August 15, 2025 • 9 mins
This episode tells the story of two accidents that have taken place on the Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland, California - one in 1964, and one in 1984...
Fascinating Horror covers the true stories behind some of history's greatest disasters. This podcast is an audio version of the YouTube channel of the same name. The channel is made possible by supporters on Patreon and YouTube channel members. HUGE thanks to everyone who supports this channel!
LINKS: 🔗
► YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FascinatingHorror
► Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/fascinatinghorror
► Get in touch: hello@fascinatinghorror.co.uk
CORRECTIONS: ✔️
► In this episode I say that the American Bridge Company manufactured the Matterhorn Bobsled ride. This isn't quite right - while ABC manufactured the structure of the mountain, Arrow Dynamics were responsible for the track
Fascinating Horror covers the true stories behind some of history's greatest disasters. This podcast is an audio version of the YouTube channel of the same name. The channel is made possible by supporters on Patreon and YouTube channel members. HUGE thanks to everyone who supports this channel!
LINKS: 🔗
► YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FascinatingHorror
► Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/fascinatinghorror
► Get in touch: hello@fascinatinghorror.co.uk
CORRECTIONS: ✔️
► In this episode I say that the American Bridge Company manufactured the Matterhorn Bobsled ride. This isn't quite right - while ABC manufactured the structure of the mountain, Arrow Dynamics were responsible for the track
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
On the fourteenth of June nineteen fifty nine, a brand
new ride opened at Disneyland, California, the Matterhorn Bobsleds. At
the time, it was one of a kind, the first
tubulus steel roller coaster in the world. It proved popular
with visitors and remained in place for more than six decades,
serving millions of guests each year. Throughout this long operational life,
(00:24):
though the ride would see two separate fatal accidents. The
idea for the Matterhorn Bobsleds was conceived by Walt Disney
himself while working on the film Third Man on the
Mountain in Switzerland. This family adventure film was about a
young mountaineer's attempt to summit the mountain on which his
father died. Many scenes were filmed on location on the
(00:46):
dramatic slopes of the Matterhorn Mountain in the Monte Rosa
area of the Alps. The location was clearly inspiring to
Walt Disney. He had opened the world famous Disneyland theme
park just a few years earlier. Now, he put such
as a postcard featuring the Matterhorn and wrote a note
to one of the architects working on the evergrowing park.
It read quite simply, Vic built this Walt back in California,
(01:13):
Disney executives were already considering the installation of a new
roller coaster to occupy a part of the park known
as Holiday Hill. This hill was made from the dirt
that had been excavated during the construction of the park
and had been landscaped for use as a picnic area.
Executives were keen to do more with it, though, and
plans were underway to construct a roller coaster or other
(01:35):
thrill ride. Walt Disney's postcard from Switzerland determined the theming of
this new ride, and thus the Matterhorn bobsleds were conceived.
The American Bridge Company was contracted to manufacture the track,
which ran in and out of a hollow structure that
outwardly resembled the real Matterhorn. It was around forty five
(01:56):
meters or one hundred and forty seven feet tall, but
used four perspective to make it appear taller when viewed
from the ground. The ride vehicles were shaped like bobsleds,
with guests sitting in single file to make the ride
even more exciting. A cable car ride called the Skyway
also passed through the mountain, with guests on each ride
(02:17):
able to see and wave to one another. The coaster
opened in nineteen fifty nine. Over the years which followed,
it was renovated and improved several times. Interior scenes were added,
as well as animatronics and other special effects. It quickly
became a favourite ride with Disneyland regulars. It offered a
fast and thrilling experience, but was still mild enough for
(02:40):
most children to enjoy. On the fifteenth of May nineteen
sixty four, five years after the Matterhorn Bobsteads were opened
to the public, fifteen year old Mark Maples attended the
park with friends as part of a special event held
by a local members club. It was close to midnight
when Mark boarded the ride, sitting in in the middle
(03:00):
of a car between two of his friends. At this time,
riders were kept securely within the bob Said vehicles by
a lap belt that closed with a friction clasp. These
were checked by a cast member before each vehicle was dispatched,
though once the vehicle had departed the station, there was
no mechanism to prevent riders from undoing their belt should
(03:21):
they decide to do so. It is unclear how Mark's
lap belt came to be undone. Disney denied that it
could have been undone to begin with, as it was
standard procedure for ride operators to check each belt twice
before dispatching a ride vehicle. It was speculated that either
Mark himself had undone the belt or one of his
friends had done so as part of a prank or
(03:42):
initiation ritual. However, it came undone. His lap belt was
undone while the ride was inside a tunnel. Mark attempted
to stand and fell from the vehicle, hitting his head
as he did so. When the bob said returned to
the station, his friends reported that they had seen him fall.
