Scale and story

Space Mountain is cool.  

It’s massive. It’s dead center as you look down Tomorrowland’s midway. It’s bright white. It’s nearly impossible to miss.

All of these things give you clues about this attraction’s importance in the park. And, just as importantly, all of these things set the stage for Space Mountain’s story and suggest to you what the experience of riding Space Mountain might be like.

But while the exterior of Space Mountain can change how you feel about the ride itself, other attractions also possess the power to change how you feel about Space Mountain.

Image: Disney

The Tomorrowland Transit Authority — a classic minor attraction — serves a lot of purposes, but one of the biggest is creating hype and anticipation for Space Mountain. The TTA travels inside Space Mountain itself, offering a kind of preview and showcasing just how action-packed the attraction is. 

In a park with only E-Ticket rides, each ride would have to stand on its own and compete with the others. The benefit of minor rides is that you can create a ride that helps increase enjoyment of other rides, either by providing a contrasting experience or by heightening that attraction’s thrills.

Theme parks have pacing too

The most important reason we have non-E-Ticket attractions, however, is pace.  

Think about it like this: Sometimes, when you get home, you’re really interested in watching that new Netflix documentary your friends told you about. But, once you’ve watched it, you probably don’t want to sit down and watch another heavy feature right away, right? Maybe you go read a book, or do some chores, or listen to music. 

Theme parks are designed in a similar fashion. Sometimes, when your brain is finished with an exerting task, it just wants something new to keep it feeling fresh. After you get off of Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, you’re probably not itching to immediately go on The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, right? You want to experience Ollivander’s or ride the Hogwarts Express — both perfect examples of D-Ticket attractions.

If we only ever experience the highest of highs, then eventually, all those highs start to seem the same. And that, ultimately, is the entire point.

The minor attractions are fun, yes — but they serve a greater purpose than just pleasure. They provide the background from which the E-Ticket attractions can stand out.