The title of this article may have you confused, an iconic roller coaster and a kid coaster are similar? However, when I found myself trying to describe the forces some new riders might experience on Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom with something they already knew. It turned out the best comparison I could come up with in terms of drop and speed was Air Grover and I was surprised with how similar they really were.

	Air Grover BGT*	Space Mountain
Speed	26 mph	27 mph
Drop	23 Feet	26 feet
Inversions	0	0
Height Requirement	38″	44″
Length	628 feet	3,196 feet
Manufacturer	Zierer	Disney

The length is the obvious difference here. However, if you do five laps in the dark at night on Air Grover, you might just approximate at least the physical forces you might experience on Space Mountain. You’d probably do it with considerably less wait too as Air Grover is usually a walk-on at night while Space Mountain can be 60 minutes or more. 

There are of course differences in audio, queue line, train design, an iconic building, indoor versus outdoor, theming, lighting, etc., but in terms of speed and drops, Air Grover and Space Mountain are more similar than you might think!