The ride operators initially refused to leave them and only
(04:03):
stopped the ride and went to investigate. When riders from
the next train corroborated the report of Mark's friends, ride
operators stopped the ride and attended the scene, where Mark
was found unconscious with a serious head injury. He was
taken to hospital but did not regain consciousness. He was
kept alive by a ventilator for three days before eventually
(04:24):
passing away. As a result of his injuries. The friends
who had been riding with him were unable to provide
any further insight into what had happened. The ride had
been dark and bumpy, and his fool had taken them
by surprise. They denied any implication that they had undone
his seat belt or encouraged him to stand during the ride.
(04:46):
An investigation was carried out by the Anaheim Police and
Orange County Coroner's Office, with officers conducting several walkthroughs of
the ride to try and ascertain how Mark could have died.
It was ultimately concluded that the death had been purely accidental.
There was nothing inherently unsafe about the ride as long
as riders obeyed safety instructions. The bobslad resumed normal operation
(05:09):
with no changes, and Mark's family buried their son at
Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Cyprus, California. Twenty years later.
On the third of January nineteen eighty four, forty eight
year old Dolly Young visited the park with several friends
and the group boarded the Matterhorn bobsleads at around three
(05:30):
thirty pm. Dolly sat at the back of her ride
vehicle and it was dispatched as normal. As the ride
passed through the mountain, Dolly fell from the vehicle and
landed on the tracks. Her fall was witnessed by several
other guests. At the time, the Skyway cable car still
passed through a hole in the mountain, offering a clear
(05:50):
view of the track where Dolly had fallen. A family
on board the Skyway saw her fall, but were unable
to do anything to intervene. They watched as Dolly at
tempted unsuccessfully to stand despite her injuries. As they watched,
another ride vehicle approached at full speed, striking Dolly and
killing her instantly. The collision halted this, Bob said, and
(06:13):
the screams of the riders on board brought a ride
attendant running to the scene. After seeing what had happened,
he advised his fellow operators not to look and called
for assistance from the police and ambulance services. Though help
arrived quickly, Dolly could not be saved. She had suffered
severe injuries from the fall, but it was being hit
by a ride vehicle that had made the accident unsurvivable.
(06:37):
An investigation was undertaken in the wake of the accident
and was found that Dolly's lap belt was unfastened. There
was no way to tell whether it had been undone
when the Bob said left the station, or if it
had been undone during the ride. Disneyland representatives again insisted
that it was impossible that the belt could have been
undone before the train was dispatched, as ride attendants were
(06:59):
trained to tech each belt multiple times before dispatching a train.
A month after the accident, Dolly's husband filed a wrongful
death lawsuit, alleging that the undone lap belt was due
to the negligence of the employees working the ride that day.
He noted how extremely unlikely it was that his wife
would have undone her own seat belt or attempted to stand, saying,
(07:22):
my wife was not a frivolous or daring person. She
was not some young kid that would have stood up
on the ride. The case reached an undisclosed settlement out
of court. An investigation highlighted the fact that rides in
static established theme parks like Disneyland were not externally regulated.
(07:42):
The Consumer Product Safety Commission had previously been responsible for
inspecting rides, but this responsibility had been rescinded in nineteen
eighty two. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA,
still had some involvement in the regulation of theme park rides,
but only in relation to employee safety, not the safety
of guests. Rider safety was left entirely to Disney itself
(08:07):
to monitor and maintain. In the aftermath of the accident,
the style of seat belt used on the matterhorn Bob
seads was changed. Rather than closing with a friction clasp,
belts now plugged into a locking unit, making them more
difficult to undo. Disney insisted that this change was not
made in response to the death of Dolly Young, but
was instead made simply because the manufacturer of the old
(08:29):
belt system had gone out of business. In the many
years since the death of Dolly Young, many things have
changed the Matterhorn Bob steads have been refurbished multiple times
with new theming added to keep the ride fresh for guests.
