When Disneyland opened in 1955 Walt Disney had a problem. When they dug out the Rivers of America, they dumped all the dirt in a big 20 foot pile between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. They used it to support the skyway ride but it didn’t really have any purpose. They called it Holiday Hill and planted nice trees, but Walt never liked it. He wanted to make a wintry theme to it, but couldn’t come up with any ideas. It became known as Magic Mountain, Snow Mountain and the Walterhorn by the imaginers. The Disney family took trips to Europe a lot. Walt really liked Switzerland. He filmed one of his movies called 3rd Man on the Mountain there in 1958. Walt was so inspired by the real Matterhorn in Switzerland that he sent a postcard of it back to California that simply said “Build This.”Walt wanted guests to feel the high speed thrills of bobsledding. Bobsledding is a winter sport made in Switzerland. People get in a big sled a slide down a track made of ice. They play it in the Olympics. Walt wanted a real bobsled ride. He wanted the riders to feel the thrill of speeding and turning down the steep mountains of Switzerland. It would be the first ‘thrill” ride at Disneyland. The Matterhorn originally was planned to have an ice skating rink at the bottom. It cost too much so now there is a small lake there No one had ever made a ride like this before. The imaginers didn’t even know how to start making a mountain or how to make real snow that could be used for the ride. They decided to make a Roller Coaster instead. Artists made original models from clay and toothpicks that they cut up in pieces to help the builders make the mountain. They then took the pieces of clay and made them larger using steel and concrete. They built the Matterhorn from the top down so they wouldn’t mess up stuff they already worked on. There is even a basketball court in the top of the Matterhorn. It is just a half court built for workers to relax in. All over the Matterhorn they planted flowers and plants from Switzerland. As the mountain gets higher, the tress get smaller to make the Matterhorn seem biggerThe Matterhorn is 14 stories tall, about 140 feet high. That is 1/100 the size of the real Matterhorn in Switzerland. 140x100=14,000 feet. That’s really high. The Matterhorn is the most recognized landmark in Orange County. It can be seen from the freeways. They didn’t have computers to build the ride so they had to test it by filling the bobsleds with sandbags. The people at Disney ran out of track near the end so they made a pool of water to stop the bobsled. Sometimes Walt would want to go for a ride even before it was finished. Walt liked the splashdown at the end so much they built it into the ride. The big splash was the most photographed thing at Disneyland.
The Matterhorn has at least four waterfalls. When the ride first opened the tracks went behind the biggest waterfall. They had to close the caves up since people got too wet.
The Matterhorn had many firsts. It was the world’s first themed Roller Coaster. It was the first indoor/outdoor Roller coaster. It was the first Roller Coaster to use rolled steel tracks. The new tracks made the ride fast and smooth, not like the rough wooden Roller Coasters that had been built everywhere else. The bobsleds were held to the tracks using three sets of wheels so it could go around tight turns and amazing sharp drops without falling off the track. No rollercoaster in the world had these. The Imagineers invented a new system called RCS or Ride Control System. It split the track into lots of zones. Each zone had an emergency breaking system. The RCS run in the control tower in the loading area, made sure no bobsleds were in the same zone as another bobsled. This way they could have lots of Bobsleds on the ride at the same time. If a bobsled entered a zone with another sled in it the ride would automatically shut down so everyone would stay safe.
There are no motors in the Matterhorn bobsleds. The bobsleds go down fast from gravity and the weight of the guests. That’s why it’s so quiet, except for people screaming. This also lets the bobsleds go down the mountain in rain or any weather. The Matterhorn was built with two tracks so that guests could race each other down the mountain. The A track is way more fun than the B track, even though they are supposedly the same. It feels like it goes faster and has more turns than the B track.
At first the inside of the Matterhorn wasn’t too exciting. There weren’t too many things to look at. I haven’t actually been on it before 1978, but they say it looked like it did when they were building it with steel and wood, not rocks and ice. The imaginers wanted to make it look
like caves but they ran out of time and money, so they left it unfinished.
People didn’t care, they were excited to ride this wild freaky roller coaster through a mountain. It became the best ride at Disneyland. People would wait hours to ride it, and still do. The Matterhorn was so amazing they made a new ride coupon for it called the E-Ticket. This was before all the rides were free.
When the Matterhorn opened there was a 90 minute TV broadcast on June 15, 1959. The show was called “Kodak presents Disneyland 59” with floats, bands and celebrities. It featured three new additions to the park, the Monrail system, the Submarine Voyage and of course the Matterhorn. Famous world dignitaries (XXXX) the first ride down the mountain with Walt when it opened. Cast members were dressed in costumes made to look like Swiss traditional outfits, they still wear them today. Men from the Sierra Club climbed the mountain. They put a Swiss flag on top when they got there.
They then used climbers everyday until 1979. It’s a real professional climbing wall. Mickey Mouse even climbed sometimes. There are over 40 climbing trails with 15 expert climbs on the mountain. From 1995-2000 people started climbing the Matterhorn again once in a while. In 2005 they had climbers everyday for the Disneyland 50th birthday celebration.
In 1978 Disneyland decided to update and fix the Matterhorn. Lots of neat stuff got added. For one thing, the name changed from “The Matterhorn” to “The Matterhorn Bobsleds” during the improvements in 1978. Also the Matterhorn officially changed locations from Tomorrowland to Fantasyland, even though it didn’t actually move.
The RCS system was updated to run by computer and they got rid of the old control tower. They added a second bobsled to the first to get twice as many riders on and make the lines go faster. The Matterhorn’s new bobsleds were the same cars used in the Florida Disneyworld Space Mountain ride. The Imagineers went back to their first idea and added fake stuff of the frozen kind like Icicles and crystals to the inside so now it all looks like caves.
Most importantly in 1978 they put 3 Abominable Snowmen in the ride. One for each track and one seen from both tracks. The Abominable Snowman to cast members is known as Harold. Harold is the cutest thing ever. He is very furry with white fur. His face is dark blue with red cute glowing eyes and claws. Harold puts more thrills in the ride because he is supposed to scare people. Lots of people scream and Harold’s roar can be heard across the park when its windy.
In 1994 Disneyland removed the skyway ride that went through the middle of the Matterhorn and the hole was closed up. The latest addition to the Matterhorn was the stuff like crates and climbing equipment from the Lost Wells expeditions in the crystal cave. It was made for the President of Disney Frank Wells, who loved mountain climbing and died.
I like the Matterhorn because it was the first with many things of roller coasters and its probably the most unique roller coaster. The Matterhorn set the stage for many more roller coasters to come, including Disney’s Expedition Everest in Florida that has Harold’s cousin, the Yeti.

Very nice bear! I learnd alot from that!

Very well-detailed report, princessbear! Kudos and well done..! :elephant:

CynAnne wrote:Very well-detailed report, princessbear! Kudos and well done..! :elephant:

I agree, very detailed and who knew there was such a history behind this ride!

Hyper

I (XXXX) the matterhorn on my most recent trip to DLR ( May 2008 ) and Unfortunetly, I dont think the Yeti ( but I guess its Harold ) is cute. I am afraid of him at nigh and cover myself until I think its safe. I do this every night! But I love the matterhorn anyway. Thanks for the history!