Rides go down, it is just a way of life. Some people take it in stride, and others run to complain about the downtime or inconvenience.

On my most recent trip to the Disneyland Resort, I was able to ride Space Mountain with and without the lights on.  I have seen the lights on at Space Mountain at the Walt Disney World Resort while riding the Tomorrowland Transit Authority.  The ride is very compact and tight inside the mountain to accommodate both tracks and all the twists and turns.  I have never seen the attraction with its lights on at Disneyland.

Space Mountain was our longest wait of the day at about 80 minutes, so needless to say, when we were strapped into the attraction – relief washed over us. Towards the end of the ride, we were quickly brought to a halt and a few seconds later, the lights turned on.  I laughed.  Announcements were made from cast members about how we were going to be returned to the station momentarily.

Having worked on many attractions before, I have been a part of restarting rides when they go down.  Never have I had to do what these cast members had to do on Space Mountain at Disneyland.

Several cast members were walking the track of the attraction, and they eventually reached our vehicle. The male cast member told us that he was going to push us into the station.  He literally held the side of our vehicle, pushed and ran with it until it had enough momentum to get back to the station.  We rode the rest of the attraction with his push and the lights on.  Having never had this problem before at either Disneyland or Walt Disney World, I did not know that this push was the way to get us back moving.

We were allowed to ride the attraction again – this time with the lights off.  Cast members at Unload asked us if we wanted to ride again. The second ride went off without a hitch.  I left with some pictures of being stuck on the ride and this story to keep with me.

Have you ever rode Space Mountain with the lights on? Let us know in the comments!