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HorizonsA
05-27-2004, 10:45 AM
When I was young, I could always hear the roar of the Abominable Snowman from all the way at the border of Fantasyland/Frontierland. I could hear plain as day from a mile away. But now, I have to be up against the Mountain to actually hear it. I don't know, but has anyone noticed this? To me, it would be better if Guests could hear the roar from far away. It would entice people to get in line.

Cadaverous Pallor
05-27-2004, 10:56 AM
Interesting. I wonder if they actually had exterior speakers before, or if it was just louder inside. It's pretty loud in there now.

JeffG
05-27-2004, 11:06 AM
Just a thought, but is the sound from the Matterhorn more muted since they closed up the openings for the Skyway?

-Jeff

Ghoulish Delight
05-27-2004, 11:19 AM
Just a thought, but is the sound from the Matterhorn more muted since they closed up the openings for the Skyway?

-JeffThat was exactly my thought when I read the op.

Pirate Girl
05-27-2004, 11:57 AM
I don't mind not hearing them. Those guys scare the crud out of me.

Shanynrose
05-27-2004, 06:58 PM
According to one very friendly and fun Monorail driver, the Snowman is named Harold. Harold gets grumbly because he likes to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (raspberry I think) and the jelly drips onto his fur and makes him upset. Harold does NOT like to be called abominable.

My daughter got a kick out of hearing about "Harold" during our ride in the nosecone.

But he still scared the bejeebers outta me the first time I heard him!

And I remember the Matterhorn pre-Snowman. THAT scares me even more, lol.

MonorailMan
05-27-2004, 07:05 PM
Actually, there was an answer in a thread before, but I can't seem to find the thread.

Anyhow, it said that the volume was cut, because there use to be just a few loud speakers for the entire Matterhorn. These speakers were the ones that not just let out the howling wind, but were used for the E-Stop speil. However, after the re-do, there were a bunch of little speakers put along the track, so that ended up cutting the volume.

Pedro2NR
05-27-2004, 08:17 PM
Harold never turns off! He is always running.

Kevy Baby
05-27-2004, 09:12 PM
Wasn't Matterhorn completely (or mostly) open on the inside: you could see all the track once you got inside the mountain?

Or was I dropped on my head a few too may times as a child?

Pedro2NR
05-27-2004, 09:21 PM
Wasn't Matterhorn completely (or mostly) open on the inside: you could see all the track once you got inside the mountain?

Or was I dropped on my head a few too may times as a child?
That's correct. They added the tunnels and caves later.

Opus1guy
05-27-2004, 10:43 PM
Indeed. Before the "New" Matterhorn debuted in 1978, it was just a big hallow mountain with metal beams and the coaster ride and Skyway passing through. I always thought the "rock" looked like paper mache on the inside. Hard to imagine compared with even the most basic show standards of today, that for almost 20 years the Matterhorn was like this. Great show on the outside, not so great on the inside.

I think one of the differences in the mindset of management between then and now can be illustrated by something that happened when Disneyland promoted the re-opening of the New Matterhorn with it's Abominable Snowman ad campaign..."What's Gotten Into The Matterhorn?"

When the promised and advertised re-opening date came and went and the Matterhorn still had bugs in it and was still down for fine tuning, every single guest that passed through the turnstile got a free ticket to come back! As you walked through the turnstile, they gave it to you. You didn't have to ask for it. You didn't have to complain. You didn't have to beg. Every single person that entered the park for weeks got an apology and a free ticket to come back.

http://members.aol.com/opus1guy/uploads/matterticket78.jpg

Doubt you'd see that these days. Management back then really felt they let the public down and wasn't going to just shrug it off without giving something tangible to all the guests that visited during those weeks. :)

And for those that complained they couldn't return for whatever reason and use their free ticket? They were directed to City Hall, and upon surrendering their free ticket, they were given full refunds, yet allowed to stay and play the rest of the day in the Park "On The Mouse." :)

I call that a class operation.

Germboy
05-28-2004, 01:25 AM
I call that a class operation.

Wow. That's the Disneyland I remember. That comparison (now and then) is STARK. And I hope that those who criticize me on MP for complaining about DIS get a chance to see that jpeg. Read it and weep my friends. You're right Opus, you won't get that again. Thanks for posting that.

MonorailMan
05-28-2004, 06:35 AM
You're right Opus, you won't get that again.
Not to defend the management, but does anyone remember the Pirates Premier?

If you do, you remember that Disney was nice enough to not only open the park at 6:30 that morning, but to give you a free ticket to DCA. ;)

davebert4
05-28-2004, 06:55 AM
When the promised and advertised re-opening date came and went and the Matterhorn still had bugs in it and was still down for fine tuning, every single guest that passed through the turnstile got a free ticket to come back! As you walked through the turnstile, they gave it to you. You didn't have to ask for it. You didn't have to complain. You didn't have to beg. Every single person that entered the park for weeks got an apology and a free ticket to come back.

Similar thing happened with the opening of Splash Mountain. There was a promo from McDonald's that gave away tickets for the summer, but they expired before the ride opened. When we went to the park, they just handed us a new ticket. I was surprised then, but thought it was a nice touch, and would drop dead of a heart attack if they did that now.

Cadaverous Pallor
05-28-2004, 08:58 AM
When the promised and advertised re-opening date came and went and the Matterhorn still had bugs in it and was still down for fine tuning, every single guest that passed through the turnstile got a free ticket to come back! Remember, this was during the ticket per ride system. This ticket just got you into the park. If you wanted to ride rides you had to buy tickets. So it's not like they were handing out the equivalent of $49.

Germboy
05-28-2004, 11:58 AM
That's also true. Hadn't thought of that.

Opus1guy
05-28-2004, 12:27 PM
Remember, this was during the ticket per ride system. This ticket just got you into the park. If you wanted to ride rides you had to buy tickets. So it's not like they were handing out the equivalent of $49.

Agree, but then again the difference in price in 1978 between a General Admission ticket and an 10 Ride Ticket Book w/admission, wasn't all that great either.

I think the point is that the park pro-actively offered something tangible because of how they valued and viewed their "guests" back then. They felt they let the public down and were going to apologize and offer some tangible gesture of goodwill. Without being asked to or waiting for the guest to complain.

I recall something similar when Space Mountain first opened. There were huge long lines all the way to Main Street. But they were having lots of break downs and it took much time to re-cycle the attraction. So in addition to handing guests that were far along in the line or had already boarded, a re-admission exit pass to come back and avoid the line, they even handed out comp Admission Tickets just in case you wanted to "give up" today and come back in the future when it was operating more reliably.

It was their way of saying "We value your time, and we let you down and ate up a chunk of your day waiting for this thing. So not only are we going to make sure you don't have to wait in line for it again, but because we wasted your time to begin with, here's a free ticket to come back some other day too."