Matterhorn Bobsleds Articles

During the planning phase Disneyland legend Frank Georgia made many models to get the mountains shape correct from all perspectives. Here's a shot of one of those models.

After the opening of the Disneyland Skyway in 1956, Walt Disney conceived the idea of a toboggan ride on a mountain with real snow but the logistics caused vehement objections by Disneyland construction chief Joe Fowler. In this period the hill began to be known as Snow Hill. By now instead of picnicking, the hill had come to be used primarily as a nighttime lovers lane' much to Disney's dismay.New wild mouse-style roller coasters got the attention of Disneyland executives who began to consider applying this emerging technology to the creation of a toboggan-themed coaster ride on an artificial mountain at the site.

Like dozens of other Disneyland attractions the mountain was inspired by Disney movies a 1955 documentary called Switzerland and a 1958 feature called Third Man On The Mountain in addition Walt Disney had already made several trips to the actual Matterhorn and had been enchanted by it. So when they idea for a snow-capped hill with a toboggan ride occurred to him in late 1956 by 1957 that idea had evolved into a taller snowcap mountain with a roller coaster ride and by late 1958 it had grown into the majestic Matterhorn with its revolutionary Matterhorn bobsleds.

The name evolved right along with the plan. What began as Snow Hill became Snow Mountain then Mount Disneyland,Disneyland Mountain, Sorcerer's Mountain, Magic Mountain, Fantasy Mountain, Echo Mountain, The Valter Horn adapting Walt's name and finally Matterhorn Mountain.During the construction of the park dirt from the excavation of Sleeping Beauty's castle moat was piled in an area between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland.

When the park open the area was dubbed Holiday Hill and later Lookout Mountain was improved with benches and pathways to encourage it to be used as a picnic area.Holiday Hill was 20 foot tall bump straddling the Fantasyland Tomorrowland border As it grew the construction project gobbled up over 2000 steel girders for the frame with no two girders identical in size and shape four acres of cement smoothed by hand covered with construction light gray skin with 2500 gallons of white resin adding permanent snow to the upper half.

The location makes the European mountain clearly visible from the all-American Main Street a potential jarring site that bothered some designers, but not Walt Disney the location always places the mountain in the middle of lots of park traffic.Not including the bobsleds five other kinds of vehicles have passed close by over the years the Motor Boat Cruise, Fantasyland Autopia, Submarine Voyage, Alice in Wonderland caterpillar cars and the looping Monorail. Additionally the old Skyway trams actually passed through not around the mountain.

The finished mountain it's landscaped grounds and it's Alpine theme queue area created a circular park footprint of about 1 and 1/2 acres the mountain stands precisely 147 ft tall which is 1/100 the height of the actual real Matterhorn.Not only is it still the tallest structure in Disneyland for a while the Matterhorn was the tallest structure in the county until a building boom in the 1960s built up the surrounding skyline. Forced perspective the same movie making technique that makes Sleeping Beauty Castle look taller than it really is also makes the Matterhorn seem to stretch higher than it really does. Here the trick is in the trees which get gradually smaller the farther up the mountain they grow.For many guests arriving via the Santa Ana freeway their first view of Disneyland has often been a quick glimpse of the Matterhorn. The memorable Mountain has been a Disneyland icon since 1959. Nowadays guests appreciate the fun and aesthetics of the thrilling Matterhorn ride, but few people realize how innovative this attraction was when it debuted in 1959. Before then all roller coaster type rides placed long trains on wooden tracks with wide curves.

In contrast the bobsleds of the Disneyland first true thrill ride used small sleek vehicles. Not on wooden tracks but on hollow metal tubes that made the ride both quieter and smoother. On the day of the bobsleds debuted Walt Disney his family and vice president Richard Nixon took the first ride.It was wilder too since the metal tubes can be bent easily. The ride had tighter curves furthermore the imagineers place more than one bobsled at a time on a track an important strategy for cutting down wait times.When the single bobsleds were later doubled up into pairs the Swiss costumed cast members could fill them with over 1500 guests per hour. Disney Legend Bob Gurr is credited as the main designer of the little two-toned bobsleds. The bobsleds run on two tracks that climb through the inside of the Matterhorn to a point about two thirds of the way up they then glide down quickly around and through the mountain for total distance of about 2100 ft.During the two and a quarter minute trip the sleds on both tracks travel at an average speed of barely 20 miles per hour the speed certainly seems faster though and riders can grab quick glimpses of the spectacular scenery.

