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Redone Matterhorn at Disneyland

Disneyland: Is the Matterhorn ride with the new cars improved or worse?

From cynthia henisey
Posted September 4, 2012 at 7:10 AM
The Matterhorn ride at Disneyland was refurbished recently. I'm not sure what all they did but I know they got new cars. My understanding was that the ride would be smoother. It seemed just as jerky if not worse to me. And the ride also seemed a lot slower. Anyone else?


Comments in chronological order. Most recent at the bottom. Scroll down to respond.

From Jay R.
Posted September 4, 2012 at 1:32 PM
It feels the same to me (in regards to the smoothness issue).

That "rough ride" feeling is still there.....I can't tell the difference.

The yeti isn't as loud as it was when it reopened, but the mountain climbers are a nice touch.

From Terence Thomas
Posted September 4, 2012 at 2:13 PM
I am so in love with theme park rides that minor changes don't bother me. At Disney World, they made the Star Wars ride 3-d, which is a super fantastic upgrade. I am of the opinion, if I already like the ride, upgrades won't make it worse. If it is slower, it might be due to a medical or health-related reason.

From Rob P
Posted September 6, 2012 at 1:50 AM
I only know the "rough" ride as I haven't been to DL in a while. But I think it HAS to be like that or it wouldn't be the Matterhorn.
I think that if the ride has been made smoother it would've lost something integral........but maybe that's just me.

From Jay R.
Posted September 5, 2012 at 2:40 PM
That's part of the appeal of the Matterhorn, I guess, that "I'm gonna fall out at any moment sensation"

From Andrew Dougherty
Posted September 5, 2012 at 6:37 PM
I think that when the refurb finished most people didn't really care/remember. It just wasn't as big as Disney wanted it to be.

From Mark Kausch
Posted September 12, 2012 at 11:57 AM
I thought the ride was way too rough. It def wasn't this rough when it first opened way back in the dark ages. The fact that you can't cuddle on it anymore is a big negative (not that I have anyone to cuddle anymore). And finally, there is no more legroom. I have no need to put my knees into my nostrils.

And I have no need to ride the Matterhorn again. Ever. Unless, of course, they do another "major refurbishment".

From Wendy Purdy
Posted September 13, 2012 at 12:39 PM
We rode it twice last night in the dark, which was fun. I don't really see that much difference in the smoothness of the ride. However, I do like the single-rider seats. Since I usually rode with one of my kids, I now don't have to worry anymore about getting busted in various parts of my anatomy when we go through the rough areas. I'm sure my husband will concur...with emphases on certain parts of HIS anatomy. :-) Also, he has more room for himself and the backpack, without trying to squish a kid in there as well.

From AJ Hummel
Posted September 13, 2012 at 8:29 PM
I rode the ride last week, and in my opinion the new cars make it a little smoother. However, this is countered by the fact that they are more uncomfortable since you are sitting on the floor and you feel every little jolt due to the lack of padding. Overall, as long as the cars actually result in a capacity increase I'm fine with them, but they don't really improve the ride experience at all.

From rick stevens
Posted September 13, 2012 at 9:00 PM
You have to remember that this ride was never intended to be smooth. It has always been an attempt to recreate an actual toboggan ride. Walt was looking for that aesthetic when it was designed. I think it would be wrong to change this feel. The jolting bobbing and overall roughness of the ride is intentional. A smooth course would make this just one more coaster in a sea of great coasters.

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