|
) (June 14, 1959—Present) BACKSTORY: Originally a dirt mound created from what was removed to make the moat around Sleeping Beauty Castle. First named Holiday Hill and then Lookout Mountain, Park Operations staff continually had to keep a look out due to its unofficial status as “Lover’s Lane.” The Matterhorn was conceived by Disney when visiting Switzerland during filming of “Third Man on the Mountain.” Born out of the desire to hide the unsightly Skyway pylon, the Matterhorn was one of six new major attractions for Tomorrowland in 1959 (however, it has always been designated a Fantasyland attraction). Walt was discouraged by Joe Fowler when he wanted to “make some snow and have a toboggan ride.” Difficulties in creating the snow and drainage were circumvented by using steel, wood, plaster, and paint.
At 147' high, it is a 1/100th replica of its Swiss namesake and the tallest structure inside Disneyland. It is recognized as the first tubular steel roller coaster in the world, and was built by coaster builder Arrow Dynamics and WED Imagineering.In 1978, the Matterhorn received a major refurbishment: Audio-Animatronic Yeti (or Abominable Snowmen, which have been nicknamed Harold); an ice crystal cavern at the top of the lift hill; an icy, crystal blue look given to the caves at the beginning of the downhill run; a complete change of the bobsleds (instead of being 1 car, 2 cars were now joined, which basically doubled the attraction's capacity). With the closure of the Skyway in 1994, the holes through which the Skyway buckets would travel were filled in. In addition to general maintenance, it was to replace the old wooden frame of the mountain with a steel frame. The Wells Expedition Camp was added inside the attraction as well; it is a tribute to Frank Wells, Walt Disney Company President, who climbed the highest peaks on six out of seven continents before he died in a 1994 helicopter crash. Most photos available for purchase as enlargements; email your request. To view photos, allow popups in your web browser & click thumbnails below. |
Great Gift For The Vintage Disneyland Fan! |
) ) Take a trip back in time to Disneyland almost 50 years ago and pose just like the guests in the vintage shot on the right—and it’s so simple!>>Use the convenient drop-down Paypal menu below to pick between traditional Black & White or glowing Color 5x7 and whether you want 1-, 2-, 3-, or 4- prints (the more you buy, the more you save!). >>Email me up to 4 photos of the people you’d like to see in the Matterhorn cutout and the date you’d like on the sign. Photos that work best are clearly focused straight-on shots from the neck up. If you have less than 4 people, no problem! A vintage cartoon face (see photo on the right) will be substituted for the empty spaces. Ta-da! Your souvenir Matterhorn photo should be on its way in about a week, shipped Priority Mail. Now wasn’t that easy? |
Matterhorn, 1950’s |
Jim Crarey remembers…June 1959 |
) “Dick Erb and I were climbing at Tahquitz Rock late spring of 1959, and both 15 at the time. Chuck Wilks, the Sierra Club member who was hired by Disney to place the “pitons” in the side of the mountain, was climbing that morning too. He asked if we wanted a summer job on the Matterhorn. Well duh...”
“ The next issue to overcome was doing it. Our soon to be boss, Chuck Corson, told us “Boys, if you can climb it, the job is yours.” On a warm June afternoon, Dick and I reconnoitered for a route. We climbed over the fence erected to keep all out and were about 20' off the ground when accosted by the Disneyland police. We found out that no one told them what we were doing and that we were supposed to take the ride’s elevator to the inside platform and begin from there. Nice start to a summer job...” “The purpose for us was to provide something to see for the folks waiting hours in line for the ride (sometimes the sign read 4 hours from this point). So 9 times a day, 6 days a week, all summer long and on the weekends between summer 1959 and summer 1960, we climbed the Matterhorn. Dick quit before the 1960 summer and was replaced by Jeff Winslow. I worked that summer and then retired too.” “The only things I can remember of interest that I can put in print are the 4 hours hanging by rope waiting to repel for Nikita Khrushchev and a time I sprained my ankle and was carried to the infirmary by the Chip and Dale characters.” In the photo at left from August 3, 1959, Jim is the climber at the top of the photo. |
Matterhorn, 1960 |
Matterhorn, 1961—1963 |
Matterhorn, 1964—1966 |
Matterhorn, 1967—1969 |
Matterhorn, 1960’s |
) 1960’s |
) Tomorrowland Ticket Booth, 1960’s |
) 1960’s |
) Undated |
) Undated |
1960’s |
1960’s |
) 1960’s |
) Undated |
) Undated |
) Undated |
) 1959/1960 |
) 1959/1960 |
) 1959/1960 |
) 1960’s |
) 1960’s |
) Panavue slide |
) Panavue slide |
) Panavue slide |
Matterhorn, 1970’s–1980’s |
