Space Mountain is an outer space-themed, indoor roller coaster in Tomorrowland located at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom theme park in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. The dark ride, which opened on January 15, 1975, is the original version of the iconic attraction that has since been replicated at other Disney theme park locations worldwide, with the exception of Shanghai Disneyland Resort. Space Mountain is also the oldest operating roller coaster in the state of Florida. RCA helped fund construction and sponsored the ride from 1975 to 1993. FedEx assumed sponsorship from 1994 to 2004.
Walt Disney originally conceived the idea of a space-themed roller coaster for Disneyland following the success of Matterhorn Bobsleds in 1959. However, technological limitations and planning for Walt Disney World led to the project's postponement in the late 1960s. After the early success of Magic Kingdom in the early 1970s, Disney began planning its first thrill ride at the new theme park. After determining that a duplicate of Disneyland's Matterhorn was not feasible, Disney opted instead to re-visit the Space Mountain concept following advances in technology that made the project more feasible.
Space Mountain has undergone a number of changes since its opening, including new ride trains in 1989 and 2009, as well as incremental upgrades to incorporate modern roller coaster technology. It has also seen a number of cosmetic renovations to its entry, queue, and post-show elements, many of which were necessitated by changes in its corporate sponsorship over the years.