Out of this World (Gallery-Wrapped Canvas)

When Walt saw how popular the Matterhorn Bobsleds were in Disneyland, he realized maybe thrill rides had a place in his park after all. He soon thought up the idea of a space-themed roller coaster, and in 1964, he approached Imagineer John Hench with the concept. It would be the focal point of a renovated Tomorrowland–a dark roller coaster called “Space Port”. 

Technological limitations of the time and the distraction of creating Walt Disney World, along with, of course, the loss of Walt in 1966, led to the Space Port project’s being set aside in the late 60s–but like they say, no good idea ever goes away at Disney. With the success of Magic Kingdom when it opened in the early 1970s, and especially its surprising popularity with young people, the company began planning for the park’s first thrill ride. Duplicating Disneyland’s Matterhorn Bobsleds wasn’t feasible in the available space, so they instead revisited an old idea, the Space Port, at that point already being referred to by a new moniker: Space Mountain.

Almost 50 years later, Space Mountain is Florida’s oldest operating roller coaster and remains an incredibly popular attraction with some of the longest wait times in the park. The silhouette is synonymous with Tomorrowland and not only did California’s Disneyland finally get its version of the attraction–Disneyland Paris, Tokyo Disneyland, and Hong Kong Disneyland did too. It’s funny–because it’s a fairly simple coaster. There are no loops, and at 27 miles per hour it’s not breaking any records for speed. Instead, it’s the story, perhaps the nostalgia, and the thrill of your imagination in the dark, not knowing what’s coming next, that makes it what it is. Disney brought in an actual astronaut, Gordon Cooper, commander of Mercury 9 and Gemini 5, to consult on the project and ensure its authenticity, and, to this day, it shows.

Here we have just the clean lines and spire through the trees at a distance. But you know what’s inside and all of the memories that you have there.

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Details:

• Canvas frames are made of FSC® certified wood or, when not available, PEFC or equivalent.
• 1.6 inch (4 cm) thick frame
• Shipped in protective packaging and strong boxes to ensure no damage during transportation.
• Mounting kit included.