by Paul F. Anderson
The fifties was an interesting time, politically, socially, economically, and culturally. The red scare was in full force. TV was consuming America’s spare time. The post-war baby boom flooded the nation with kids. We were becoming a suburban society (read: bland), and with the creation of the national highway system, we were mobile. And nary a fake mountain with a “ride” for the pure sake of escapism and spending time with your family existed! Think about how Admiral Fowler felt when Walt came to him and said, “Joe, I want to build a mountain at Disneyland.” Okay, bad example, Admiral Fowler probably thought, “That’s my boss! I better get started.” So take anybody else in America and present this idea: “The man is crazy,” would have been the response. Let me add to that, however…the baby boomers that grew up with the Disneyland television show and The Mickey Mouse Club, and were not limited by conventional “grown-up” thinking, would have said “We can hardly wait.” Walt never lost site of what it was to be a child, with amazement, wonderment, and fantasy. If he had, the Matterhorn would have never been built. Every time I ride the Matterhorn with my two boys, I thank Walt Disney and the Imagineers for the experience with my family; for the joy of seeing my six year old and eleven year old squeal with delight; and for the experience of bobsledding down a mountain, all because Walt thought it would be fun. And you know, he was right!
So on, with the first installment of Matterhorn Mania. I have more images to put up next week (including a group of original WED research shots when the Alpine Mountain was just in its infancy). I appreciate your emails and comments, with any thoughts, criticisms, or ideas.
FILMING DAY! Okay, I didn’t do my research (bad historian), I donot know who these people are! (Todd will.) I do know they are filming the
Matterhorn experience, most likely for WED reference. I would be appreciative
of anyone who can provide me any information on their identity.
FILMING DAY! A little bit later. Appears the camera will be wet!
FILMING DAY! One second later.
Filming Day, almost the same as before, but one ride one second later.
The first construction shot I posted received quite a few comments,so here is another image, with the Matterhorn nearing completion.
Note the “Coming Soon” sign for guests at Disneyland.
Disneyland Summer 1959 Guidebook Insert.
Sam McKim was one of my favorite individuals from Disney. I did two
extensive interviews with him, and he was always generous with his
time. And his wife, the very sweet Dorothy, made the best cookies on
the planet (and would always bake me a batch every time I would see them).
One day at their home, after a lengthy interview with Sam, he asked me if
I wanted to see any of his artwork? After I picked myself up off the floor,
we spent two to three hours of him pulling stuff out and explaining to me
about the piece. It is Sam’s generosity that you will experience here at DHI,
as he let me photograph each piece! The above concept was done on March 19, 1986
and was for the proposed Switzerland Pavilion at World Showcase, Epcot Center.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE FOR HIGH-RES IMAGE, AS WELL AS ANY OTHER IMAGE AT DHI!
This just keeps getting better and better. Thank you for this series of post. The pictures are a pleasure to view.
Here’s my guess. In the back, with the dark hair, Ed Morgan. It’s kind of blurry. But at least it looks like Ed. The other two guys, were they hired specifically to film that day?
And here’s the thing, I’ve actually seen the footage that they took on that day. There’s quite a bit from that day and at least one other day (a month or two earlier). You can tell it’s two different days: in one the splash pond is empty (early) in the other it’s full (late). As opposed to popular stories about the mountain’s construction–in which the track is still being installed with the mountain, the earlier footage clearly shows the test car (with hand brake) in full operation (with a single rider, wearing a hard hat), with chain lift in operation, when the entire mountain was only skeletal steel. I believe both sets feature the prototype car, with the long Styrofoam nose cone and the single bench. And though I’ve seen the footage, I still don’t know who took it. Probably a live action crew from the studio, who had a down day. That would be my guess.
I’m assuming that the final photo here (of the mountain, half-dressed, is from a different set of photos.
Todd