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Matterhorn

Celebrity Spotting: Matt Damon on the Matterhorn Bobsleds

With a new movie coming out, actor Matt Damon has a lot to celebrate. Where better place than the Happiest Place on Earth to celebrate with friends and family. Of course, Disneyland captured a photo of him “Splashing Down” on one of the best rides… Read More »Celebrity Spotting: Matt Damon on the Matterhorn Bobsleds

Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration: An Overview

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My family and I just attended a media event for the Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration, which is the fancy name given to Disneyland’s 60th anniversary. Spoiler alert: It’s fun! In addition to everything you have heard about the new “World of Color – Celebrate! The… Read More »Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration: An Overview

Matterhorn and Monorail Attractions Poster T-shirts

We’ve been following the Disney Parks poster t-shirt releases for some time. This week they’re out with two new shirts that will only be available online for a limited time. The way it works is you order the shirt and size and then Disney makes… Read More »Matterhorn and Monorail Attractions Poster T-shirts

Matterhorn Celebrates 55th Anniversary

Matterhorn-with-Monorail

The Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland has always been a sentimental favorite of mine; in part because my Grandfather Vic Greene was the Art Director for the attraction and for his involvement in the story of how Imagineering got the instructions to build it.

There was a little hill of land in between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland that the Skyway used to get some height to go over the back of Sleeping Beauty Castle. Walt wanted to do something with this land, but he didn’t know what, he asked my grandfather to start thinking of an attraction for the hill. The story as told in the book “How to Be Like Walt: Capturing the Disney Magic Every Day of Your Life” and in my family went like this:

Walt was traveling to Switzerland to film “Third Man on the Mountain” and fell in love with the Matterhorn. In a moment of inspiration, he grabbed a postcard of the mountain from a souvenir stand and sent it back to Vic Greene with the message, “Vic. Build This. Walt” on the back. Vic, of course, immediately set to work on designing what was to become a first of its kind landmark attraction.

Another fun family story is the invention of the Matterhorn’s first of its kind switchback queue. Vic Greene and his team of Imagineers developed a system that would have the entrance to the switchback part of the queue be lower than the exit. When you stood at the entrance, the exit would appear closer to you in an optical illusion. The idea was to make your wait seem less cumbersome by visually shortening the queue.

A version of this story was documented in “Disneyland: Inside Story” by Randy Bright, and it has been told in my family for years. Before the attraction was set to officially open, testing was done using sandbags. When Walt wanted to see a real human on the ride, Vic Greene was selected as the first human to test ride in a bobsled on a steel tube coaster. Since water hadn’t been added to the splash down pools at the end of the ride, Imagineering had set up bales of hay to slow the cars down. Unfortunately the bobsled car hit the hay and stopped so suddenly, Vic nearly got whiplash. Still he survived and the ride was deemed complete.

Below the jump are a few more fun facts from the 55 year history of The Matterhorn.

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Limited Time Yodeling on top of the Matterhorn

Now through July 14th, you can enjoy the Alpine melodies of Happy Hans and his son, Erik, who entertain from the snowy slopes of the Matterhorn. It’s Limited Time Magic that’s something simple, but fun, which is what it’s turned out to be for the… Read More »Limited Time Yodeling on top of the Matterhorn

Disneyland Closes Attractions After Internal Review Related to CAL/OSHA Report

Yesterday the news was flying fast and heavy from the Disneyland Resort. Fires, attraction closures, and long lines were the order of the day. Today, two major attractions remain unexpectedly closed while Disneyland completes safety inspections and upgrades. I’ve been piecing together the timeline and… Read More »Disneyland Closes Attractions After Internal Review Related to CAL/OSHA Report