Stainless Steel Channels for Disneyland’s Matterhorn Bobsleds

In June of 1959, the first roller coaster attraction opened at Disneyland Park in Anaheim called the Matterhorn Bobsleds. This ride was also the first tubular steel roller coaster in the world. Since its opening, there have been several refurbishment projects and upgrades to this one-of-a-kind attraction.

The History of the Matterhorn Bobsleds

The Matterhorn Bobsleds attraction gets its name from the Matterhorn Mountain in the Alps on the boarder of Italy and Switzerland. The idea came to Walt Disney while he was in Switzerland for the filming of the movie Third Man on the Mountain. Walt fell in love with the mountain and was so impressed by the Matterhorn, that he found a postcard with a picture of the mountain and mailed it back to the Imagineering architects. This is how the idea came about to build a bobsled type roller coaster that weaved in and out of the mountain structure.

This thrilling ride can be seen throughout Disneyland’s park although this version of the Matterhorn Mountain is exactly 100 times shorter at 147 feet tall than the 14,700 foot tall original peak in Switzerland. The coaster ride consists of two distinct bobsled runs, one along Fantasyland and the other along Tomorrowland. The ride takes you up and down hills and in and out of the mountain, at the end is a splash down pool that serves a dual purpose. The water itself in the pool acts as a braking mechanism for the bobsleds and it cools off the braking pads of the sled. With the bobsled attraction having water elements, as well has needing a durable material that will last, stainless steel is a great material choice for this project.

304/L Stainless Steel Laser Fused Channel for the Job

For this project, Disney contacted us direct about the materials needed for the attraction upgrade. This job required a miscellaneous channel size of 4 inches by 13.8 pounds per foot. The desired lengths were 20 feet and the desired alloy was 304/L stainless steel. With this size requirement, laser fused was the best production technology method to produce these channels because it is not a readily available hot-rolled size. The size range of hot rolled shapes is very limited where-as with laser fusion, almost any standard or custom size is possible. There are also no tooling costs or minimum production quantities required with laser fusion.

When Disney has to shut an attraction down for refurbishment, it is imperative they get materials delivered on time and in as a short a lead time as possible to limit the downtime of the ride. Stainless Structurals was up to the task to meet Disney’s time constraints. In total, this job required over 22,000 pounds of a MC4 x 13.8# stainless steel, laser-fused channel. Because the lengths requested were 20 feet, we had coil in stock to cut and produce these channels as quick as possible. We were able to produce and ship these channels direct to Anaheim in approximately 4 weeks from when we received the order so that Disney had the material in time to meet their project deadline.

Innovative Attractions with Stainless Structurals

The Matterhorn Bobsleds attraction is just one example of our theme park projects. Stainless Structurals has been involved in many other park projects including work at Disney Orlando, Disney Anaheim, SeaWorld Orlando, and SeaWorld San Diego. The designs for these adventurous parks are always unique and inspiring. When you think of the corrosive environments at play at these parks for these rides and the safety of all of the visitors, there is no better material to design with than stainless steel. We can produce shapes any many different stainless alloys like 304/L, 316/L and Duplex stainless. along with these channels, we also have a large array of other stainless shapes such as beams, angles, and tees in stock, ready to ship. Let us help you on your next innovative design adventure. Contact us today for more information.