Matterhorn Bobsleds, March 1961
The Matterhorn Bobsleds, a ride that was a real stroke of genius by Walt and his boys. Let's build a huge copy of a real mountain, and turn it into a rollercoaster! There'd been smaller "scenic railways" at amusement parks for many years, but they were tiny compared to Walt's version.
This first photo is pretty fun, mom (presumably) turned around and grabbed a picture of one of her daughter's as their bobsled careened down the (totally) tubular steel track, past an icy waterfall. I can't tell if the girl is having fun or not, her brow is furrowed! In the distance, we can see the parking lot.
From a more stable position, mom captured this shot of another bobsled as it splashed through some glacial runoff. So great!
16 comments:
Major-
That 1st image is a rather bold move for whoever the photographer was - clearly a seasoned roller coaster rider - or a daring circus performer.
Thanks, Major.
Fun action shots — you ARE there! Golly, HOW MANY people are smushed into that bobsled…five?? I don’t recall more than 4 in those sleds, though my memory could be failing. :o/
Thanks, Major.
Is it MORE good luck if you take a picture of a bobsled FROM a bobsled?
@ Sue-
I believe one of those 'heads' is actually a boulder-!
......the (totally) tubular steel track.....
I see what you did there, Major, and it was gnarly!!!
I find it very interesting that whoever had the camera for that first pic, put the little girl seated alone behind themselves. The child is always supposed to go in the lap of the adult, when riding together. So, I assume that the child was seated alone in the "backseat" of the then non-tandem bobsleds!
Nanook, I would often turn around like that, to get pics of my friends on the various rides. In the later years (much later, like 2010 and on) the ride operators would usually come on a microphone and tell you to face forward. At least they would do it on Dumbo and the Astro Orbitor. Spoil sports!
Thanks, Major!
@ TM!-
I always knew you were a daring circus performer-!
”I believe one of those 'heads' is actually a boulder-!”
Nanook, they’re riding with a boulder IN their bobsled!?!?
:op
@ Sue-
It has already 'jumped ship' and is nestled into the Alpine gardens.
Upon second glance, it appears that the first pic was taken moments after the bobsled had come off of the chain lift (of the ride side track), and had just passed over the flat ledge of the waterfall. That section of track became enclosed (and dark) in 1978. Here's a pic to show the area pre-1978:
Pre-enclosed Matterhorn Track
@TM!-
A-ha-! Very good.
When I first started playing RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, many years ago, one of the first things I built was an homage to Disney's Matterhorn. And unlike the Disneyland version, my bobsled track went all the way to the top of the mountain, not just halfway!
1) I vote 'not having fun'. She looks terrified, petrified, horrified, and panfried. How can you tell that's the parking lot back there? I think it's the might Los Angeles River! The section we can see is one of the wilder parts of the river, with whitewater rapids.
2) Hmm, the only part of the photo that is in focus is the Bobsled, and its passengers. Wonder how that happened? Was it skill, or just luck? Funny how so many Disneyland pics feature the (blurry) backs of peoples' heads prominently in the photo. This view of the Matterhorn looks a bit like the Vasquez Rocks. I think I see a Gorn milling around up there.
Wow, I hit the 'refresh' button and there were already ten comments! Thanks for the Holey Mountain pics, Major.
Tokyo I was thinking the same thing about the little girl in the back seat. Even in the earliest signage both A and B type loading diagrams say “GENTLEMEN SLIDE TO REAR OF SEAT”, LADIES STEP ON SEAT THEN BE SEATED” . And “ADULTS ENTER FIRST … circles with numbers show children go in #1 and #3 positions … those are the “lap” positions of the four seats per bobsled.
Starting in 1978 signs show passenger figured and females seated in the #1 and #3 seats , but the disclaimers read “ Larger Passengers Enter First …. Slide to rear of seat and keep your mouth shut”
In the early 90’s the signs were revised to remove the female figures -but the generic humans still show smaller / children to sit in the #1 and #3 positions .
I really miss the 1978 bobsleds … they were spacious and comfortable and allowed riders to use inside or outside handgrips … this allowed riders to “lean into the curves “ and increase your speed should you find yourself racing another bobsled …. The current sleds are like sliding your whole body into a holster … it hurts my knees so much… I’ve had to stop
Riding the Matterhorn….
"Slide to rear of seat and keep your mouth shut."
Mike, ha, ha! I caught that!
The current sleds are like sliding your whole body into a holster … it hurts my knees so much… I’ve had to stop riding the Matterhorn…..
