It has been more than 40 years since he designed one of Disneyland's best attractions, and Bill Watkins can still remember everything it entailed — from finding the right material for the wheels (nylon was too fast, so he had to go with polyurethane) to the math he used for the fastest curves.
Watkins, 87, was the first person to ever go on Space Mountain when it opened at Disneyland in 1977, but he hadn't been on it for 13 years. That changed on Wednesday, when Disneyland opened early so the Long Beach, California, resident and his new friend Kyle King could go on a private journey through space. "This will probably be my last ride," Watkins told The Orange County Register. "I suppose it's goodbye."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
When Watkins and King, who became inspired by Watkins' work after he read about him as a child, arrived at Disneyland, the lights were on inside the normally dark Space Mountain, so Watkins could take a closer look at his design. After hurtling through space for what was supposed to be the last time, the suddenly sentimental Watkins wasn't quite ready to leave yet. "Can we go again?" he asked.
-
Fannie Flagg’s 6 favorite books that sparked her imaginationFeature The author recommends works by Johanna Spyri, John Steinbeck, and more
-
Google: A monopoly past its prime?Feature Google’s antitrust case ends with a slap on the wrist as courts struggle to keep up with the tech industry’s rapid changes
-
Patrick Hemingway: The Hemingway son who tended to his father’s legacyFeature He was comfortable in the shadow of his famous father, Ernest Hemingway
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
