Matterhorn and the Skyride

VTHappyGirl

VTHappyGirl
Joined
Jul 28, 2018
Here visiting now and my DS has been 'studying' the Matterhorn and trying to determine where the Skyway went thru the attraction. We googled and found some old pictures but not 100% sure.

Thinking is that the Skyway was between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland ....so if you are standing at Alice/Tea Party and look at Matterhorn it went thru the middle.

Are they any landmarks or info on where to stand on what side of Matterhorn to envision where it went thru it? Or where the stations to get on/off Skyway were located ?

Thanks!
 
I believe the FL end was to the side of Casey Jr & set back just a bit. In fact, I think they just demolished the tower from it a few years ago when they started GE. But, I could be wrong about that. And I think the TL end was above Star Traders.
 
I took this photo from the monorail platform. The Skyway passed through the opening in the middle of the mountain that's to the right of the waterfall. The opening used to be bigger, but Disney filled in part of it. I forgot when. I don't have a photo from the Fantasyland side.

Matterhorn Bobsleds by Justin Lai, on Flickr
 
Yes, it went through the Matterhorn. It was really amazing while it was there. It boarded in Tomorrowland at the top corner of the round building (sort of above the restrooms by Autopia). The other boarding spot was in Fantasyland right above the corner where there is a Fruit Cart and a Merchandise Cart (across the walkway from Red Rose Tavern. I haven't looked in a while, but there's been a remnant from it above the Carts there. That was part of the platform where we'd board in Fantasyland. You don't really see it now because the trees have grown so much.

EDIT TO ADD: I just googled Skyway Disneyland and some Youtube videos came up that you may be interested in seeing.
 


Have you checked out the yesterland website? There's some good info and photos there. I only just realized fairly recently thanks to that website that the people mover is not the skyway... I don't know how I missed this all these years, I remember when the Rocket Rod ride was added and people telling me it was built on the old people mover, I just could not figure out how that worked, ha!... the Rods were never working any time I visited so I never got to try those. Apparently somehow I completely missed the People Mover ride and whenever anyone mentioned it I just assumed it was another name for the Skyway ride.... they both closed around the same time which I guess just added to my confusion. I also think it is possible I might have ridden the PM one year when I was little and the monorail was down... I have this vague memory of being very confused at how different the monorail was and disappointed it didn't go all around the park and being told it was under construction getting new cars. In any case, over the years I've been commiserating about the loss of the PM with others... when what I was really missing all this time was the Skyway, it always felt so magical to me to fly above the park, I think that's a big reason why I enjoy peter pan's flight so much is that it just brings me back to my childhood riding the skyway, sort of, heh.
 
Yes yes, as cruisehopeful says the Skyway went right through the middle of Matterhorn mountain. I rode it numerous times as a kid and young teen. If the line was short, it was a great way to save some steps getting from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland (and vice versa). In those days the interior of the Matterhorn lacked Harold (the snow monster) and the ice caverns. It was just the bobsled tracks without really any interior decor or much lighting. Still it was super fun to see the down into the mountain from the Skyway gondola.
 
Yes yes, as cruisehopeful says the Skyway went right through the middle of Matterhorn mountain. I rode it numerous times as a kid and young teen. If the line was short, it was a great way to save some steps getting from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland (and vice versa). In those days the interior of the Matterhorn lacked Harold (the snow monster) and the ice caverns. It was just the bobsled tracks without really any interior decor or much lighting. Still it was super fun to see the down into the mountain from the Skyway gondola.
It was also a great way to get from one side of the park to the other during a parade.
 


Thanks everyone ! We spent time today looking at it again and the location of the loading / unloading stations really helped a lot.

Also didn't realize how much the interior of Matterhorn ride changed and how it 'fit' inside before the current setup.

Have a super happy kiddo thx again!
 
I rode it a lot as a kid and remember it well. Almost all of the landmarks are still there;
  • The Tomorrowland station was (still is) on the side of the America Sings...err...Innoventions building facing Autopia. There is a merch stand at the base of an exterior stairwell. You'd go up those stairs to get to the station.
  • The lift hill for the Matterhorn used to be open and the skycar would pass through the mountain just above the tracks on the lift hill.
  • If you look at Mr. Toad's cue, there is a rectangular planter you cue up around. That was where one of the columns stood.
  • The Fantasyland station was up a little hill adjacent to the turn-around for Casey Jr's train. There are ODV's at the base of the hill now, and the station building was JUST torn down to make way for the SWGE improvements.
 
... I also think it is possible I might have ridden the PM one year when I was little and the monorail was down... I have this vague memory of being very confused at how different the monorail was and disappointed it didn't go all around the park and being told it was under construction getting new cars...

The PM tracks are still standing throughout TM. The best place to see them is while you are on Autotopia. I think in TM it is neat where you have Autotopia on the ground, with the Monorail and People Mover tracks in the air, all seeming to be randomly intertwoven around each other. I can easily understand how you might have confused the two rides, since they traverse a similar route in the air above Autotopia.

All of the routes are view-able on the Satellite view of Tomorrow Land in Google Maps.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top