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Matterhorn to celebrate golden anniversary on Sunday

June 10th, 2009, 5:32 pm · 30 Comments · posted by Eric Carpenter

The home of the Abominable Snowman is about to celebrate the Big Five-O.

matterhorn

The Matterhorn, the iconic mountain of faux snow and speeding bobsleds, celebrates its 50th anniversary Sunday. Disney officials estimate that it has carried more than 258 million guests.

No special ceremony is planned, but we here at AroundDisney figured the milestone shouldn’t slide by without notice. After all, the Matterhorn has helped define the so-called “Happiest Place on Earth” for generations.

The ride, officially known as the Matterhorn Bobsleds, rises 147 feet – the tallest point inside Disneyland – and can be seen from miles around. It’s a 1/100 scale of the actual Matterhorn peak in the Alps at the border of Italy and Switzerland.

The Disney version opened on June 14, 1959 – four years after the park’s grand opening. It opened the same day as the Monorail and the Submarine Voyage, the three new rides marking the park’s first major expansion.

“I grew up riding those bobsleds,” said Charlie Thomas, 48, who brought his two grandsons to the park on a recent day. “I had no idea how old it was. It’s just part of Orange County. Like it has always been here.”

Thomas said in an area where shopping malls, restaurants and other “landmarks” are so often bulldozed and redeveloped, it’s great to see the Matterhorn remain all these years.

“I remember as a kid, even on a hot day, somehow it felt like we were visiting Switzerland every time we got into line at the Matterhorn,” he said. “As the ride inched up, it felt like we were climbing a peak – and I couldn’t wait to spot the snowman.”

Four-passenger sleds climb eight stories inside the mountain before plunging past waterfalls and glaciers before splashing into a lake at the bottom of the mountain.

matterhorn2

Circa 1958, Courtesy Disneyland Resort

Disney officials say the ride contains 500 tons of structural steel and “enough wood to build more than 300 homes.” And it was the first tubular steel track ever constructed worldwide.

Many more modern  roller coasters have come to the park in the meantime, but the Matterhorn remains among the park’s top attractions.

 According to the results of the most recent Zagat Disneyland Insider’s Guide, the Matterhorn tied for fourth in “thrill rating.” (It tied with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and finished behind No. 3 Splash Mountain, No. 2 Indiana Jones Adventure and No. 1 Space Mountain.)

“I could go on it over and over,” said Jeremy Grafton, 9, waiting in line on a recent day.

Did he know it was built 50 years ago?

“No. That’s pretty old,” he said. “But it’s still pretty cool.”

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 30 Comments

  • evennow says:
    June 11, 2009 at 6:17 am

    Disneyland just gets more and more amazing! I wasn’t aware that an inanimate object could “celebrate.” But, it IS the magic kingdom.

    • john hough says:
      June 14, 2009 at 8:42 am

      the effiel tower, the tower of london, london bridge, the monuments in washington d.c, etc, the list goes on and on even the vatican has a birthdate, why shouldm’t the special structures at Disneyland…it marks our history, and besides history buffs like writing this stuff down and remembering…who knows what was there before it was a mountain??? it was a mound with picknic tables before Mr.Disney got facinated with the Matterhorn while making a movie in Switz alps…true fact

  • afan says:
    June 11, 2009 at 7:41 am

    Does anyone remember when people would climb the outside wearing lederhosen?

    • itsme says:
      June 11, 2009 at 9:18 am

      I do! I remember the first time I saw it. My dad told me that they were cleaning the side of the mountain, and I believed him.

    • London says:
      June 11, 2009 at 3:40 pm

      I do… it was awesome! i also got to see mickey and goofy climb the mountain… one of the few times they ever did! it was awesome!

    • shanice says:
      June 13, 2009 at 11:19 pm

      Yep, and it was very interesting to see!!

    • john hough says:
      June 14, 2009 at 8:45 am

      yes and that 2years ago the disney charecters actually climbed it durning the day and put on a show while climbing it? Mickey then would plant a flag at the top and wave to everybody on the ground..while causing traffic problems on harbor blvd because motorist would be staring at the mountain from the 5overpass to see what was going on in the park and the mountain…funy stuff

    • Norman Blansett says:
      June 14, 2009 at 5:56 pm

      Yes, I do. I also remember Tinker Belle would slide across the park on a cable suspended from the Matterhorn

  • carnivore says:
    June 11, 2009 at 7:46 am

    Though I was a big chicken as a little kid and wouldn’t go anywhere near the Matterhorn, when I got to high school, I rode for the first time and realized what I’d been missing all those years. Love the Matterhorn … here’s to 50 more years!!

  • Matt in HB says:
    June 11, 2009 at 8:14 am

    Reply to afan: If you look on a nice summer day, you’ll still see climbers in lederhosen assending the Matterhorn. It looks like a ton of fun. I’d like that job.

  • Olivas Salone says:
    June 11, 2009 at 8:21 am

    I remember when I was kid, back before they built all the houses, I could get on the roof of our house in Yorba Linda and see the Matterhorn. We’d get up there on the 4th of July and watch the Disney Fireworks. I guess it was as close to heaven as a kid could get. Thanks Walt

  • Pinky22 says:
    June 11, 2009 at 8:59 am

    Happy 50th to the Matterhorn! It is still my favorite ride even after all the new ones.