The skyway has been retired and no longer passes through
the Matterhorn. The same lap belt restraint mechanism is still used.
(08:54):
Disney conducts rigorous safety testing, but is also answerable to
external independent agency who inspect rides to ensure that they
are safe and are being correctly maintained. Many decades have passed,
and although there have been other accidents within Disneyland, nobody
has died on the matter, horn Bob SAIDs since nineteen
eighty four, the ride, now more than sixty years old,
(09:18):
continues to entertain millions of visitors each and every year.
On the fourteenth of June nineteen fifty nine, a brand
new ride opened at Disneyland, California, the Matterhorn Bobsleds. At
the time, it was one of a kind, the first
tubulus steel roller coaster in the world. It proved popular
with visitors and remained in place for more than six decades,
serving millions of guests each year. Throughout this long operational life,
(00:24):
though the ride would see two separate fatal accidents. The
idea for the Matterhorn Bobsleds was conceived by Walt Disney
himself while working on the film Third Man on the
Mountain in Switzerland. This family adventure film was about a
young mountaineer's attempt to summit the mountain on which his
father died. Many scenes were filmed on location on the
(00:46):
dramatic slopes of the Matterhorn Mountain in the Monte Rosa
area of the Alps. The location was clearly inspiring to
Walt Disney. He had opened the world famous Disneyland theme
park just a few years earlier. Now, he put such
as a postcard featuring the Matterhorn and wrote a note
to one of the architects working on the evergrowing park.
It read quite simply, Vic built this Walt back in California,
(01:13):
Disney executives were already considering the installation of a new
roller coaster to occupy a part of the park known
as Holiday Hill. This hill was made from the dirt
that had been excavated during the construction of the park
and had been landscaped for use as a picnic area.
Executives were keen to do more with it, though, and
plans were underway to construct a roller coaster or other
(01:35):
thrill ride. Walt Disney's postcard from Switzerland determined the theming of
this new ride, and thus the Matterhorn bobsleds were conceived.
The American Bridge Company was contracted to manufacture the track,
which ran in and out of a hollow structure that
outwardly resembled the real Matterhorn. It was around forty five
(01:56):
meters or one hundred and forty seven feet tall, but
used four perspective to make it appear taller when viewed
from the ground. The ride vehicles were shaped like bobsleds,
with guests sitting in single file to make the ride
even more exciting. A cable car ride called the Skyway
also passed through the mountain, with guests on each ride
(02:17):
able to see and wave to one another. The coaster
opened in nineteen fifty nine. Over the years which followed,
it was renovated and improved several times. Interior scenes were added,
as well as animatronics and other special effects. It quickly
became a favourite ride with Disneyland regulars. It offered a
fast and thrilling experience, but was still mild enough for
(02:40):
most children to enjoy. On the fifteenth of May nineteen
sixty four, five years after the Matterhorn Bobsteads were opened
to the public, fifteen year old Mark Maples attended the
park with friends as part of a special event held
by a local members club. It was close to midnight
when Mark boarded the ride, sitting in in the middle
(03:00):
of a car between two of his friends. At this time,
riders were kept securely within the bob Said vehicles by
a lap belt that closed with a friction clasp. These
were checked by a cast member before each vehicle was dispatched,
though once the vehicle had departed the station, there was
no mechanism to prevent riders from undoing their belt should
(03:21):
they decide to do so. It is unclear how Mark's
lap belt came to be undone. Disney denied that it
could have been undone to begin with, as it was
standard procedure for ride operators to check each belt twice
before dispatching a ride vehicle. It was speculated that either
Mark himself had undone the belt or one of his
friends had done so as part of a prank or
(03:42):
initiation ritual. However, it came undone. His lap belt was
undone while the ride was inside a tunnel. Mark attempted
to stand and fell from the vehicle, hitting his head
as he did so. When the bob said returned to
the station, his friends reported that they had seen him fall.
