Space Mountain Reimagining Rumored at Disney World

With the 2026 D23 Expo only one month away, we’re in that window when wishful thinking and speculation starts flying among fans. The latest rumor to gain traction is a major rebuild of Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom, but the difference is that there have been rumblings about a retracking of this iconic roller coaster for over a year. Here’s why a reimagining of this wild mouse is not so wild, and passes the smell test for us.

In fact, this is something we covered recently in Walt Disney World’s Stealth Tomorrowland Transformation just last month. Prior to that, it was discussed in Is It Time for Tomorrowland’s Reimagining? and Top 10 Ride Reimaginings Needed at Walt Disney World over a year ago, among other updates on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad refurbishment, with Space Mountain described as likely next in line.

There are several reasons why a large-scale reimagining of Space Mountain is a hot topic in fan circles. This article covers the bases for the rumors and rumblings, along with our own speculation about what such a project would necessarily entail and what it couldn’t. Against that backdrop, let’s dig in…

Let’s start with the aforementioned Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. After 16 months of refurbishment, the wildest ride in the wilderness returned back in May. It underwent a top-to-bottom refurbishment, which entailed “new magic” being added.

The focal point of the project was a complete re-tracking, thereby extending the classic coaster’s life. Big Thunder also received all-new trains, refreshed sets and figures, new effects and lighting.

Despite outward appearances, the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad project was massive in magnitude with a lot of moving parts. It isn’t easy to replace the entire track, ride vehicles, control system, and other critical infrastructure, all in an operational theme park and around existing thematic environments.

Suffice to say, the re-tracking was a herculean endeavor that cost a tremendous amount of time and money. It’s the kind of project that, historically, Walt Disney World has been averse to undertake, instead opting for cheaper and faster duct tape fixes.

The good news is that, as discussed in Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Ride Review, Walt Disney World leadership is really pleased with how BTMRR turned out. They were particularly pleased with the engineering team’s ability to increase the iconic ride’s reliability, while also making it a more comfortable experience that more guests can enjoy by virtue of the lowered height requirement.

Given how the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad project is viewed internally as a success story that’s yielding positive results, I would hazard a guess that Imagineering and other teams have been emboldened, and empowered to execute more big-budget projects of that nature. (Imagineering’s recent track record is also why we believe they’ve been given a “longer leash” for a more ambitious Carousel of Progress overhaul.)

That’s one data point that bodes well for a potential Space Mountain project. Another is the fact that Space Mountain is being redone at Tokyo Disneyland, and is nearing completion.

Originally announced back in 2022, Space Mountain: Earthrise attraction is an entirely new attraction, being built behind where the original Space Mountain once stood in Tokyo’s Tomorrowland. In fact, there were actually two Space Mountains during construction/demolition.

Space Mountain: Earthrise will maintain the attraction’s original concept as an indoor roller coaster journey through outer space, but will have new special effects and an innovative ride system. The redone ride will strive to provide a greater connection between Earth and the universe.

It is expected that Space Mountain: Earthrise will use ride vehicles like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, but with a ride system more similar to Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift.

When the reimagined Space Mountain was first announced, OLC revealed that the investment would be approximately 56 billion yen. That was a staggering sum that would have made Space Mountain: Earthrise the most expensive Disney attractions of all-time. OLC upped the already blockbuster budget to 70.5 billion yen earlier this year.

Space Mountain: Earthrise is part of a bigger-picture reimagining of Tomorrowland at Tokyo Disneyland. That also includes the new Wreck-It Ralph ride, which a reimagining of their Buzz Lightyear attraction with a budget of roughly $200 million. The redone Tomorrowland will debut in Spring 2027, and is Tokyo’s marquee project of the next several years.

It is highly unlikely, if not completely impossible, that a reimagined Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom would be a clone of Space Mountain: Earthrise at Tokyo Disneyland. There simply isn’t the (literal) space for such a project behind the park at Walt Disney World. Even if there were, there are practical constraints that include the TTA PeopleMover and nearby TRON Lightcycle Run.