Mike, the 1978 vehicles were PERFECTION! (Thank you, Bob Gurr!) The current vehicles are HORRIBLE! Because of the way the back is connected to the seat (I guess that's considered a "bucket seat"?), I feel like I am unable to sit up straight, so I end up sitting on my tailbone, which takes the shock of every little bump, instead of my "rear" doing that. It's a terrible design and I would like to know who the person is that came up with it! I've mentioned it before, but the first time I rode in the new vehicles, I ended up having to go for a chiropractic adjustment the next day. I mentioned that to cast members during following visits, and they said that I wasn't the only one who had told them that! After that, whenever I rode, I tried to use my hands and arms to "suspend" myself above the seat.....almost like doing the "parallel bars." It worked in keeping me from bouncing around on my tailbone, but it's tiring doing that through the entire ride! I have now given up on riding it, as well. It's a shame, since it was one of my favorite rides. I had a few rude people try to tell me that it's probably because I'm older now, but I didn't have any problems riding it right up until the time they changed the vehicles, and I can still go on Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain, and many other coasters, so it isn't that. It's the design of those darn seats! So, who was it that came up with that design????
Sue, I think the Bobsled Good Luck is squared, or maybe cubed if a picture of a bobsled is taken from a bobsled. And the little girl looks terrified to me.
I’m really impressed by the spatial memory required to identify this location. Thanks Tokyo and the GDB Team. I’m with Mike though. My last ride on the Matterhorn will probably be my last, I could barely unfold out of the sled and the whole ride hurt. Of course, riding just before closing had accumulated an entire day’s stiffness and discomfort, so maybe it’s not fair to blame it all on the ride.
Thanks Major, I can go forth today fortified with Bobsled Good Luck!
JG
Wow, a whole dialogue, before 2:00 in the morning! I salute the early birds.
Nanook, yeah, you would have to be pretty limber to turn completely around like that!
Lou and Sue, it looks like four people were in the bobsled, I don’t know if they would allow five - or if they would fit!
Lou and Sue, OF COURSE
Nanook, I thought maybe there was at least one coconut.
TokyoMagic!, I am up on all the hip lingo! Maybe there was one adult and three children, making it impossible for all the children to be in a lap? Just guessing. I got “yelled at” on the Disneyland RR when I leaned forward to get a photo of the train as it went around a bend. My butt never left the seat, but they still didn’t like it!
Nanook, sometimes TM goes to work standing on the back of a white stallion.
Lou and Sue, falling rocks are always a concern on a mountain slope.
Nanook, there was a ship on the Matterhorn??
TokyoMagic!, interesting. I wonder why they decided to enclose that part of the track?? Maybe the bobsled hadn’t gotten up to speed yet, and that made it easier to take a quick “behind the back” shot.
Nanook, I was going to say what TM said, he just said it first! (OK, I’m lying).
JB, I have heard of RollerCoaster Tycoon of course, but have never seen a frame of it, or played it. Clearly you get to design your own roller coaster - did you make a Matterhorn-ish mountain to place your coaster on? I’m not sure if the girl looks terrified, but it could be so. She almost looks “interested”. Like a scientist observing a new species. You would be able to tell if that was the LA River because there is so much wildlife and nature around it. I’m assuming there was a little luck involved with the second photo, but “fortune favors the bold”. And yes, I am surprised at the amount of discourse about these photos!
Mike Cozart, I’ve seen some of the signs you mentioned, but see my comment to TokyoMagic!, maybe there was only one adult and several children? However you’d still think that a child would be at the front if they were following the official load order. I think it’s so strange that they redesigned the bobsleds, and did such a poor job of it. These are professional designers! Who supposedly know what they are doing! How could they bungle it so badly? I will still ride the Matterhorn, but have learned that I have to sort of wedge myself it, and have my knees firmly on each side against the bobsled.
TokyoMagic!, I wish I remembered the old bobsleds better, but I just don’t. Maybe you just need to tell yourself that you are comfortable and that the seats are great! You know, the power of positive thinking. “My tailbone doesn’t hurt! I don’t have whiplash!”. I don’t remember having an issue with sitting on my tailbone, but Gwyneth Paltrow and I had special surgeries so that this wouldn’t be a problem. I should have invited you to join us! We need the name of the current bobsled designer so we can burn him in effegy.
JG, I’m trying to remember if I was scared on my first Matterhorn ride (my first REAL rollercoaster). I’m sure I was scared while in line, but I don’t recall being terrified on the ride. Maybe it helped that I was with my grandpa, who was always game for any coaster. All I know is that I became a coaster fan!
I don’t know who designed the current bobsleds but they are terrible. I remember when they were testing a few prototype designs …. I even took photos of the sleds backstage …. ( a real Mickey no-no!!) but i remember being concerned with how they looked - it never dawned on me they would be incredibly uncomfortable and stiff. I remember one of the prototypes had odd “saw tooth” sides … the dip portion was were the guests entered … it looked like a man’s slipper . I think everyone was kinda excited to see that multi colors were being considered and that some form of the bobsled nose cone shields were still going to be used. Some had bolted on tiny shields others used an industrial sticker and a few experimented with a heat - pad printing. The diemensional bolted on version. Was abandoned to save on weight and future extra maintenance. But again I think nobody considered that they would be such a hard ride.
The reason the current bobsleds feature a separate seat for each passenger was because the guests were slow in boarding and exiting as they fiddled with which seatbelt went to who … and also with having to slow load times with single rider guests … but I think any of that speed increase in loading and dispatch was lost with guests having difficulty exiting the bobsleds.
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