matterhorn at disneyworld?

[migitmouse88]

i know that a lot of people from california think that disney world has too many rides that disney land doesnt but they are forgetting one huge mountain...literally... they have the matterhorn and this ride truly looks amazing... is expedition everist going to be like a re creation of the matterhorn?

[Captain Jack]

Not at all. The Matterhorn and WDW's Space Mountain are very similar in track design and layout, even practically the same trains. Expedition Everest may appear more like a snow covered mountain like the Matterhorn, but the coaster experience on the inside is completely different.

[migitmouse88]

thanks for your insight mr sparrow

[Rainfully]

The Matterhorn is something truly unique to Disneyland and it should always stay that way!

I think EE is a lot bigger than Matterhorn (this is purely speculation as I haven't seen any real life construction of EE, and I have never even been to Disneyland...) Plus I think you go backwards on part of EE? I also believe there is an abominable snowman.. so that's another similarity. So basically it's a similar theme, but two completely different experiences.

[innerSpaceman]

I believe there was once going to be a Mount Fuji attraction for the Japan pavilion at World Showcase. That might have been a bit like the Matterhorn.

[Gemini Cricket]

Not at all. The Matterhorn and WDW's Space Mountain are very similar in track design and layout, even practically the same trains. Expedition Everest may appear more like a snow covered mountain like the Matterhorn, but the coaster experience on the inside is completely different.

Ah, the common misperception raises its dreary head once-more. Sorry, folks, but neither of Florida's two ORIGINAL Space Mountain track layouts is the same as the Matterhorn's. Bobsled-style vehicles are the similar, as are other elements of the ride system. But the track layouts are unique, and neither the Alpha or Omega track copied the Matterhorn bobsled course.

I think iSm's right, CJ.

[Disneyland1970]

I have also read somewhere that Switzerland was to be in the World Showcase, and have the Matterhorn there. But the Swiss did not to want to come up with the funds to build the country in Epcot at that time. With all the money in SWISS BANK ACCOUNTS? C'mon

[MickeyMania]

The Matterhorn, although my favorite DL landmark, isn't exactly what I'd call amazing by any means, certainly not special if shipped off to Orlando. It's value is being the first steel coaster and the "Walt Built It" factor, and neither one of those claims could be made by a WDW Matterhorn.

You guys just have to deal with your Mountain Envy for only a little while longer. Then prepare yourselves for at least 10 years of us groaning about how you guys (or Paris) get the better version of everything.

[ti2gr]

Mount Fuji was planned for Japan in Epcot, it would have been an indoor coaster like Space Mountain and there was a Swiss pavillion planned with the Matterhorn. Personally I think Disney should build more countries, but without the support of those countries Disney won't do it. The countries at Epcot have exchange students working in them to better give the feeling that you are in those countries. Other countries that were planned but never built were Russia, Israel, Equatorial Africa (but then again this was before Animal Kingdom was planned, Greece, and Spain

[KevinYee]

I think iSm's right, CJ.

I don't know...

Maybe I'm splitting hairs, but I read the first post to say the layout is SIMILAR (which it is).

InnerSpaceman is saying that layout is NOT IDENTICAL (he's right about that too).

Both are correct. The layout really IS similar. Left and right turns. Tight turns, too. It feels like a Matterhorn in the dark.

But yes, the layout isn't copied. I'm not sure the first poster was even implying the layout was copied.

Now if we want a rip-roaring discussion about copied track layouts, let's talk Countdown to Extinction and Indy. To this day I need convincing that they have the same layout.

[innerSpaceman]

With all due respect, Kevin, the fact that both coasters have turns hardly makes them similar at all. ALL coasters have turns. And all coasters in tight spaces have tight turns. The fact remains that neither the Matterhorn nor Florida's Space Mountain are particularly turn-based. California's Space Mountain, on the other hand, is a prime example of a turn-intensive layout.

Perhaps someone could provide a schematic of the track layouts for the Matterhorn and for the Alpha and Omega tracks of the original Space Mountain, and we could see once and for all whether there are significant differences. Based on my personal, extensive riding experience, I don't find any particular similarity between the Florida Space Mountain track layouts and the California Matterhorn layout.

[KevinYee]

If you look at the broad sweep of roller coaster types, you see such things as suspended coasters (Ninja), inverted coasters (Batman, Montu), Wild Mouse (Mulholland), woodies, looping, floorless (Kraken), single rail inverted (Jurassic pteradon thing), and so on.

Already on the basis of similar car structure, the Matterhorn and Space Mtn Orlando (SMO) are playing in a very small pond. Not many coasters in the world have the bobsled configuration, and the corrosponding type of track layout that matches such a bobsled vehicle.

Note that the bobsled vehicle wouldn't work well on track layout like Goliath (hypercoaster). Nor an Arrow multilooper (Viper). Or any of the inverted or suspended coaster track layouts. Picture the standup Riddler layout but with the bobsled vehicle - wouldn't work.

Thus, in broad terms the track layout for a bobsled vehicle is restricted to a particular "type." That type is seen at both Matterhorn and SMO: fairly restricted footprint when compared with Montu or Colossus. Tight turns. Drops of 15-25 feet are common, rather than much larger.

The Matterhorn has turns to both left and right. SM-Anaheim has turns almost exclusively to the right. SM-O has turns to the left and right, more in the vein of the Matterhorn than SM-A.

In broad terms, then, the layout is similar. No one said identical.

I don't know... maybe I really am just splitting hairs? We seem to be saying more or less the same thing, but with different definitions.

[innerSpaceman]

Gotcha Kevin. My beef is that many people, over the years, have claimed that the actual layouts are similar, i.e., both go 20 feet straight then 33% left turn, 8 feet straight, then 20% right turn. In other words, I don't think people have been claiming the layouts to be similar simply because they are the same type of coaster with the same types of turns. If all the turns are in different places, the path of the track is totally different. That's all I'm saying. The track paths are totally different, albeit of the same variety.

[testtrack321]

Space Mountain I guess is then INSPIRED by the Matterhorn, not a copy.

[stitcharielsinbad]

Actually, The Matterhorn was almost part of WDW for what was supposed to be the Switzerland Pavillion. So yeah WDW almost had it all