On top of that, Space Mountain: Earthrise would be a $600 million or more project at Magic Kingdom. There’s simply no way Walt Disney World wants to spend that amount given what’s being invested on the other side of the park. Whatever happens with our Space Mountain needs to be a more efficient project, done on a tighter timeline and budget.

However, as with the success of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad retracking, what is possible here is that Space Mountain: Earthrise has ‘nudged’ Disney to finally upgrade its oldest Space Mountain. Also possible is that some assets, ideas, and even unused plans for the Tokyo project will be recycled in Florida. Good ideas never die at WDI, after all.

The third and final basis for the rumors being plausible is simply the passage of time.

As we’ve discussed repeatedly, Space Mountain was slated for a total overhaul in 2009. That instead ended up being a multi-month project that involved TLC but was mostly cosmetic and thematic in nature with the addition of the load area ceiling and (now defunct) interactive queue. Over 15 years later, it’s safe to assume the ride needs a re-tracking more now than it does then.

It feels very much like Space Mountain is being held together by duct tape and prayer. And from what I understand, roller coasters don’t age like wine. This is evident to anyone who now rides Space Mountain, which is a tad rough (charitable). In fact, the #1 reaction we’ve heard to the BTMRR retracking has been, “okay, now give Space Mountain this treatment.”

Even before Big Thunder, there have been recurrent rumors for years that Space Mountain would receive a retrack for as long as I can remember.

The two roller coasters actually mirror one another in this sense. As we previously reported, Imagineering had pushed for a more comprehensive overhaul of BTMRR for roughly a decade, but was repeatedly rebuffed by Walt Disney World leadership, who didn’t want to lose the ride capacity or spend the money. Consequently, closures were shortened and reduced in scale and scope, before the 2025 retracking was finally greenlit.

Now that BTMRR has received its retracking and that’s deemed a success, and TRON Lightcycle Run is open on this side of the park to absorb guests (and steal the spotlight), it’s probably more palatable for park operations to take Space Mountain offline for an extended period.

All of this brings us to the actual rumors of Space Mountain being reimagined.

To the best of our knowledge, the rekindled rumors that Space Mountain is next up for a track replacement first resurfaced lat February on ParkFans. There was decent corroboration for that, but also a lot of speculation that it was plausible just based on the totality of the circumstances (see above).

More recently, these rumors have really gained momentum. The latest and most credible reporting comes via WDWMagic, which shares that its sources reveal that Walt Disney World is in the planning stages for a Space Mountain rebuild that “touches nearly every part of the attraction, from the track to the queue.”

Per WDWMagic, the scope of work would be an interior rebuild of the roller coaster, complete with a full retrack. Changes would also come to the queue area and loading stations. At present, this is the extent of the credible rumor.

Specifics are reportedly unclear. One unknown is whether the project would involve a simple 1:1 retracking a la BTMRR, or if Space Mountain will receive an entirely new track layout. Also unknown is whether single row seating would be replaced with side-by-side seating, similar to the other versions of Space Mountain.

To be abundantly clear, I have not heard that the Space Mountain project has been greenlit. Since this round of the rumor first resurfaced over a year ago, there’s been a lot of chatter. As is typical of projects like this that pass the smell test, it’s often difficult to untangle what is grounded in actual information and what’s purely speculation.

From my outsider’s perspective, the Space Mountain overhaul makes too much sense to not happen. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has been a smash success. The nearby TRON Lightcycle Run already makes Space Mountain look and feel antiquated. Soon, the far-away Earthrise will further up the ante. This project is already more than 15 years overdue.

On top of that, other projects have wrapped up around Magic Kingdom, freeing up the capacity bandwidth. Tomorrowland is in the midst of the aforementioned stealth refresh. Redone versions of Space Mountain and Carousel of Progress sitting side-by-side could be the culmination of that (for now).

Piston Peak and Villains Land are on the horizon sometime between 2029 and 2031, and having a new Space Mountain debut a year or so ahead of those would further bolster the ride roster at Magic Kingdom. There are countless reasons why this project makes sense to knock out right now, before an influx of new demand.

My suspicion would be that whenever Space Mountain is redone, it’s going to be more ambitious than Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and not a 1:1 track replacement. I’d speculate further that one of the reasons Disney has kicked the can down the road on this project is because they haven’t been ready for this massive undertaking.

