Disneyland Matterhorn by Reece Smith

Favorite Attraction in Disneyland Fantasyland By Reece Smith

Have you ever dreamed of going up a mountain and then riding down it in a bobsled? Well at the Happiest Place on Earth they created a ride that tries to reproduce that adventure. Matterhorn Bobsleds is a Disneyland attraction where six people get into a bobsled and go up the mountain and then head down through twists and turns and drops. Sometimes you’re in almost complete darkness. To ride the bobsleds you must be 42 inches tall, also be warned that you may get wet on this adventure.

 Also if you know about the real Matterhorn mountain just know if you stack 100 of the Matterhorn bobsled mountains on top of each other it’s the height of Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps. As you go along on your journey you may find that you’re not alone and that something else is with you. What exactly is it though? Is it just a bird or a deer animatronic? No, it’s an abominable snowman! This is a thrilling ride for only those who are daring enough to go up this mountain and then not be afraid to go down and encounter the abominable snowman. Be careful, he might show up more than once--yikes!

When Walt Disney was expanding the recently opened Disneyland there was a hill and so he wanted to put a snowcap on it and call it Holiday hill with a toboggan run around it and keep it 20 feet tall. Later when filming Third Man on the Mountain he fell in love with Matterhorn Mountain and decided to create a 147 foot tall mountain that eventually evolved into the Matterhorn that’s currently in Fantasyland at Disneyland. Did you know that Matterhorn the small mountain they built is made out of concrete and painted to look like Matterhorn and reflect like snow.

Also did you know that Matterhorn Bobsleds was the first roller coaster type ride in Disneyland and that it was the very first tubular steel coaster in the world! Not only that but there are two different tracks that you can go on each are similar to the other but neither of them have the same exact view or track so that you can experience something different even if you go a second time or more. Also the Skyway gondola ride used to pass through the Matterhorn ride until it was shut down due to metal fatigue in support beams. Also inside Matterhorn there’s a basketball court however it isn’t accessible by guests.  A few lucky cast members used to have access while waiting to be part of an extra show such as Tinker Bell ‘flying’ down from the mountain.

Matterhorn Bobsleds also has a fastpass line. Fastpasses are tickets you can acquire so that you can come back and go through the line faster than waiting in the regular queue. Also you can decide to go in the single rider line which can be faster than fastpass and is usually better for those who just want to do the ride.