New Matterhorn Cars

[Breyean]

We rode both sides last month. My wife, all 5'1" of her, had no problem in the front seat. Our son, who's 5'9" but with the legs of a guy well over 6' tall, sort of fit into the second seat. I'm 6' and had a heck of a time getting in and out. I'm not exactly that flexible.

Whoever designed those spaces for the legs didn't account for having running shoes trying to fit into the little spaces at the bottom. I could not get my legs/feet into or out of those spaces w/o a lot of hassle. My shoes were too big to get into the holes easily.

The second time, I just took my time and figured I would just have to make others wait while my son literally pulled me out of the seat.

I wonder if they could have made the seat backs narrower and allowed more room on the sides for legs.

 

[SeattleRedBear]

Just a heads up for those who haven't gone on the new Matterhorn cars and are big & tall...I'm 6'7" 360 and one of the things I liked about the old cars was that they had plenty of room, but the new cars with the fixed seats are a lot tighter. The CM suggested the front seat of the front car and I was able to scissor my legs (crossed at the ankles) and with my hands push my knees under the edge of the sled. I did get a calf cramp and had to stand up and they were about to throw me off before I jammed myself back down, hehe. I was determined after that line.

DH and I are both 6'5" around 270ish. We had to ride on separate cars as the only seat we now fit into are the front seats (and me painfully...I have the long legs, he has the long torso). We'll go on it again if we're with others who want to go on, but otherwise not. Generally, Disney is very friendly to pooh-sized people...it's a shame they had to take out the old cars.

 

[DarthMole]

This is a bobsled ride so it's supposed to be a tight fit.

Seriously though, we rode it twice. The first was early on day one and it seemed a tad bumpy but still a load of fun. The second was on our last day and we all got off feeling like it was slow and very jerky. Being 5'7", the size of the car was not an issue but I could easily see how someone 6'+ would be miserable and probably feel the ride much more.

 

[KerBear]

I was very concerned about the new seats, I am 5'9" and weigh about 240. I am also somewhat disabled, I have arthritis and an artificial hip, so I'm not terribly strong or flexible. I got in with just a little trouble, mostly figuring out how I was supposed to sit, I was in the second row and once I was in I felt like I had enough room, but was not terribly comfortable. Good thing its a short ride! From the moment I was seated I was obsessed with how I was going to get out, I was really afraid that I would be stuck because the seat is so low (I can't ride autopia because I can't getty back out of the seat, talk about embarrassing).
Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to get up without much trouble at all, I think the ergonomics are just "right".
I do wish there was a little padding in the seats, for such a rough ride I don't understand the logic in leaving that out.
I will stick to riding early in the day while I am still a little stronger and in less pain, but I am happy not to have to give it up completely!


Posted from DISboards.com App for Android

 

[ztonyg]

Wow. I haven't tried these yet but it seems like they've gotten nothing but negative reviews. Hopefully they'll do something soon about them.

 

[Blue32]

Wow. I haven't tried these yet but it seems like they've gotten nothing but negative reviews. Hopefully they'll do something soon about them.

I am wondering about this. Would it be unheard of for Disney to make changes to these cars even though they JUST put them in? It seems the response to the cars have been almost all negative with a very common complaint being that there is not enough padding in the seat. Would they consider making a modifacation to these cars already?

 

[DanT]

The bumpiness and jerkiness of the ride has much less to do with the ride vehicles and much more to do with the track itself.
This was the world's first tubular track rollercoaster, and as such, they didn't have that much knowledge of how to set up the track...also before the days of computer modeling and such...laser levels etc to build the track.
Also this is supposed to mimic a real bobsled ride and as such some bumpiness and jerkiness is expected.
It has always been jerky and bumpy...probably always will.

 

[DLR29]

The bumpiness and jerkiness of the ride has much less to do with the ride vehicles and much more to do with the track itself.
This was the world's first tubular track rollercoaster, and as such, they didn't have that much knowledge of how to set up the track...also before the days of computer modeling and such...laser levels etc to build the track.
Also this is supposed to mimic a real bobsled ride and as such some bumpiness and jerkiness is expected.
It has always been jerky and bumpy...probably always will.

While this is true, I much prefer "jerky and bumpy" WITH padding than "jerky and bumpy" on a hard plastic seat. WDW's Space Mountain is pretty rough but the seats are so soft that it makes is much more tolerable.

 

[longhorns2]

We rode it a few times and had no complaints. But the last time we did Matterhorn was 36 years ago! . Nothing to really compare it to.

I expected to hate it based on these reports but we had a blast. I'm short and fluffy but didn't have a problem getting in and out. I can see how taller people might though. It is a low riding space.

So if you are new to DL, it may not be as bad as you think.

 

[DanT]

A lot of the rides have lost padding in the seats over the years or have never had any to begin with.
Jungle cruise used to have nice lounge type padded seats, now you sit on sand paper bench.
Astro orbiter, Autopia, Dumbo,etc have no padding and I find them to be uncomfortable at times too.

Think about trying to keep softly padded seats decent with thousands of folks poking, standing, pulling on them every day...
Maintenance nightmare! Padded seats and spike heals?

 

[T0rrent]

The wife and I were on here the day it reopened and honestly, our first ride through was painful and we were sad cause we both loved the ride. We decided to try again and the one change I made was I made sure to sit up straight instead of slouching down a bit. It made a world of difference, and while it was still a little jerky, i was not nearly as sore the first time through and was the same for the wife.