If you read our Big Thunder Mountain Railroad review, you’re aware of the missing family of opossums on that attraction. These opossums were removed during refurbishment and did not return when Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reopened. Walt Disney World confirmed with us that the reason they haven’t returned (yet!) is due to safety clearance when Disney conducted ride envelope testing.

For those who are unfamiliar with that term, the ride envelope testing checks rider reach to ensure even guests with the widest wingspan cannot touch anything in the perimeter of the attraction. This may seem like an unrelated aside, but the opossums failing modern ride envelope testing was a big red flag for me when it comes to the prospects of a Space Mountain retracking.

I never attempted to touch the opossums on BTMRR (because why would I?), but I’m pretty confident they were out of my reach by a decent amount.

By contrast, I am not a tall person or one with an unreasonably wide wingspan, and there are multiple points in Space Mountain where I can make contact. Never to the point of actual injury, but it has been a reminder to not fully extend my arms in the dark!

As was the case with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, retracking Space Mountain would trigger new ride envelope testing by modern standards. And Space Mountain, if redone in 1:1 style, would fail that spectacularly at multiple points throughout the ride.

Maybe it’s possible to do an almost 1:1 retracking of Space Mountain using more efficient and modern construction methods. I won’t pretend to be an engineer or expert, so I cannot speak to that. But what I do know is that attractions have ballooned in size over the years, not gotten more compact thanks to design efficiencies.

Maintaining a grandfathered-in status and not triggering updated standards is one of the reasons that some attractions, especially at Disneyland, haven’t seen more consequential changes over the years. It simply wouldn’t be possible in their limited footprints, and there’s no room to expand.

While again underscoring the fact that I know nothing and am not an expert, my assumption for the last year-plus has been that any major update to Space Mountain would be replacing the dual tracks with a single track, and ditching single row seating for side-by-side.

It’s hard to envision any other way this plays out with safety standards in mind, and that’s also the solution that maintains or improves hourly throughput. Again, this is all purely speculative on my part. I have no inside info on this.

Assuming there’s a way to rebuild the attraction as a single roller coaster with as minimal of changes as possible to the existing queue, load area, and post-show, this is still probably a longer project than the BTMRR retracking that took 16 months (but seemed stalled at the end).

If this project actually has been greenlit, my best guess is that Space Mountain would stay open for Christmas 2026, closing around January 5, 2027 (also a la BTMRR). That would put it on track for a Christmas 2028 reopening in the absolute best-case scenario. Spring 2029 might be more likely unless Imagineering has figured out a really efficient way to redo the ride.

If you’re wondering what else might change (or not) as part of this rumored reimagining, we would not expect an intellectual property integration. So sorry, Lightyear fans (all 3 of you!), but it’s unlikely to be based on that, Meet the Robinsons, Tomorrowland (2015), Mars Needs Moms, or any other “hit” films. I’d be surprised by even an Incredibles injection, but not totally shocked. My gut is zero IP.

I also wouldn’t expect the redone ride to feature an innovative or envelope-pushing roller coaster or ride system. Probably not going to get an Omnicoaster a la Cosmic Rewind or unique seats a la TRON. Expect something more classic, akin to Space Mountain at Disneyland.

Generally speaking, I would bet against any major changes beyond the switch from dual tracks to a single one. In all likelihood, whatever is built here needs to fit into the footprint of the existing building. This attraction is very space-constrained, and that plus the desire to keep the budget and timeline in-check will be the big limiting factors.

On a personal note, I love Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom. It is my favorite version of the attraction.

I don’t think it’s too rough and I love so many of its little quirks and personality. From my purely nostalgic perspective, I am fine with the duct tape and prayer approach, and would prefer Disney to cheap out on this and do as little as possible to (safely) extend its usable life.

For me, it mostly comes down to nostalgia. Space Mountain in Magic Kingdom was the ultimate rite of passage for me when I was a kid, and I’ve loved it ever sense. When we started visiting together (back before it got the best of her), we’d ‘loop’ Space Mountain repeatedly at the end of Extra Magic Hours. There are days when we rode it a dozen times.

