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View Full Version : This may be a stupid question, but...[Matterhorn at Disneyland only]



dznyphreak
08-27-2006, 08:33 PM
I've always wondered why the Matterhorn has never been reproduced in other Disney parks, since there are four other Fantasylands in the world these days. It may sound stupid and I'm sure it's been asked before, but does anyone know why? It's a great ride. Thunder is in WDW, DP, and TD, and Space exists in all four other Kingdoms, so why not the Bobsleds???

jdee
08-27-2006, 09:07 PM
It seem like I read or heard it was because of the cost. But the new ride at WDW Everest, sounds like it is huge. So I don't know, good question though.

ChipmunkStar
08-27-2006, 09:23 PM
I odn't have a reason why, but I do have an opinion.


Isn't it nice to have something that is unique to Disneyland? Think about it. Disney World has Phillharmagic, Paris has the Queen of Hearts Labrynth thing, Tokyo... well, Tokyo has everything anyone else could want.

But I'd prefer if we let the Matterhorn remain the only one in a Disney park.

DianeM
08-27-2006, 09:49 PM
I'm guessing that it's partly branding and partly pragmatism. The Matterhorn is not the best roller coaster in the world. Don't get me wrong - I love it. I just think that most of the reason I love it is that it's "The Matterhorn" at Disneyland, not because it's a particularly remarkable ride. The other roller coasters are really more interesting. They tried to add "Disney Magic" to the Matterhorn by putting in a Yeti, but it just ended up looking silly, imo. And it's not very sophisticated technologically, either. It's really just a boardwalk roller coaster with a cool mountain around it. I don't think it would translate well.


Thunder is in WDW, DP, and TD, and Space exists in all four other Kingdoms, so why not the Bobsleds???

Another Dimension
08-27-2006, 10:32 PM
Space Mountain WDW is their indoor Matterhorn. :)

dznyphreak
08-28-2006, 08:48 AM
I agree that it's cool having a "one and only" here, I just thought the Powers that Be would have copy/pasted a popular ride at least once. The cost crossed my mind too...that's a heck of a lot of steel and concrete if you think about it. Today's Disney execs aren't as willing to spend their cash as Walt was...

ChipmunkStar
08-28-2006, 06:04 PM
I agree that it's cool having a "one and only" here, I just thought the Powers that Be would have copy/pasted a popular ride at least once. The cost crossed my mind too...that's a heck of a lot of steel and concrete if you think about it. Today's Disney execs aren't as willing to spend their cash as Walt was...

*checks out pictures and video of Expedition Everest*

Uh huh... go on....

Disnerd
08-28-2006, 06:09 PM
While visiting WDI in Glendale a group of imagineers told our CM tour that since the Matterhorn was the first tubular roller coaster ever designed that it would never be cloned. We all felt it was a fitting honor to an engineering first.

dznyphreak
08-29-2006, 10:56 AM
Oh yeah...must have slipped my mind...:rolleyes:

Disnerd's post makes sense; thanks!
I still maintain that today's Disney isn't yesterday's Disney. They wouldn't be willing to borrow on their life insurance policies to fund a theme park.

(I know, I know, they don't have to...but still)

GrouchoMarx
08-29-2006, 11:19 AM
I odn't have a reason why, but I do have an opinion.


Isn't it nice to have something that is unique to Disneyland? Think about it. Disney World has Phillharmagic, Paris has the Queen of Hearts Labrynth thing, Tokyo... well, Tokyo has everything anyone else could want.

But I'd prefer if we let the Matterhorn remain the only one in a Disney park.
I completely agree. The first (and only) time I went to WDW Magic Kingdom - having been born and raised in So. Cal and going to DL for 40 yrs - I didn't know what to expect really; I just figured the WDW MK would be a little clone of DL.
The first thing I said to my wife when we got there was, "hey...where's the Matterhorn?"
I couldn't believe they didn't have it; it's just not DL without it. But now I appreciate they didn't intend for it to be exactly like DL.

Anyway, I'm glad none of the other Disney parks have one, for whatever reason. Let it just be a DL thing.

Opus1guy
08-29-2006, 04:17 PM
While visiting WDI in Glendale a group of imagineers told our CM tour that since the Matterhorn was the first tubular roller coaster ever designed that it would never be cloned. We all felt it was a fitting honor to an engineering first.

I think that's correct in that I don't think it would ever be "cloned."

But I do know that they've knocked around the idea of creating another Matterhorn...though not an exact clone...on and off for many years now.

At WDI there exists several beautiful paintings of a proposed and at one time planned Switzerland Pavilion at Epcot. These paintings featured a Matterhorn mountain and attraction.

I don't think that it would have featured the same tubular track and ride system as Disneyland had, and it was my understanding that this particular Matterhorn Mountain was going to be more along the lines of Space Mountain in that the exterior of the mountain was going to mainly be show-facade housing a mostly interior ride with a lot more show elements than Anaheim's has.

One concept even had the Matterhorn as just a show-building "topper" in the background...sort of like what the Eiffel Tower is at the France Pavillion...with the thrill-ride being mostly inside a show building below.

PicoEd
08-29-2006, 04:24 PM
i thought they didn't put it anywhere else because the current matterhorn is sinking into the ground

dznyphreak
08-29-2006, 06:54 PM
i thought they didn't put it anywhere else because the current matterhorn is sinking into the ground
I heard this rumor too. It was something to the tune of "The Matterhorn sits on a water table, of which the Submarine Lagoon is a part. If they drain the Lagoon, the Matterhorn will sink!" Obviously, this is untrue. I now know that there used to be a hill where the mountain now stands from dirt removed from the castle moat, and that didn't sink in. Also, the Lagoon is drained as they work on the new ride.
Even if it was sinking, that would be a problem with the land, not the mountain itself.

Klutch
08-29-2006, 07:06 PM
The Matterhorn Bobsleds is an attraction that likely only Walt could have built. It used brand new technology. It was designed and built literally from the ground up with no computer rendering. It was also very expensive.

By today's standards, it doesn't seem like much of a big deal. Although the ride may no longer be technically sophisticated or provide earth-shattering thrills, it adds a great deal to the atmosphere of Disneyland as well as the Anaheim area. You can see that mountain for miles around!

Matterhorn Bobsleds is many things, but "boardwalk roller coaster" isn't one of them. Although, you will find such a ride over at DCA. It's simply "Madness". :rolleyes: