Matterhorn Bobsleds

**Matterhorn Bobsleds** is an attraction in Disneyland. It is located on the border of Tomorrowland and Fantasyland while being unofficially located in both, "Lands" as it possesses a Fantasyland track and Tomorrowland track.

## Backstory

The Matterhorn is a mountain-peak in the Swiss Alps, found in the watershed between Switzerland and Italy over the municipality of Zermatt. It has a near symmetrical glacial-horn which is fairly iconic due to being one of the highest summits in Europe. Thanks to this peak and harsh conditions, the mountain is considered to be one of the deadliest mountains on Earth with a death-count of over 500 recorded.

The Matterhorn in Switzerland is not only deadly for its symmetric peak, but also for its seemingly paranormal resident. The mountain is home to the Yeti, a legendary alpine cryptid which has been violently and territorially defending the mountain from intruders for at-least decades if not centuries. The mountain has also been noted to hold crystal caverns which held crystalline structures that glowed different colours and made harmonic sounds.

One presumably doomed expedition through the Matterhorn was that of the Wells Expedition which was likely launched in the late 19th- 20th century given their known resources. This expedition seemed to encounter the crystal caverns of the Matterhorn only to become victims of the yeti. An expedition (possibly the same as the Wells expedition though this is speculative) would find a foot-print of the yeti on the South Slope of the mountain on the May 27th of 1978. A cast would be made of this footprint and put on display in the Swiss village at the mountain's base.

### Development history

During Disneyland's construction, the area occupied by Matterhorn Bobsleds held the dirt which was unearthed during the construction process. During the initial opening of Disneyland, the area was known as, "Holiday Hill" and served as a picnic area though it was frequented by couples engaging in intimate affairs. Walt Disney however had plans of creating a snowy toboggan attraction in the area, known in development as, "Snow Hill".

Walt Disney was inspired to create a Disneyland version of the Matterhorn following the filming of the movie *Third Man on the Mountain* (1959) which was set and shot on the mountain. Walt then sent a post-card of the Matterhorn to imagineers for them to begin development of its Disneyland counterpart. The attraction was the first tubular steel rollercoaster on Earth and was one of three Tomorrowland attractions which opened in 1959, the other two being Submarine Voyage and the Disneyland Monorail. The mountain would be covered in holes (with Walt saying it made it more Swiss) that served to add views to the rollercoaster and also allow for the Disneyland Skyway from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland to pass through it.

In the 1970s the attraction received several refurbishments to enhance its theming and immersive elements while also filling in several of its holes. In 1977 an audio-animatronic yeti was installed in the attraction as its main-antagonist. In 1994 the Skyway was dismantled and removed from the Matterhorn during the same year that Walt Disney Company president Frank Wells who worked on the rollercoaster passed away. To tribute Wells, a crate from the lost, "Wells Expedition" was implemented in the crystal caverns of the Matterhorn. In 2015 the Matterhorn was refurbished again for Disneyland's diamond celebration as a new yeti animatronic was installed, an ice projection effect was installed on the lift-hill, and the crystal caverns were removed for a yeti's lair tableau that made tribute to Frank Wells, past bobsleds and the sky-way.

## Summary

Guests enter the attraction from a Swiss village at the base of the Matterhorn. In the queue they pass by a mould of the yeti's foot, having been recorded by a previous expedition to the mountain. In the load-area they are boarded into modified bobsleds which are sent out into one of two caverns within the infamous mountain.

Within this dark cavern, the bobsleds are pulled up a mechanical lift-hill and pass by ice walls where they witness the yeti passing by and noticing them. The vehicles ascend into a serene and beautiful ice cavern where they begin to voyage through the Matterhorn's many tunnels where they find the yeti's lair. The lair is decorated remnants of its former victims such as the Wells expedition, a yodeller's alphorn, skyway buckets and bobsleds from over the years. The bobsleds pick up speed and descend down a slope where they come face to face with the territorial yeti who lunges and growls at them.

Following this the bobsled ride turns to a race to escape the yeti, traversing cliffs, bridges, tunnels and caverns all while being pursued by the territorial beast. After a final encounter the bobsleds escape to safety by dropping down into a pool of water and returning to the Swiss village from whence their journeys began.

## Connections

### Expedition Everest

The Forbidden Mountain of the Himalayas and the Matterhorn are both Disney Parks mountains which are home to territorial yetis. Expedition Everest contains several subtle references/homages to Matterhorn Bobsleds as a result. The Yeti of the Matterhorn however looks considerably different from its Himalayan counterpart; it around 6' tall while the Everest yeti is is 25' tall, the Matterhorn Yeti has white fur not covering its face or hands revealing blue skin while the Himalayan yeti has brown fur completely covering its body with some pink flesh being visible, and the Matterhorn yeti having red eyes while the Himalayan yeti has yellow eyes.

The advert for "Yeti Brand Tinned Meat" (featuring the Matterhorn Yeti as its mascot) has the quote, "Hygienic, Tasty and Compact" from mountaineer Klaus Wesselhoft, a mountaineer who scaled the Matterhorn in the film Third Man on the Mountain (1959). Klaus' affiliation with Expedition Everest comes from Expedition Everest being a partial reimagining of the Disneyland attraction *Matterhorn Bobsleds*. Matterhorn Bobsleds itself was partially inspired by *Third Man on the Mountain*, a film primarily set and filmed on the Matterhorn.

### Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT!

The original yeti animatronic from Matterhorn Bobsleds in in storage within the Collector's Fortress. It is unknown what the nature of this appearance is I.E. if it is intended to be an a canonical audio-animatronic/robot, a taxidermy/petrified alien which incidentally resembles the yeti, or perhaps a taxidermy yeti taken from the matterhorn or some other ecosystem with yetis.

### Skipper Canteen

There is a book in the library of the *Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen* with the title *Scaling the Matterhorn* in tribute to the Disneyland rollercoaster Matterhorn Bobsleds. Another book is titled *A View from Above* by S.W. Buckets in reference to the now defunct Sky-Way which once passed over Tomorrowland and Fantasyland through the Matterhorn.

There is additionally a book titled, "*Expedition Everest: Search for the Yeti*" by one Harrison Hightower III. Said book however references Expedition Everest over Matterhorn Bobsleds as Hightower is portrayed by imagineer Joe Rohde who developed said attraction. Hightower himself is a character from Tower of Terror who was a member of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers along with the Pillagers Brigade while being an implied relative of George Hightower from the Haunted Mansion.

### Soarin'

The Matterhorn is passed over in *Soaring: Fantastic Flight* as part of S.E.A. member Camellia Falco's aerial tour for guests aboard her Dream Flyers. In Soaring Over the Horizon it is passed over by an Arbori hang glider from Adventure Isle which was able to travel to the mountain so quickly thanks to the spirit of the sky deity Q’otar.

### Tomorrowland

#### House of the Future

Promotional art for House of the Future shows the mountain in the landscape behind the titular futuristic house.

### Up

The Matterhorn yeti's likeness depicts the yeti needed for the Wilderness Explorers' yeti badge in the Wilderness Explorers game of the Animal Kingdom.

## Trivia

* One of the original gorilla animatronics from the Jungle Cruise was repurposed for the original animatronic Yeti in Matterhorn Bobsleds.
* It has been speculated by some that an unidentified S.E.A. member seen in Mystic Manor who was shown to be a mountaineer might have connections to the Matterhorn.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.yesterland.com/oldmatterhorn.html
2. ↑ http://ultimateorlando.blogspot.com/2014/01/matterhorn-tribute-in-expedition.html
3. ↑ https://jungleskipper.com/sea/attractions/skipper-canteen#&gid=1&pid=center-shelf-top-shelf-c12
4. ↑ https://www.yesterland.com/homages.html