July sees the reopening of two attractions which have had extended closure for maintenance – Space Mountain: Mission 2 (5 July) and Flying Carpets Over Agrabah (12 July).
12th July sees the reopening of Flying Carpets Over Agrabah in the Walt Disney Studios Park. It has been closed for refurbishments since 14th April – that’s roughly 3 months out of action! During its closure the main body of the attraction has been replaced and the ‘Agrabah’ backdrop has also been replaced. Also during its closure, the newly expanded Crush’s Coaster queue has permanently grown into the previously open area in front of the Flying Carpets Over Agrabah attraction. Though there is unlikely to be anything ‘new’ regarding the attraction, the carpets should now fly much more smoothly and the theming will be fresh and ready for summer when the Walt Disney Studios Park is expected to receive a great deal more custom thanks to the new Ratatouille attraction.
Space Mountain: Mission 2 reopens on 5th July, having been closed since 10th June. Disneyland Paris hasn’t commented on the reason for Space Mountain: Mission 2’s extended closure, though it is likely to be simply for routine maintenance, such as fixing any broken effects within the show building and repainting the attraction.
Those prone to speculation and rumours might suggest that Space Mountain: Mission 2 is closed to allow for testing for a future major upgrade to take place. Space Mountain initially opened in 1995 as Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune, then was relaunched as Space Mountain: Mission 2 ten years later in 2005. With another decade milestone in 2015 just around the corner, it is widely rumoured that Space Mountain may see another major update. Disney has made clear that they would like to use restraints on the rollercoaster which could fix in any position, instead of the current rachet system for the harnesses which only locks in certain positions, however this would require entirely new trains for the attraction. Much of the DLP community would also like to see a return to a more retro-futuristic / Jules Verne theme similar to that of De la Terre à la Lune, instead of Space Mountain: Mission 2’s more modern edge-of-the-galaxy theme.
UPDATE: After the maintenance on Space Mountain: Mission 2, the smoke effect upon the cannon firing at launch is now in operation again.
Attractions at Disneyland Paris usually close for a week for general maintenance.
