Photo Credit: Krista | www.ladybugblog.com

It has its own hashtag. It’s one of the few Disneyland attractions that can be seen from the 5 freeway. It was state-of-the-art when it was built. And it was not one of the original park attractions on opening day in July 1955. What is this attraction? The Matterhorn!

Recently my 10-year-old grandson has become enamored and fascinated with riding the Matterhorn on our visits to Disneyland – multiple times in one day when possible! So, I thought it would be fun to look back at the interesting history of this beloved Disneyland attraction with 20 facts that every Disney fan should know about the Matterhorn.

1. The Matterhorn Bobsleds attraction was dedicated on June 14, 1959 along with the Disneyland-Alweg Monorail System and the Submarine Voyage. These were the first “E Ticket” attractions at Disneyland.
2. Walt Disney was inspired to add the Matterhorn to Disneyland after he became enamored with the real Matterhorn in Switzerland while filming the movie, Third Man on the Mountain.
3. The location of the Matterhorn had down-to-earth reasons, literally, for being selected. The site was chosen to capitalize on a 20-foot-high mound of dirt that had been piled behind Sleeping Beauty Castle. The area was known as Holiday Hill and included a picnic area and the steel beams of the now-defunct Skyway attraction. Walt Disney decided to cover the forested Holiday Hill with artificial snow, add a toboggan run, and rename it Snow Hill. However, Walt didn’t stop there and his “hill” soon grew into a “mountain.”
4. The Matterhorn ride is 147-feet tall, and is a 1/100^th replica of its Swiss namesake.
5. It is recognized as the first tubular steel roller coaster in the world, and was built by coaster builder Arrow Development (later Arrow Dynamics) and WED Imagineering.
6. Disneyland is the only Disney park in the world with a Matterhorn attraction.
7. Truth or Fiction? Legend has it that there is a secret basketball court located inside Disneyland’s Matterhorn, near the top. This is truth, there is a one-third basketball court located in an empty space in the upper two-thirds of the mountain. However, the basketball court was not built to get around a City of Anaheim ordinance about tall buildings. Rumor has it that local building code stated that only sports-related buildings could be over a certain height, so putting up a basketball hoop was the way to get around this. This appears to be false and, apparently, Walt Disney himself gave the “OK” to build the basketball court in the Matterhorn.
8. Inside the Matterhorn is a backstage “green room” area for Tinkerbell before her appearances during the fireworks shows.
9. The Matterhorn attraction has been featured in some movies, including That Thing You Do! (1996).
10. The Jolly Holiday bakery cafe at the hub of Main Street often features a Matterhorn Macaroon dessert. It’s delicious!
11. Back in the day: Mountain climbers, including Mickey Mouse & Goofy, used to scale the Matterhorn during the day to the delight of guests who could watch them scale the Matterhorn. Per a post from 2012 in the Disney Parks Blog, having real mountain climbers on the Matterhorn was a tradition started by Walt Disney in 1959 when the attraction opened. The most recent time there were climbers on Disneyland’s Matterhorn was during the summer of 2012.
12. Disneyland Past: The Skyway attraction used to travel through the Matterhorn on its route from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland. The aerial tramway ride opened in Disneyland in June 1956, three years before the Matterhorn was built, as two attractions: the Skyway to Tomorrowland and the Skyway to Fantasyland. In the book Disney A to Z by Dave Smith, he states “Guests could purchase either a one-way or round-trip ticket. Later it was one-way only.”
13. Christmas Past: For a brief, few years from 1961 until the early 1970s, there used to be a giant star perched atop the Matterhorn each December. The Christmas star was approximately 24 feet high and lit up at night. A crane had to be used each year to place it on top of the Matterhorn. The star was retired in the early 1970s as part of Disneyland’s energy conservation efforts.
14. Modern canvas: In the past few years, the Matterhorn’s snowy peaks have become a canvas for projections during nighttime fireworks shows and the Matterhorn has been incorporated into some show elements. During the 60th Celebration, the Matterhorn magically became a volcano in the Finding Nemo segment of the “Disneyland Forever” fireworks show.
15. Refurbishments – The Matterhorn has been through two major refurbishments and one major animation refurbishment since its opening in 1959. Originally, the ride had a height minimum of 35″ and the bobsleds were configured with a single vehicle, carrying 4 riders total. In 2012, the Matterhorn went through its latest renovation. The abominable snowman was enhanced, the soundtrack and sound effects were improved, and the seats of the bobsleds were upgraded. Currently, the bobsleds are a tandem vehicle, with 3 seats per sled for a total of 6 riders. Also, the ride height minimum is now 42″.
16. Frank Wells Matterhorn Tribute – Frank Wells was President of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 to 1994. Per a D23 write-up, Wells was “known throughout the company (Disney) as a friendly, kind soul who was always approachable and open to ideas.” Wells was an adventurer and had a goal of climbing the Seven Summits – the highest mountain on each continent. During his lifetime, Wells completed six of the seven. The original tribute to Wells inside the Matterhorn was installed in 1995 following his death in 1994. In 2015, the tribute was briefly removed during the most recent refurbishments and has since been added back in, although it looks slightly different.
17. Yeti or Abominable Snowman? A new resident started living in the Matterhorn after a renovation in 1978. Per Mouseplanet, the publicity for the revised Matterhorn centered around “something has gotten into the Matterhorn.” For nearly forty years, Disneyland’s abominable snowman, dubbed “Harold” by cast members, has been greeting (or terrorizing) guests. Harold has undergone periodic cosmetic changes from its first appearance.
18. The interior of the Matterhorn used to be a hollow center from 1956 until 1978 and wasn’t very exciting to go through when the Skyway was open, except for seeing the bobsleds race past. In the 1978 refurbishment, the center was filled in with smaller show scenes including the abominable snowman.
19. Left or Right Side? The Matterhorn has two tracks and therefore two sides in the line queue. Many people just go with the flow and enter whichever line the cast member directs them to. However, did you know that the right side of the track (on the Fantasyland side) is slightly longer? Some people consider the right side of the line to be “smoother” or less turbulent, while others consider the left side to be “smoother”. Considering you’re on a ride that simulates a bobsled racing down a mountain, both sides could be described as bumpy and fans have debated left or right side for many years.
20. The hashtag #MatterhornMonday is popular amongst Disneyland fans, especially on Mondays on Instagram and other social media. This weekly tribute to the Matterhorn has resulted in some stunning photographs all featuring Disneyland’s Matterhorn from a variety of perspectives.

Lars the Gnomad sends his greetings from the Matterhorn at Disneyland. | Photo Credit: Krista | www.ladybugblog.com

Are you a fan of the Matterhorn Bobsleds? What do you think of the updated abominable snowman?

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”