West
Disney Matterhorn Bobsleds inspired by Swiss Alps jewel, plus more fun rollercoaster facts
Since 1959, the Matterhorn Bobsleds have stood tall at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
The ride was groundbreaking when it first debuted — and it changed the trajectory of roller coasters forever.
Want to know what makes this trek through the Swiss mountains so unique?
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Here are seven fun facts.
1. It made history when it opened on June 14, 1959
The Matterhorn Bobsleds ride was the world’s first rollercoaster to use steel tubular track, according to the Disneyland website.
It was built by manufacturer Arrow Development and was the first rollercoaster at the park.
The Matterhorn Bobsleds was the first rollercoaster in the world to use a tubular steel track. (Paul Hiffmeyer/Disneyland via Getty Images)
Now, tubular steel track is commonly used in some of the world’s most impressive roller coasters — but at the time, something different was needed to ensure that Walt Disney’s vision could come to life.
“Walt had a vision for an adrenaline rush bobsled ride in Anaheim (where it never snows) and he found the inspiration for his mountain design with snow on top while traveling [in] Europe when he witnessed the grandness of the Matterhorn,” Sarah Hirsch, founder of Well Traveled Kids, told Fox News Digital.
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Well Traveled Kids is a family travel agency; Hirsch is based in Illinois.
Legend has it that an inspired Disney “purchased a postcard with a photo of the mountain and mailed it to his Disneyland team from Europe with two words: ‘Build this,’” Hirsch said.
The Matterhorn Bobsleds have taken millions of people down its twisty track since its opening in 1959 — including the Shah of Iran and Empress Farah, seen above in the front of the sled. (Getty Images)
“The creative geniuses at Disneyland were able to replicate the outside of the ride to look just like the postcard photo and created an experience of a first-of-its-kind thrill ride at Disneyland that attracted adventure and adrenaline junkies to the park for the first time,” she said.
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Now, 65 years later, the Matterhorn Bobsleds “feels old school but also gives you an addictive rush that makes you want to jump back in line and ride it over and over again,” she said.
2. Ride has changed a lot since opening day
Today, riders of the Matterhorn Bobsleds embark on a “thrilling high-speed ride.” They “swoop in and out of shadowy caves and along jagged rocky ledges,” all while avoiding the “growling creature known as the Abominable Snowman,” according to the Disneyland website.
But that was not always the case.
When the original Matterhorn Bobsleds opened, the inside of the mountain was hollow, Werner Weiss, curator of the Disney history website Yesterland, told Fox News Digital in an email.
The original Matterhorn mountain at Disneyland had a hollow interior. (Greg Doherty/Getty Images)
“The structural beams were covered to resemble rock, but there was no mistaking the space for a real cave,” Weiss said.
In 1978, however, the ride got a big upgrade.
“The interior was redone as ice caves, and the Abominable Snowman was added,” he said.
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Another big change came in 1994, when the Skyway gondola attraction was shuttered and removed, Weiss said.
The Skyway previously ran through the Matterhorn – and with its removal, the hole in the mountain had to be patched up. “The space previously used by the Skyway became a glacier grotto,” he said.
The now-defunct gondola attraction known as the “Skyway” took passengers through the Matterhorn. (Albert Moote/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
3. ‘Sleds’ have changed since opening day, too
Originally, the bobsleds fit four people – two per “seat.”
“The larger guest should sit against the backrest — and will be the backrest for the smaller guest. It’s a rather cozy arrangement,” Weiss said.
“No wonder teenage boys like to take their dates on this ride.”
In 1978, the trains became “tandem” bobsleds, allowing for eight passengers per train.
“The single-car, four-passenger bobsleds were replaced by two-car, eight-passenger bobsleds, which (along with new computer controls) doubled the ride capacity — and shortened the waits,” Weiss said.
As of 2012, the bobsleds are in tandem trains of two “sleds” with three individual seats.
The Matterhorn Bobsleds now have two three-seater tandem trains. (FilmMagic)
“No more cozy seating,” he said.
4. The paint job reflects real-life inspiration
The “snow” atop the Matterhorn mountain at Disneyland is not evenly distributed, just as the actual snow atop the actual Matterhorn mountain is not.
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The real-life Matterhorn is located on the border between Switzerland and Italy.
“More than 800 gallons of paint were used to create heavier snowfall on the north-facing — just like the real Matterhorn,” the Disneyland website said.
