Nipper is a character found in Space Mountain.
History[]
Development History[]
"Nipper" (1884-1895) is the name of a dog which was featured in the 1888 portrait "His Master's Voice" by Francis Barraud. The painting showed Nipper the dog listening to a 19th-century gramophone, inferred to be playing the voice of Nipper's owner. The portrait would come to be used as a logo for recording companies, notably RCA Records.
When Space Mountain first opened in 1975, the attraction was sponsored by RCA and contained hefty allusions to the record-company. Notably among them was an Audio-Animatronic of Nipper which appeared inside of a slowly rotating flying-saucer near the entrance to the attraction. Within the dome of the saucer, Nipper was seen staring into his iconic gramophone which played and instrumental of the song, "Here's to the Future".
By 1994, RCA would discontinue its sponsorship of the attraction with the sponsorship being taken up by FedEx. For obvious reasons, Nipper's audio-animatronic was removed from the ride's entrance and changed to a robot-dog by removing its outer mold, exposing its super-structure and AA mechanisms. Nipper would be placed at the feet of a robotic tourist in Space Mountain's exit-ramp, holding a camera and implied to be the robot's pet. In 2009, the robot version of Nipper would be relocated once again in a refurbished exit-ramp leading to the Tomorrowland Light & Power gift-shop. The dog would be placed in a new vignette, themed around one of Space Mountain's tourism destinations.
Appearances[]
Space Mountain[]
1975-1994[]
Nipper was originally portrayed as a live, organic dog which appeared at the ride's interior entrance. He sat in a roaring flying saucer while recreating the logo for RCA as, "Here's to the Future" played.
1994-2009[]
Nipper would now be characterized as a robot dog. He appeared at the exit-ramp for the attraction alongside a robotic tourist holding up a camera.
2009-Present[]
In the present version of the attraction, Nipper is seen in a diorama advertising the tourism locale of, "Crater Caverns". The caverns are shown as an exo-planet camping destination with Nipper sitting nearby a futuristic tent.
Gallery[]