Dave C remembers…August, 1962 |
| When I was five, my family visited my relatives in Southern California and we went to Disneyland.We went on quite a few attractions as I recall—the Tea Cups, the Skyway, the Submarine Ride, and of course the Matterhorn Bobsleds, one of the few “thrill” attractions in the park at that time. Being five, I was a bit apprehensive about riding the Matterhorn—it looked so huge to me—but my Aunt Nadine, who tended to be a bit strict, scolded me for being afraid. I was with my Mom on the ride and Aunt Nadine and some other family members were behind us in the bobsled. I really enjoyed it, but my Mom was terrified and screamed VERY loudly throughout the ride. When it ended, my Aunt made a (not-too-nice) comment about how much noise I had made, and she was very surprised to learn that it was my Mom, and not me, who had been screaming. My Mom actually lost her voice and couldn’t talk for almost three days! All in all, it was a very fun and memorable first time at Disneyland… MANY THANKS TO DAVE C. FOR SHARING HIS MEMORIES & PHOTOS WITH DAVELAND! |
) Matterhorn, Aug. 1962 |
) Midget Autopia, Aug. 1962 |
) Monstro of Storybook, Aug. 1962 |
) Fantasyland, Aug. 1962 |
) Big Bad Wolf and Pigs, Aug. 1962 |
) Skyway, Aug. 1962 |
) Skull Rock, Aug. 1962 |
The Abominable Snowman |
) Alain Littaye from Disney and More was able to give some answers as to the origin of the Abominable Snowman on the Matterhorn:A looong time ago, guests could watch two not-so-threatening but massive audio-animatronics gorillas standing and observing you, from the banks of the “rivers of Africa” of the Jungle Cruise. And then one day, the gorillas disappeared. 1977-78, was a time for a major refurbishment of the Jungle Cruise and legendary imagineer Mark Davis worked on its upgrade—which was after WDW had opened with their improved show. Part of Mark’s new show for Disneyland included the Gorilla Camp with the tents, overturned jeep, and the family of gorillas unpacking and turning the camp inside out. That's when these older previous tenant Gorillas vacated the Disneyland Jungle Cruise. But as they say at WDI, "good ideas never die.” Reemploying animation figures is common at Walt Disney imagineering; some of the AA’s from Nature’s Wonderland are now part of Big Thunder, and almost all America Sings audio-animatronics are in Splash Mountain. Approximately at the same time, in 1978, the imagineers were also working on another major refurbishment of another Disneyland attraction: the Matterhorn. New Bobsleds were being added along with new track, and better brakes for the splash down. It was also decided to put some show in the interior, mostly for the Skyway buckets that passed through the Matterhorn more slowly. The Bobsleds could see the new icy interiors and crystals as well as what is now a very famous Disneyland figure: the abominable snowman. Steve Kirk, imagineer extraordinaire who became the show producer-in-chief for Tokyo Disney Sea worked on the design of the three “abominable snowmen” in the attraction. The design of these Snow Men was based on Steve’s artwork (the one above) which was a composite of several different contemporary depictions and his own warped imagination. Sculptor Blaine Gibson sculpted the snowman mask, and the imagineering team with legend and Matterhorn creator Fred Joerger added the interior with the new Ice Crystals. You've probably already guessed the end of the story: yes, the old Jungle Cruise audio-animatronic gorilla put on a new suit in 1978, and is now living a second life in the role of the Matterhorn’s abominable snowman. Transforming ex-gorillas into Snow Men had to have been purely for economic reasons and probably dictated the proportions of the final generation of the simian snow men. As there are three Abominable snow men in the ride, i couldn't tell you which ones exactly are the former Jungle Cruise gorillas, but next time you ride the Matterhorn bobsleds and see the abominable snow man, have a little thought for these old Jungle Cruise gorillas, who were some of the first Disneyland audio-animatronics. I’m sure they will be sensitive to this attention, and watch out for that third abominable snowman as he may be the real one. Some of the pictures are from Jason Surrell’s fantastic book “The Disney Mountains,” available at Amazon.com  . |
Matterhorn, 2000+ |
Behind-The-Scenes @ The Matterhorn |
| The following photos are some really stunning views of the Matterhorn interior, showing sights and views that guests normally do not get to see. Many have heard about the basketball court near the top of the mountain, but few have actually seen it. Feast your eyes below! |
) Matterhorn Basketball Court, 2008 |
) 2008 |
) 2008 |
) 2008 |
) 2008 |
) 2008 |
) 2008 |
) 2008 |
) 2008 |
) 2008 |
) 2008 |
| ^return to top |
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)