Is that just one bobsled?

Some interesting facts about the (first) mountain and what has been my favorite ride in the park from my first visit in the early 60’s through today.

In the scamper of opening day on June 14th of 1959, the flag of Denmark was mistakenly placed on top as opposed to the flag of Switzerland; continuing the legendary opening snafu(s) which have occurred at the park.

Yes, there is a basketball hoop in the top. Note that this may now be gone, but was placed there by Walt for employees.

At 147 feet, it was and still is the tallest structure in Disneyland, and for many years until the 1960’s, it was the tallest structure in Orange County.

The Matterhorn was moved. Yes, well, in the souvenir guide books anyway. From 1959 until 1968 the mountain and ride were officially a part of Tomorrowland. After 1968, she was ‘moved’ to Fantasyland in all the guides.

On opening day, the peak was scaled by members of the local ‘Sierra Club’. The climb is still made to this day, however, did you know there are 30 ‘routes’ the climbers can make to the summit.  Now, on a clear day, while on the summit, one can see both Catalina Island and the Hollywood sign which are 40 miles away.

The famous “doggie” as described by my daughter was added in 1978.

This is one of my favorite cards in my collection. I love the ‘fall season’ grayness of this shot.

Did you know there is an elevator inside which is for the use of employees and Tinker Bell and for decorating (seasonal) as well?

I could go on, but one last question. Notice the number of cars(bobsleds) in the postcards above? 1 (one); that’s correct. Until the 1978 redo of the ride, there was only one car. A second car (tandem hooking) was used to increase the ride capacity.

One last and personal tid-bit. While the fantasyland side is longer by a few seconds (between 15-20 seconds) the tomorrowland side is considered the more exciting ride.

A celebration of 50 years!

On opening day; and, today; there was a parade at Disneyland. There always has been and I hope there always will be. Most of my collection and post here at the hovel involve older items. I wanted to show some contemporary cards to just have some balance and besides, I just enjoy looking at my post card collection and commenting on the park.

Disneyland and I were been the same year. Hummmm

2005 marked the 50th Anniversary and of course the park was spiffy and smacked out in finery. Here is a look at some of the special  memories of that special year.

The Walt Disney Parade of Dreams kicked off on May 5, 2005 and celebrated all aspects of Disney during its run through the Holiday Season (November 11th) of 2008. There were 7 floats (referred to as units) and each had a ‘Hidden Mickey’ on it.

This parade featured one of the largest collection of characters and here are  Mickey and Minnie in their ‘Regal’ outfits.

Sleeping Beauty’s Castle is truly an icon of the park. Here she is decked out in dazzling jewels, golden accents and regal banners. She sure is pretty and has the top of the Matterhorn adoring over the tree tops.

During the ‘Homecoming’ celebration, there ware displayed all over the park the 50th icon or logo. Here is a close up of the ‘ears’ as displayed on the castle.

OK, that is part one (1) of our look at the ‘Homecoming’. Look for part tow of this series popping up soon.

matterhorn

ok, if the castle and mark twain are icons, then matterhorn mountain is surly the landmark. opening as part of the 59’ tomorrowland expansion, the mountain was latter moved to be a part of fantasyland. a move on paper only. see old tickets and park maps. i have never heard or read a real explanation.

there is a rec-room in the upper part of the mountain put there to have a place for the climbers to have a rest. in an effort to make their time pass, a basketball hoop was installed. the original climbers were members of a local sierra club group.

an interesting fact: the matterhorn was the first ever tubular steel rollercoaster built. prior, they were wood.

in it’s original form, they was a single bobsled which provided a very smooth ride. later, the tandem car setup was adopted to increase ride capacity.  another common debate is which of the tracks provide the better ride? most people and i believe the tomorrowland side entrance provides the better trip down the mountain.

here is an especially pleasing look at the matterhorn at night.

the idea came to walt during filming of third man on the mountain. considered ‘impossible’ by many at the time, walt simply smiled and uttered his famous quote:

It's kind of fun to do the impossible.

next time we head into tomorrow!

the matterhorn

if you go to http://www.hojoanaheim.com/ at the top of the page you will find a link to their webcam. you can keep an eye on disneyland in case it does something. i took this picture on friday morning.