To mimic the glittery effect of real snow (which scarcely, if ever, is found in Southern California), Disneyland’s designers used glass beads on the Matterhorn, the website said.
The “snow” that’s been painted on the Matterhorn Bobsleds, shown at left, mimics the real-life Matterhorn. (Getty Images)
5. Matterhorn Bobsleds is two rides in one – and not all that tall
The Matterhorn mountain actually has two roller coasters – dubbed the “Fantasyland” and “Tomorrowland” tracks due to their proximity to the respective lands – and the tracks run throughout the mountain.
The Matterhorn mountain at Disneyland is 147 feet tall (Mickey Mouse climbed it in 2005), and the bobsleds’ top speed is just 27 mph.
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The Matterhorn is nearly twice the size of the 77-foot tall “Sleeping Beauty” castle and is exactly 100 times shorter than the real-life Matterhorn, according to the Disneyland website.
As with many attractions, the designers of the Matterhorn Bobsleds used a technique called “forced perspective” to make it seem far taller than it is, noted the Disneyland website.
Mickey Mouse, dressed in lederhosen, climbed the Matterhorn in 2005. The mountain stands 147 feet tall. (Matthew Simmons/Getty Images)
While the Matterhorn may not be all that impressively tall compared to real mountains, it had the distinction, when it was built, of being the tallest artificial structure in Orange County, California, Weiss said.
It quickly lost this record with the construction of high-rise buildings.
6. It’s one of a kind
While many of Disneyland’s rides can be found in some form at other Disney parks around the world – Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain and Peter Pan’s Flight, for instance – there is just one Matterhorn Bobsleds.
“When I book Disneyland vacation packages for clients, the Matterhorn is still one of the rides everyone is most excited about,” Hirsch said.
While other Disneyland attractions have been replicated at other parks, the Matterhorn Bobsleds is unique to the Southern California park. (Patrick Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
He said that’s true “especially since it’s unique to Disneyland, and they won’t find it in the Orlando Disney parks.”
7. The animatronic Abominable Snowman has a name
The animatronic Abominable Snowman that lives in the Matterhorn has a name.
It’s “Harold.”
The current iteration of “Harold” was installed in 2015.
“At least unofficially,” Weiss said. “My understanding is that Matterhorn [ride operators] starting calling him Harold for no particular reason.”
The nickname quickly caught on among employees, Disneyland fans and “eventually with regular guests,” Weiss said.
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The current iteration of “Harold” was installed in 2015, but the original did not go far away, Weiss said.
He is currently on display in the queue for the Guardians of the Galaxy Mission: Breakout ride at the Disney California Adventure Park.
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San Francisco, CA
Supervisors urge California to expand S.F. speed-camera program
San Francisco supervisors authorized a resolution Tuesday urging California lawmakers to expand the city’s automated speed camera program, which currently has 33 cameras operating in the city under a state pilot.
The board’s 10-to-1 vote on Tuesday, with District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton voting against it, will not add cameras immediately, but formally asks the state to explore changes to the program. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has identified at least 80 additional high-need locations that could benefit from automated enforcement, according to a report filed with the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee.
Richard Zieman, whose son Andrew, a paraeducator, was killed in November 2021 by a speeding driver outside Sherman Elementary School on Franklin Street, told Mission Local that city officials should do more. “They waited for a tragedy,” Zieman said. Parents and school leaders had repeatedly asked the city to slow traffic on Franklin Street, where drivers barreled downhill toward the Marina, said Zieman.
Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who introduced the resolution, has said the city’s first year of automated speed enforcement shows that the technology works. The SFMTA reported nearly an 80 percent reduction in drivers traveling at least 10 miles per hour over the speed limit at camera locations after the program launched in March 2025. San Francisco was the first city to implement the pilot authorized under Assembly Bill 645.
The pilot, however, is capped by state law at 33 camera locations. Tuesday’s resolution asks California lawmakers to consider allowing more, prioritizing corridors on San Francisco’s High Injury Network, including Franklin Street.
Walk San Francisco, a pedestrian advocacy group which spent roughly eight years advocating for the state legislation that created the pilot, called the resolution an important first step toward broader expansion.
“Thirty-three cameras is nowhere near the number of cameras we need for people to realize that San Francisco is a safe-speed city,” said executive director Jodie Medeiros. “This tool is working. People are lowering their speeds.”
District 6, represented by Dorsey, currently has seven of the city’s 33 cameras, most of them in SoMa. The district also records the highest number of crashes involving injuries or fatalities in San Francisco, making it a focal point in the debate over expanding automated enforcement.