One of the special touches that has made the trip distinctive is its climax a sudden splashy swoop through a glacial lake. No other ride had an effect like this in the late 1950s the splashdown not only creates a great visual effect for riders and pedestrians, but also decelerates the speeding sleds. Before the lake was in place test rides culminated in sandbags and bales of hay. The mountain has many unique features for one thing its placement between two lands has meant that Disneyland souvenir books have listed it first in Tomorrowland for its first nine years and then in Fantasyland. The Matterhorn cost $1.5 million (in 2022 dollars it would cost almost $15 million) to build. The mountain climbers use metal bolts to secure themselves. The bolts were out there originally for the painters, but they followed some incredible routes. In 1978 an Abominable Snowman, named Harold ice caverns and glowing crystals were added. When you start up the computers for the Matterhorn the screen displays a messages which says, "Harold isn't going to like this."

When you first approach the attraction, you may notice the unique station where you wait to board the bobsleds. While the attraction was being designed and built, Walt and his Imagineers wanted guests to be able to enjoy the view of the Matterhorn, similar to how one might view it from its home town of Zermatt. Rising from the roofline is a picturesque tower, inspired by a famous clock tower near the real Matterhorn Mountain.The clock tower is probably the second most famous sight in Zermatt, following the Matterhorn itself, and recreates a familiar scene of Switzerland's famed chalets.Adorning the front of this quaint building are shields representing the cantons, or states, in Switzerland.

The opposite side is adorned with fanciful alpine-style floral cutouts edged in brightly colored paints. The design recalls the colors and motifs found both in traditional Swiss embroidery designs as well as the decorative painted patterns found on some mountain chalets. As you whisk through the Matterhorn on your bobsled, you will pass a hoard of mountaineering supplies and collected treasures from the mountain's past. This scene is full of historical details, including a tribute to the late Frank Wells, who was president and Chief Operating Officer of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 until his death in 1994.

From WED Disneyland Dictionary 1968 Is a 146-foot-high replica of the famous Swiss Mountain. The Matterhorn is Disneyland's tallest land-mark. Mountain climbers scale its steep slopes regularly for the entertainment of guests. Its racing bobsleds are among Disneyland's most popular attractions. The Skyway passes through the "Glacier Grotto" and "Ice Caverns" half way to the top. Tinker Bell begins her flight from its peak every night during the summer season. The bobsleds provide one of the most thrilling adventures in Disneyland with two separate "runs." Four-passenger bobsleds climb to an eight-story height inside the mountain, then race downward on tracks, which wind inside and out, skim past waterfalls and through "Glacier Grotto" providing many flash-by views of Disneyland. Climax of the journey comes as sleds splash into glacier lakes at the bottom of the mountain.

From Steve Birnbaum brings you the best of Disneyland 1982: Opened during the summer of the premiere of Walt Disney's 1959 Third Man on the Mountain, which dramatized an ascent of this mighty Swiss peak, this has to be counted among Disneyland's best true thrill rides. Even locals who have been here many times and who know the park well don't mind standing in line for this one. Like Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Matterhorn Bobsleds ride has a thrill to it as Richard M. Nixon, who dedicated the attraction in 1959 when he was vice-president, can attest. In fact, it was quite a novelty at the time because of its then-unique block system dispatch, which allowed more than one car to be in action at once, and because of its cylinder-rail track and urethane wheels, which have since become quite commonplace among coasters.

Specs: Capacity 1600 per hour -- Capacity per sled 4 -- Cycle Time 4:12 -- Load Time :10 -Unload Time :10 --Trip Time 2:22 -- Dispatch Interval :18 -- Trips per hour 200 -- Disentace Travled A Side 2068 feet B Side 2172 feet -- Speed 10.2 MPH

There is a break room the size of a basketball court located in the top.

Matterhorn is 147 feet tall, exactly 1/100th size replica of the real mountain in Switzerland.

The attraction is based on the Disney film Third Man on the Mountain.

The Matterhorn is made of wood and steel with a plaster coating over a layer of metal mesh.

