This week, one of the most beloved attractions in Disney history, the Matterhorn Bobsleds, marks its 65th anniversary at Disneyland Resort. And to celebrate, we’ve dug up a batch of fascinating historical photos that may just make you yell – Yodel-Lay-Hee-Hoo!
Walt to Imagineers: “Build This”
The idea for the iconic Matterhorn Bobsleds really started during a 1950s trip to Switzerland.
As many of you know, Walt and his wife Lillian enjoyed Switzerland, as you can see in the above classic photo from the Walt Disney Family Museum. Walt fell in love with the country’s breathtaking landscape, especially the Matterhorn mountain – known as the “jewel of the Swiss Alps.”
In 1958, when Walt was in Switzerland, the giant, jagged tooth-shaped Matterhorn mountain — as well as the Disney film, “Third Man of the Mountain” (being filmed at the Matterhorn) — delivered a flash of inspiration.
During the trip, the often-recalled story goes that Walt sent a postcard back home to his Disney Imagineers featuring a picture of the mountain and the words “BUILD THIS” on the back.
Plans to bring this mountain to California began after Walt’s Switzerland trip – as you can see above in this vintage photo of Walt with a model of the attraction.
While Matterhorn mountain towers over all that surrounds it in Switzerland at nearly 14,700 feet, it was determined that the Disneyland version would be built to roughly 1/100th scale, or 147 feet.
Initially, Walt asked his designers to consider transforming Holiday Hill (a small mound between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland) into Snow Hill, which would feature real snow. As the project grew, Snow Hill became the proposed Snow Mountain, and then eventually – Matterhorn mountain.
Matterhorn Bobsleds Attraction Makes History
At opening on June 14, 1959, the world had never seen anything like the Matterhorn Bobsleds. The Disneyland attraction was the first roller coaster in the world to use a tubular steel track and a unique electronic dispatch system that allowed more than one car at a time to be on the track.
It was an immediate game-changer and set the standard for modern-day roller coasters.
The attraction was part of the first major expansion at Disneyland since the park’s debut in 1955.
During the design and construction, Walt and Disney Imagineers wanted guests to be able to enjoy the view of the Matterhorn, similar to how someone would view it in Switzerland, so a unique station with a view was created where you wait to board the bobsleds.
For the attraction, Imagineers also created a picturesque tower, inspired by a famous clock tower near Switzerland’s Matterhorn mountain. Besides the mountain itself, the clock tower is likely the most famous sight in the area, and it added a familiar scene of Switzerland’s famed chalets to Disneyland.
In this photo of the attraction from the archives, you’ll notice shields representing the cantons, or states, in Switzerland.
The opposite side of the building has fanciful alpine-style cutouts edged in brightly colored paints. The design features colors and motifs found in traditional Swiss embroidery designs.
If you’ve experienced it, you know you swoop in and out of shadowy caves along jagged rocky ledges, darting through snowy chutes and by frozen precipices before splashing down into an alpine lake.
And there are historical details to see, including mountaineering supplies and collected treasures from the past. There’s also a tribute to Frank Wells — the former President and Chief Operating Officer of The Walt Disney Company — to spot while whizzing through the Matterhorn caverns.
Of course, there’s the Abominable Snowman — a fan-favorite since being added to the attraction in 1978. When he received a transformation in 2015, Walt Disney Imagineering wanted to ensure that the mountain’s most famous resident would maintain a realistic look, consulting with an anthropologist.
You can conquer Matterhorn Bobsleds and its mythic monster this summer at Disneyland park. Here are 2024 details on what’s happening and how you can save on a Disneyland Resort trip from our earlier story.
We hope you enjoyed this fun look at the Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland. The iconic attraction is truly one-of-a-kind — no other Disney park can claim a Matterhorn mountain!
As we continue to dig into our archives for even more of these types of stories in the future, let us know what you’d like to see next. And then, be sure to keep checking back right here on the Disney Parks Blog.