Pirates Meet, before the changes!

[SzczerbiakManiac]

For Space Mountain, the term "leg room" has more than one meaning.

The "nose cone" on row one appears to have more space (I have not measured the cubic feet, so I cant say for sure) because there is no seat in front of it. However, the fact that the floor slopes upward means one's knees must ride higher. In addition to this, there is the padded "lip" on the upper part of the nose cone. Even if the floor of the nose cone didn't rise up, the lip has the net effect of reducing the vertical space in which one can put one's legs.

So the overall effect is that if you have short legs (especially from ankle to knee), row one may indeed afford you more room to stretch your legs forward. However, if you have long legs, rows two and three are probably a better choice because they afford more vertical knee clearance.

And yes, I have ridden Space Mountain many times in the past where I had my legs restrained under two different lap bars. Believe me, I'm not going anywhere! That said, I don't fault the CMs for enforcing the safety regulations given to them. It's a crappy situation for me, but until the day comes when I decide to get special permission to ride the attraction, I'll just live with it.