Required a "E" ticket in 1959

Required a "E" ticket in 1964-1965

From WED Disneyland Dictionary 1968
Is a 146-foot-high replica of the famous Swiss Mountain. The Matterhorn is Disneyland's tallest land-mark. Mountain climbers scale its steep slopes regularly for the entertainment of guests. Its racing bobsleds are among Disneyland's most popular attractions. The Skyway passes through the "Glacier Grotto" and "Ice Caverns" half way to the top. Tinker Bell begins her flight from its peak every night during the summer season. Bobateda provide one of the most thrilling adventures in Disneyland with two separate "runs." Four-passenger bobsleds climb to an eight-story height inside the mountain, then race downward on tracks, which wind inside and out, skim past waterfalls and through "Glacier Grotto" providing many flash-by views of Disneyland. Climax of the journey comes as sleds splash into glacier lakes at the bottom of the mountain.

Required a "E" ticket in 1970's

In 1978 an Abominable Snowman, ice caverns and glowing ice crystals were added.

Matterhorn mountain, started as a 20-foot-high pile of dirt. When construction crews were digging up the Sleeping Beauty Castle moat, they piled the dirt up to the right of the Sleeping Beauty Castle, on the border of Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. Workers leveled off the top, added a few park benches and young trees, and created a sparse picnic area, called "Lookout Mountain." Walt wouldn't leave it just dirt for long. He put one of the Skyway pylons on top and considered tying it into the Alpine theme by calling it Snow Mountain. Then, after a trip to Switzerland, he had a better idea: he wanted his own Matterhorn.

The original bobsleds were single bobsleds the newer ones were two sleds linked together.

The Matterhorn was known during design as Snow Mountain, Mount Disneyland, Disneyland Mountain, Sorcerer's Mountain, Magic Mountain, Fantasy Mountain, Echo Mountain.

When you start up the computers for the Matterhorn the screen displays a messages which says, "Harold isn't going to like this."

The mountain climbers use metal bolts to secure themselves. The bolts were out there originally for the painters, but they followed some incredible routes.

From Steve Birnbaum brings you the best of Disneyland 1982:
Opened during the summer of the premiere of Walt Disney's 1959 Third Man on the Mountain, which dramatized an ascent of this mighty Swiss peak, this has to be counted among Disneyland's best true thrill rides. Even locals who have been here many times and who know the park well don't mind standing in line for this one. Like Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Matterhorn Bobsleds ride has a thrill to it as Richard M. Nixon, who dedicated the attraction in 1959 when he was vice-president, can attest. (In fact, it was quite a novelty at the time because of its then-unique block system dispatch, which allowed more than one car to be in action at once, and because of its cylinder-rail track and urethane wheels, which have since be- come quite commonplace among coasters.) The real allure of the ride is that along with the speed goes a show. You take a long climb into the cold, black innards of the mountain and make a long, speeding, twisting, and turning descent through a cloud of fog and past giant icicles and ice crystals with the wind howling about you all the while-toward a brief encounter with the awesome Abominable Snowman (a sort of albino version of King Kong) and a splashdown in an alpine lake. The speed of the downhill flight from the creature seems even greater than it really is, since much of it takes place inside tunnels. Many first-time visitors shut their eyes very tight. Since the designers studied photographs of the real peak when developing the designs, the mountain itself is a pretty good reproduction of the real one, which Walt saw for the first time in 1958 when traveling through Europe and which gave him the idea for the attraction. It even faces in the proper direction. The mountain's hooked peak is a bit more bent than that of the original in Switzerland, and this Matterhorn is smaller, a hundredth the size of the real McCoy. Like the Sleeping Beauty Castle, it uses forced perspective to make the summit look even loftier than the approximately 147 feet it actually is. Even the trees and the shrubs get in on the act. The ones at the timberline-that is, 65 to 75 feet from the base of the mountain-are far smaller than those at the bottom. In fact, these Atlas and deodar cedar, European white birch, and Chinese tallow trees are one of the most interesting aspects of the attraction. Growing in cement pockets whose small size retards root growth and, accordingly, plant growth above ground, they're watered by a gardener who must walk the attraction's bobsled track to reach them. As for the mountain itself, it was built with some 2,175 pieces of steel (of varying lengths and widths) as its framework. The contours were mold- ed and shaped using a further skeleton of 3/8-inch steel wire topped with a layer of metal mesh and layers of plaster-two of them sprayed on and the third and final one applied with a trowel for maximum verisimilitude.

July 2011. Planning begins for movie based on the Matterhorn.