my face in different ways at the photo area). If I'm wearing a hooded sweatshirt (which is frequent because we almost always save SM for our final ride of the night), I'll even put the hood over my eyes. That makes it even more exhilerating!

[Space Mountain]

In version 1 of Space ('77 version) they used to have signs that said caution: don't raise arms due to safety issues, or injury or something like that) the newer version, '05 version is different now that It's really very hard to hit yer hands if you raise em.