Tuesday Trivia - Matterhorn Bobsleds

The Matterhorn Bobsleds, which first opened at Disneyland on June 14, 1959 is noteworthy for a number of "firsts" that it can claim.  Those firsts include:

• first thrill ride designed for Disneyland (and as such it retains the title as first thrill ride for any Disney theme park)
• first tubular steel roller coaster ever built
• first fully themed indoor/outdoor roller coaster
• first Disney attraction to feature two separate track systems in order to increase guest capacity
• first roller coaster that allowed multiple vehicles to operate on the same track at once.

The Matterhorn has not been duplicated in any other Disney theme park yet.  It was at one time considered for inclusion in Epcot's World Showcase for a proposed Swiss Pavilion, but of course that concept was scrapped later on.

It is the tallest structure inside of Disneyland, coming in at 147 feet tall, and it is a near perfect 1/100th replica of the original mountain in the Swiss Alps.  To build the mountain, the Imagineers used 2,175 individual steel girders, countless tons of concrete, and enough lumber to build approximately 27 1950's era tract homes.