    • London says:
      June 11, 2009 at 3:41 pm

      same here, my siblings and i ride that ride over and over no matter how long the wait! and we still scream when the snowman growls. haha

  • Chanclas says:
    June 11, 2009 at 9:07 am

    I left a momento on one of the Matterhorn cars once, i sharted in my pants when i saw the snowman, i felt bad for the people who rode in after

    • itsme says:
      June 11, 2009 at 9:21 am

      That’s just wrong!!

    • john hough says:
      June 14, 2009 at 8:50 am

      got you beat…on grad nite 1971 friends(not me) thru ladies gym clothes onto the snow monster which was easier to get to back then, and one friend threw up on the first turn hitting the cave entrance as they sped past…years later when i ride i look for a yellow stain on the right side of the cave wall…and the last time i was on there I swear i can still see the remmnants of a stain on that wall…hey does anybody know where the hidden mickey is on the matterhorn…let me know..I still look for it…

  • HanksNews says:
    June 13, 2009 at 3:46 pm

    It was always the best “E Ticket” ride there……what a rush and the getting wet at the last turn was also fun……the line to get on wasn’t…….Happy.50 years, !

  • mac says:
    June 13, 2009 at 6:51 pm

    Remember the skyway gondola things they had? You used to be able to get in them and go all the way over to the other side of the park. Why did they take that down?

    • Stop Overspendig says:
      June 13, 2009 at 7:03 pm

      http://www.yesterland.com/skyway.html
      http://www.yesterland.com/skywayfant.html

      On November 9, 1994, the ride closed permanently. Workers removed towers and cables soon after.

      It’s hard to believe that “demand for the ride” had really fallen off, considering that the Skyway consistently had a line at both stations, even on Disneyland’s lightest days. Perhaps the total guest was down, but only because of reduced staffing at the stations.

      The other explanation is the real reason: Disney management kept operating costs under control by closing older attractions whenever new attractions opened. It wasn’t a matter of needing the specific cast members from the Skyway to operate Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. It was a matter of keeping overall attraction labor costs from growing, even if it meant eliminating popular attractions and limiting guest capacity.

    • shanice says:
      June 13, 2009 at 11:20 pm

      The sky ride was alot of fun. But after a while it became to much of an insurance risk. Not too mention people started throwing and dropping things onto the people below.

  • Shutter_Bug says:
    June 13, 2009 at 9:00 pm

    Mac - It was somtime in the early 1990s, that they came down, due to someone’s suicide jump. Hope this helps.

    • john hough says:
      June 14, 2009 at 9:03 am

      wasn’t a suicide jump..according to the books inside disneyland and mousears the skyway was taken down due to safety issues with the guests, people opening doors while swinging over tomorrowland, spitting and throwing stuff to people below and a kinds of stupid behavior…the guests always caused security and safety issue on that attraction…finally disney lawyers and the state told them that insurance and potiential lawsuits and deaths would threaten the ride, and it did..one guy jumped out and landed in the palm trees near the monorail station so finally after alot of incidents..it was closed…so to for the people mover and others all this stuff is in “mousears” and other books written about the park by people who worked there and witnessed it….sad but interesting reading..

  • Robert says:
    June 13, 2009 at 9:38 pm

    Yes, I remember the climbers in lederhosen on the Matterhorn

    “E Ticket” the most cherished! What did you do with those “A & B” tickets?

    The skyway gondola was the best way to move from one side to the other in the park. At night, it was also a quite place to be with a date!

    Does anyone remember Tinker Bell slide down from the top of the Matterhorn just before the start of the fireworks?

    • shanice says:
      June 13, 2009 at 11:22 pm

      I remember Tinkerbell. It was a quick swoosh when she came down, but neat to see. Wasn’t the matterhorn taller at one time and they had to chop some of the top off for flying purposes?

    • john hough says:
      June 14, 2009 at 8:58 am

      she does more than slide down now…she flips and whirls and does alot more…when is the last time you were there? and oh by the way she is in the middle of the show now..like part of it..has a new wardrobe and has been given a grand make over..sounds like someone needs to take a trip to see whats new…

    • maryjanedoe says:
      June 15, 2009 at 10:05 am

      Wow, E-Tickets! That brings back memories. Did you ever get Golden Key tickets? There was an older guy that lived in our neighborhood who was an artistic painter for Disneyland. I used to help him and his wife out around the house with small chores. He would give books full of Goden Key tickets. They were good for any ride A-E. Man, That was the best!!

  • john hough says:
    June 14, 2009 at 8:55 am

    I will be going to orlando for my 60th b-day as I watched them build it when I was in high school and have always wanted to see the enormous complex the florida,,,but anahiem will always be the best not just because it was the first but because it has that backyard feeling to it…it feels safe and cozy among the urban sprawl…yes florida maybe big and all that but the anaheim park has a extra special feel to it that florida could never have..to me its like and oversized kockoff of the original…

  • disney ap says:
    June 14, 2009 at 10:43 am

    …go check out nighttastic…tinkerbell still comes down…but for summer only…she’s joined by a certain circus pachyderm…

  • Scott Mills says:
    June 19, 2009 at 1:47 pm

    I wonder why doesn’t Disney put any funding into upgrading the snowman inside the mountain to celebrate golden anniversary? I have notice that the past several times that I have visited that the snowman does not even move like it used to years ago and they now just place a strobe light on it to fools us instead of spending money to create a new effect of even fix it???…Sad really!!!….Someone is a SCROOGE McDuck at DISNEYLAND!