Matterhorn to Receive New Bobsleds

nemofinder22

nemofinder22

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Looks like the old rumor may come true.

Matterhorn is currently down till the weekend then goes down again next weekend after a lengthy refurbishment prior to spring break. Although there is no info on when these new bobsleds would make there debut for guest use.

http://twitter.com/TPAMagazine/status/12146964043
Matterhorn is down til Saturday for new bobsled testing. Single seats, reduced capacity. Lap bars, no more belts.
Click to expand...

Photo by Mousewait-
Heres a look at the new bobsled-
http://disneyland.posterous.com/new-3-seat-matterhorn-cars-pic-disneyland-iph

4519283931_26de8e5c74.jpg
Click to expand...

Edit-I forgot to add a question mark on the title, sorry about that.

Also if or when, these were to come online the station gates would need some fixing, the current load gates have 2 gates per bobsled, the new would need 3 gates per bobsled. Unless they do what they did when Splash did when it got the new sleds and new seating arrangement, until it eventually went down for a longer refurb to change the gates.





Edit-
On Jan 6, 2012 the Disney Parks Blog confirmed the new bobsleds and will make their debut when Matterhorn returns from its 6 month refurbishment in June.
http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...-race-down-the-matterhorn-at-disneyland-park/
On Monday, Jan. 9, the Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland park will close so we can ready the iconic mountain for a new fleet of bobsleds. Featuring a new, sleek design, the vehicles will have three seats in each bobsled with two bobsleds linked together for a total of six guests.
So get your last-minute bobsledding done this weekend and the attraction will re-open this summer.
Click to expand...
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
EpcotServo said:
I like the idea-but wish they would keep the orange and red stripes.
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I kinda wish they'd go back to the fleet of mixed colors from the 1960's. Each sled (or dual-sled now) could be its own color scheme and livery. For the movie That Thing You Do, set in 1964, when the drummer escapes and goes to Disneyland, they painted a modern sled to look like a 1960's sled.

Here's Walt with the Shah and Empress of Iran (when that country was our friend, before the Islamic Revolution in '79), and you can see the different colored sleds in the background.

Shah%20of%20Iran%20on%20Matterhorn.jpg


They've kept the cool Matterhorn shield/logo on the nose through the decades though, and they are still on the sleds today, so I'm sure that will be on the new fleet.

eticket_matterhorn1974ww.jpg
 
Z

Ziffell

Member
TP2000 said:
I kinda wish they'd go back to the fleet of mixed colors from the 1960's.
Click to expand...

I agree. Not only would it look kind of retro, but the orange and red stripes has been the color scheme since 1978... and it makes them LOOK like 1978.

TP2000 said:
For the movie That Thing You Do, set in 1964, when the drummer escapes and goes to Disneyland, they painted a modern sled to look like a 1960's sled.
Click to expand...

There's one detail in that scene that is not authentic though. Prior to 1978, the bobsleds were single sled, not two sleds in tandem like they are now.
 
D

disneymomto2

New Member
Does anyone know if they are going to raise the height requirement (currently it is 35") when these new bobsleds make their debut?

Our trip is in about 100 days and we are going to have one sad little boy if they do. This was his favorite ride last summer! How are we going explain that he won't be able to ride it anymore?!?!?! Ugh!
 
nemofinder22

nemofinder22

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
disneymomto2 said:
Does anyone know if they are going to raise the height requirement (currently it is 35") when these new bobsleds make their debut?

Our trip is in about 100 days and we are going to have one sad little boy if they do. This was his favorite ride last summer! How are we going explain that he won't be able to ride it anymore?!?!?! Ugh!
Click to expand...

The new bobsleds are testing right now(if we even get them), I imagine that an whole new fleet of bobsleds would take some time to build. Plus the Matterhorn would have to go down for a bit to get new station gates.
 
sponono88

sponono88

Well-Known Member
DisneyGeek's update has additional pictures of the bobsled cycling through the mountain

IMG_2942-1.jpg


a comparison shot of the bobsleds

IMG_2957-2.jpg
 
Lucille

Lucille

Member
Boo. I am not a fan of the new seating set up. Looks way too much like Space Mountain at WDW which makes me wonder if they'll be as incredibly uncomfortable as SM at WDW. Ugh.
 
primetime52

primetime52

Member
disneymomto2 said:
Does anyone know if they are going to raise the height requirement (currently it is 35") when these new bobsleds make their debut?

Our trip is in about 100 days and we are going to have one sad little boy if they do. This was his favorite ride last summer! How are we going explain that he won't be able to ride it anymore?!?!?! Ugh!
Click to expand...

I was told they plan to keep the height requirement the same, and that's why the new sleds will use seatbelts instead of lap bars. I guess it's tougher to keep a child secure under a lap bar than under a seatbelt.
 
primetime52

primetime52

Member
Ever since the rumor of new sleds (with no lap seating) started, I've been a bit surprised at how many people I've seen complain about it. I don't find the lap seating to be the slightest bit comfortable, and will be happy to have my own seat. Plus, many people opt to sit separately anyway. I think it's safe to assume that with 3 people to every sled, the line would move a bit more quickly.
 
nemofinder22

nemofinder22

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Bring some life back to this thread as Matterhorn is currently on number 2 of 3 refurbishments for 2011.

From Al Lutz.
http://miceage.micechat.com/allutz/al062111a.htm
But from July 11th until Labor Day weekend the Matterhorn will close again for the first phase of a two-phase major refurbishment. The Matterhorn will then stay open for the fall and Christmas season, before closing in early January for the first six months of 2012. It’s during that six month period when the new bobsleds with lap bars will be installed, the mountain will be painted and refurbished cosmetically, and it’s also when Tony Baxter hopes to cram as many technology upgrades and new effects in as his budget will allow.
Click to expand...

To make it easier heres what the current roster of refurbishments for Matterhorn.
06|13|11---06|17|11---Matterhorn Bobsleds
06|20|11---06|24|11---Matterhorn Bobsleds
07|11|11---09|01|11---Matterhorn Bobselds
01|00|12---06|00|12---Matterhorn Bobsleds

I'm really interested in what kind of updates they can do, any are welcome by me. Even more so with what they have done on smaller projects already, Snow White, Castle walk through and to a lesser extent the ROA.
 

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