I love the old school effects in the queue, star tunnel music, that ancient ride safety video, the dual track layout, and even the post-show scenes. It’s the most complete version of Space Mountain from start to finish, and that plus nostalgia scores it big points in my book. I really don’t want to lose any of these things.

That’s all subjective, of course. From an objective perspective, Space Mountain is very obviously overdue for TLC.

Given the recent results elsewhere, I’m going to give modern Imagineering the benefit of the doubt on this one. Whatever they do will likely preserve the heart and soul of the attraction, even if Space Mountain loses some of its old school charm. That’s unavoidable to some extent.

We can safely assume there’s more on the horizon and a bigger picture plan for Tomorrowland’s stealthy transformation because we’re already seeing it unfold.

The recently-redone Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin showcases this on stylistic and substantive fronts. The new facade drags the aging attraction into the retro-future with a cleaner mid-century modern aesthetic, and is a night and day improvement over what was there before, despite being fairly simple itself.

Then there’s the inside of the attraction, which was ‘recharged’ and turned out fantastic. The ride has refreshed show scenes, new blasters, interactive targets, clearer aiming, vehicles with new real-time displays, and a more competitive scoring system. The new gameplay loop is both easier to pick up for first-timers, while also being deeper for skilled players. (Read our Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin Strategy Guide & Recharged Ride Review.)

Walt Disney World has also confirmed that there’s more to come. The circa 1994 version of Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress closed only a few days ago for a massive overhaul that shifts its timeline forward by 60 years before reopening sometime in 2027. (See New Decades for Carousel of Progress for more details, concept art, and our comprehensive commentary.)

Another possibility is a replacement for the defunct Stitch’s Great Escape. This one strikes me as more realistic in the near-term because it wouldn’t entail taking more capacity offline in Tomorrowland. I could see this announcement being made alongside Space Mountain at the 2026 D23 Expo, with both debuting in late 2028.

Then there are the plausible possibilities that seem premature. With Monstropolis coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor in Tomorrowland becomes redundant. The secondary attraction in that land is a theater show, and Walt Disney World doesn’t need two separate Monsters, Inc. shows in two separate parks.

Similarly, Tomorrowland Speedway will arguably be rendered obsolete by Piston Peak Cars Land in Magic Kingdom. That ride sits on a large and valuable plot of real estate. Freeing up that space would be hugely beneficial, allowing for future expansion of both Tomorrowland or Fantasyland. My best guess is that this happens after Piston Peak debuts, but who knows. It’s one to watch for at the 2026 D23 Expo.

Ultimately, it’s pretty easy to see a Space Mountain rebuild, reimagining–or whatever you want to call it–happening prior to the Beyond Big Thunder expansion debuting. It makes perfect sense to announce this at the 2026 D23 Expo. It’s also not difficult to imagine there being more to the news than just this one attraction getting a new track.

That’s doubly true given what’s been quietly happening to the aesthetics of the land as a whole, along with the recent Buzz Lightyear recharge and upcoming Carousel of Progress reimagining. I can already envision a large portion of the Parks Panel being dedicated to Tomorrowland, with concept art on Carousel of Progress and new announcements. Maybe even models and more in the show floor booth.

If a more all-encompassing announcement beyond just Space Mountain is made at the 2026 D23 Expo, the Tomorrowland project probably goes from stealth transformation to fully-fledged and marketable reimagining that debuts in 2028. Maybe it even gets a fun name, like Tomorrowland 2071.

If such a project comes to fruition, my personal wishlist includes (but is not limited to) saving the Tomorrowland Palms, Sonny Eclipse, and everything in the current Space Mountain queue, while also bringing back Tomorrowland’s twin towering monoliths marking the entrance.

The 1994 version of this land was my favorite in Magic Kingdom as a child, and I hope there’s another new version of Tomorrowland for my daughter to fall in love with during her formative years. So far, the future seems bright!

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Your Thoughts

What do you think about rumors of a reimagining or rebuild of Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom? Expect any other ‘singles and doubles’ announcements for Tomorrowland at the 2026 D23 Expo? Do you agree or disagree with my assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!