The resolution advanced unanimously from the Board of Supervisors’ Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee last week, where Dorsey said the cameras have made streets “feel safer” and argued the early results show “why we should have even more of this life-saving technology.”
Zieman, whose son’s death prompted traffic-calming improvements and eventually a speed camera near Sherman Elementary, said the issue is urgent.
“There are probably other Franklin streets out there,” he said. “I just hope they don’t wait for someone else before they expand the program. It’s too late for Andrew.”
Denver, CO
Five Points affordable housing building honors Dr. Justina Ford | Rocky Mountain PBS
DENVER — Dr. Justina Ford’s name adorns plaques and statues across Denver, where she delivered more than 7,000 babies as the city’s first licensed Black woman physician. Now, an affordable housing building in Five Points, the neighborhood where she lived and worked for 50 years, bears her name.
The newly christened Justina at Five Points, formerly Brunetti Lofts, offers a rare commodity in Denver’s housing market: family-sized affordable housing units.The 23-unit building, built in 2005, has 19 three-bedroom units. Rents range from $840 to $1,893 per month. Residents must make between 30% and 60% of Denver’s area median income, and specific income requirements vary depending on the unit.
“I do believe that in the last, five, ten years, maybe a little longer, housing here in Colorado has just gone crazy. I mean, I have a little two-bedroom townhouse, and I can’t afford to move back in the neighborhood I grew up in because of the pricing. And it’s just crazy,” said Daphne Rice-Allen, chair of the board at the Black American West Museum and Heritage Center, which is housed in Ford’s historic home in Five Points.
Rice-Allen grew up in Clayton, which is northeast of Five Points. This cluster of neighborhoods in north Denver — Five Points, Cole, Whittier and Clayton — were among the areas deemed “hazardous” and “definitely declining” on the city’s 1938 “Residential Security Map,” which redlined neighborhoods with Black, Mexican and lower-income residents.
At that time, Five Points flourished as a cultural and entertainment hub, known as “the Harlem of the West” and serving as “the seat of Denver’s African American community.” Black social clubs, such as the Owl Club, emerged. And Ford, who arrived in Denver in 1902 and was not allowed to work in a hospital, continued to provide medical care out of her house and deliver babies at her patients’ homes.
“This was a family neighborhood, Rice-Allen said about Five Points during that period.
“There were a lot of families that lived in the area and lived in the neighborhood.”
But Five Points’ demographics have changed a lot since Ford died in 1952. About 30% of households in the neighborhood were families in 2020. By 2024, that percentage dropped to about 20%.
The neighborhood experienced a drastic shift in racial demographics as well. In 2000, about 27% of the residents were white, 26% Black and 43% Hispanic. The 2020 census told a different story: 64% white, 10% Black and 17% Hispanic.
What was once a Black cultural hub is now a majority-white neighborhood, which raises concerns about gentrification and displacement of long-time residents. Despite the large supply of affordable housing units in the area — 2,796 in 2024 — about half of renters in Five Points are cost-burdened, meaning they spent more than 30% of their income on housing.
Seattle, WA
Seattle weather: Hot and sunny day Wednesday, highs in the 80s
SEATTLE – Wednesday will be another warm day with highs in the mid to upper 80s for parts of western Washington. Eastern and central Washington will reach near 100F with high fire danger. The coast and north interior will be cooler, only in the 60s to 70s.
Wednesday will be another warm day with highs in the mid to upper 80s for parts of western Washington.
Fire Weather Watch
A Fire Weather Watch goes into effect Wednesday evening through Thursday evening for thunderstorms and gusty winds. Lightning strikes could create new fire starts and, with very dry conditions in place, any new fire could spread quickly.
A Fire Weather Watch goes into effect Wednesday evening through Thursday evening for thunderstorms and gusty winds.
What’s next:
An upper level low will move into the Pacific Northwest, bringing scattered showers and a chance of thunderstorms. The heaviest showers will be in the morning hours and will turn more scattered into the evening hours.
An upper level low will move into the Pacific Northwest, bringing scattered showers and chance of thunderstorms.
Looking Ahead:
High pressure will build again Friday and into the weekend, increasing temperatures and sunshine. We will start to see highs reach the upper 80s to low 90s by early next week.
High pressure will build again Friday and into the weekend, increasing temperatures and sunshine.
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The Source: Information in this story came from the FOX 13 Seattle Weather Team and the National Weather Service.
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