The ride operators initially refused to leave them and only
(04:03):
stopped the ride and went to investigate. When riders from
the next train corroborated the report of Mark's friends, ride
operators stopped the ride and attended the scene, where Mark
was found unconscious with a serious head injury. He was
taken to hospital but did not regain consciousness. He was
kept alive by a ventilator for three days before eventually
(04:24):
passing away. As a result of his injuries. The friends
who had been riding with him were unable to provide
any further insight into what had happened. The ride had
been dark and bumpy, and his fool had taken them
by surprise. They denied any implication that they had undone
his seat belt or encouraged him to stand during the ride.
(04:46):
An investigation was carried out by the Anaheim Police and
Orange County Coroner's Office, with officers conducting several walkthroughs of
the ride to try and ascertain how Mark could have died.
It was ultimately concluded that the death had been purely accidental.
There was nothing inherently unsafe about the ride as long
as riders obeyed safety instructions. The bobslad resumed normal operation
(05:09):
with no changes, and Mark's family buried their son at
Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Cyprus, California. Twenty years later.
On the third of January nineteen eighty four, forty eight
year old Dolly Young visited the park with several friends
and the group boarded the Matterhorn bobsleads at around three
(05:30):
thirty pm. Dolly sat at the back of her ride
vehicle and it was dispatched as normal. As the ride
passed through the mountain, Dolly fell from the vehicle and
landed on the tracks. Her fall was witnessed by several
other guests. At the time, the Skyway cable car still
passed through a hole in the mountain, offering a clear
(05:50):
view of the track where Dolly had fallen. A family
on board the Skyway saw her fall, but were unable
to do anything to intervene. They watched as Dolly at
tempted unsuccessfully to stand despite her injuries. As they watched,
another ride vehicle approached at full speed, striking Dolly and
killing her instantly. The collision halted this, Bob said, and
(06:13):
the screams of the riders on board brought a ride
attendant running to the scene. After seeing what had happened,
he advised his fellow operators not to look and called
for assistance from the police and ambulance services. Though help
arrived quickly, Dolly could not be saved. She had suffered
severe injuries from the fall, but it was being hit
by a ride vehicle that had made the accident unsurvivable.
(06:37):
An investigation was undertaken in the wake of the accident
and was found that Dolly's lap belt was unfastened. There
was no way to tell whether it had been undone
when the Bob said left the station, or if it
had been undone during the ride. Disneyland representatives again insisted
that it was impossible that the belt could have been
undone before the train was dispatched, as ride attendants were
(06:59):
trained to tech each belt multiple times before dispatching a train.
A month after the accident, Dolly's husband filed a wrongful
death lawsuit, alleging that the undone lap belt was due
to the negligence of the employees working the ride that day.
He noted how extremely unlikely it was that his wife
would have undone her own seat belt or attempted to stand, saying,
(07:22):
my wife was not a frivolous or daring person. She
was not some young kid that would have stood up
on the ride. The case reached an undisclosed settlement out
of court. An investigation highlighted the fact that rides in
static established theme parks like Disneyland were not externally regulated.
(07:42):
The Consumer Product Safety Commission had previously been responsible for
inspecting rides, but this responsibility had been rescinded in nineteen
eighty two. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA,
still had some involvement in the regulation of theme park rides,
but only in relation to employee safety, not the safety
of guests. Rider safety was left entirely to Disney itself
(08:07):
to monitor and maintain. In the aftermath of the accident,
the style of seat belt used on the matterhorn Bob
seads was changed. Rather than closing with a friction clasp,
belts now plugged into a locking unit, making them more
difficult to undo. Disney insisted that this change was not
made in response to the death of Dolly Young, but
was instead made simply because the manufacturer of the old
(08:29):
belt system had gone out of business. In the many
years since the death of Dolly Young, many things have
changed the Matterhorn Bob steads have been refurbished multiple times
with new theming added to keep the ride fresh for guests.
The skyway has been retired and no longer passes through
the Matterhorn. The same lap belt restraint mechanism is still used.
(08:54):
Disney conducts rigorous safety testing, but is also answerable to
external independent agency who inspect rides to ensure that they
are safe and are being correctly maintained. Many decades have passed,
and although there have been other accidents within Disneyland, nobody
has died on the matter, horn Bob SAIDs since nineteen
eighty four, the ride, now more than sixty years old,
(09:18):
continues to entertain millions of visitors each and every year.
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