Disneyland Completely Changed Their Two Top Roller Coasters For This Bizarre Promotion You Never Heard About

While there are plenty of interesting moments in Disneyland's past that were completely unplanned, there were others that came out of some very intentional—although bizarre—promotions.

In our discussion of the craziest moments in Disneyland's history, we talk about some promotions that we look back on today as a bit ill-fitting with the theme of the parks, like Disney California Adventure's X Games Xperience a few years after the park's opening or the State Fair in the 1980s.

There was one particularly bizarre Disneyland promotion in the 2000s that involved an overlay of two very popular rides. You may have completely forgotten about this interesting moment in the parks' history. Details below…

Bizarre Disneyland Promotion From the 2000s

READ MORE – This Disney California Adventure Restaurant Just Got Bumped Off Our Best Restaurants List

For Grad Nite in 2006, Disney experimented with the idea of a rock-inspired overlay of the popular roller coaster Space Mountain that was called “Rock-It Mountain.”

Shortly after, the “Rockin' Both Parks” promotion was announced for 2007, which would introduce rock-inspired overlays to Space Mountain in Disneyland Park and California Screamin' (now the Incredicoaster) in Disney California Adventure.

For the promotion, the Red Hot Chili Peppers would provide soundtracks to turn the two rides into “Rockin' Space Mountain” and “Rockin' California Screamin'.” Their cover of “Higher Ground” would be featured for Space Mountain and “Around the World” for California Screamin'.

A 2006 report by the LAist quotes Disneyland's description stating that “rock fans’ dreams will come true as Rockin’ Both Parks provides new special effects and soundtracks specifically remixed to heighten every twist, turn, rise and drop of each thrilling attraction.”

For the overlay of Space Mountain, there would be “new technology that features illuminated dancing rock fans, [and] more than 200 lights brightening the track.” The new lighting, projections, and Red Hot Chili Peppers soundtrack were meant to make you feel as if you were flying through the middle of a rock concert. The main change in Rockin' California Screamin' was the new soundtrack (you can see a video of the ride experience on YouTube from Theme Park Overload here).

Experiencing Rockin' Space Mountain as a kid in 2007, I remember feeling quite disconcerted by the change, and little eight-year-old me was very worried that it was permanent. I was pretty upset about them messing with Space Mountain! While the overlay for California Screamin' felt like less of a stretch, the inclusion of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Space Mountain felt very out of place with the theming of Tomorrowland. There was a dissonance there that I could not quite get on board with.

A 2007 park update by MousePlanet described the changes to Space Mountain and how “new lighting effects and projections will turn the interior of the mountain into something of a discotheque.” They mentioned how many of the annual passholders “are not happy at having it changed (even if just temporarily) just 18 months after getting it back in completely restored condition in summer 2005.”

(For context, the ride had been closed for an extended refurbishment in 2003, reopening in 2005 before this temporary overlay debuted in early 2007).

Even though the overlay was not well received by some visitors like myself, many look back very fondly on Rockin' Space Mountain. In a YouTube video of the ride shared by WDW News Today, there are several comments reminiscing about this version of the ride. Commenter @h1dd3n56 said, “Literally the most random combination ever: Red Hot Chili Peppers, and rocketing through space, but it worked.”

Commenter @AnaBaez96 chimed in with, “More than 10 years later, I still think about this version of the ride. It was truly the best one.”

READ MORE – 10 Rookie Mistakes to Avoid When Booking Hotels for Disneyland

The overlays were quite popular while they were running, according to a March 2007 report by the Glendale News-Press. They describe how “now Space Mountain and California Screamin’ are both the big attractions for crowds with standby wait times of up to 90 minutes and Disney’s Fast Pass service completely booked by 1 p.m.”

Since Rockin' Space Mountain, there have been a couple of other overlays for Space Mountain over the years, including the Halloween “Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy” that ran from 2009 to 2018, and the Star Wars-themed “Hyperspace Mountain,” which was first introduced in 2015 for the Season of the Force celebration and returns seasonally. As for California Screamin', “Rockin' California Screamin'” was the roller coaster's only overlay before it was officially rethemed to the Incredicoaster during the reimagining of Paradise Pier into Pixar Pier in 2018.

While Rockin' Both Parks only ran for a few months from January to April 2007, it's safe to say it made a lasting impression on visitors. Do you remember these Red Hot Chili Peppers overlays?

Read More Disney Planning Advice!

For more information about the parks and the best planning information for your Disney trip, subscribe to our FREE Deals newsletter. We’ll provide you with helpful guides, all of the latest news, exclusive Disney deals, and access to the lowest-priced Disney tickets anywhere.