any young kid dying is upsetting, but the fact that a family witnessed her fall, her struggle to get back up, and ultimately Dolly most likely realized what was about to happen was enough to literally make my stomach twist a few times. Ugg! How terrible. That isn't even mentioning the riders in the second car. I don't even want to imagine....
I was there with friends the day it happened in 1984. We didn't know there had been a death, we only knew the ride had closed and we saw grim-faced men in dark suits escorting guests from the area - one suit man tightly holding each arm of the guests. The guests looked shocked and pale, maybe they had seen the accident? Anyway, men in suits inside the park was extremely unusual at that time, cast members were always costumed back then. I grew up at Disneyland and I had never seen anything like that before. We knew something big had happened but we only found out about the accident when we stopped for pizza on the way home. The pizza place had the news on their big screen tv and we saw it there. The news report didn't give any details, only saying a woman had died at the park. I had to jump up and call my mom on a pay phone and let her know it wasn't me! There were no cell phones back then. I was a teenager and that was just the kind of thing my mom worried about.
I was in the park that day as well with a friend. We saw people walking the tracks on the Matterhorn and knew something bad had happened. Found out about an hour later that someone had died.
I'm glad they changed the lap belts. When they still had the old style, I had one come partially undone while I was riding. I was able to pull it tight but it slipped again immediately. I yanked it tight, passed the end to my friend (who was sitting behind me) and screamed, "DON'T LET GO!!" Luckily she was a big, strong girl and was able to hang onto it for the remainder of the ride. It was pretty darn scary, I tell you what.
I had something similar happen on a rollercoaster once with a lap bar! It was one of the scariest experiences in my life. You become properly aware of just how fast you're moving and how rough those sharp turns are - it's not possible to hold on. Without that gear you will be flung out of that seat.
You know, this video brought back a very old memory. My little sister stood up and hit her head on the Matterhorn sometime around ‘97. I wasn’t riding that time because I didn’t feel like standing in line and went on Peter Pan with a younger cousin instead. We came back from the ride and met up with the grandparents who told us mom and dad were with park staff getting my sister some medical assistance. I guess she was small enough to slip her restraint and get vertical before dad could stop her? Man, that’s a throwback memory. Good video as always!
There have been very few deaths at Disneyland compared to the amount of people who've ever been, but when it does happen it's usually a horrible way to go.
Well, the medics who work there won't declare anyone dead if they can get away with shoving the corpse into an ambulance and saying they died en route to the hospital. So the only ones are the ones where it's blatantly obvious.
@@marhawkman303 Well, the fact that the first person in this story, the 15-year-old, spent 3 days in the hospital before he died and yet is still known as dying from a Disney ride would seem to counteract your "fact". There have been other known deaths at Disney Parks over the years. Why would they acknowledge some, but cover up others?
@@laras678 The key here is dying IN the park, not hiding THAT the person died. To you it seems like a trivial technicality, but it matters for casualty statistics. Arguably those numbers don't really mean anything, but PR people like to wave them around. "only one person has ever died here" sounds kind of impressive. doesn't count the number who sustained fatal injuries in the park though. Again, the trickery is in concealing the LOCATION of the death, not the nature of death. Also, it has a warm fuzzy feeling that the medics "did everything they could" to save the guy while en route to the hospital... it might be a lie where the guy is known to the medics be dead already, but the public doesn't know that.
@@marhawkman303 Actually, that's less about Disneyland's image (though Disney does guard that like a dragon) than it is about California law. The circumstances under which a death can be declared are unlikely to be met at a theme park; usually it has to be done by a medical professional, iirc. (I've lived most of my life close enough to Disneyland to set my watch by the fireworks.) And while there is a police substation and a first-aid station at the park, there isn't a full medical facility. Ask A Mortician made a great video series about death at Disneyland with a more detailed explanation, if you'd like that. Tl;dr: Nobody dies at Disneyland because nobody dies at a theme park in California.
What an absolute nightmare that second incident was. Surviving only to be unable to move then a second bobsled arrives. Can't imagine the PTSD the witnesses have endured, something like that stays with one. The happiest place on earth has it's tragic side alright.
It had to be most horrifying for the people in the skyway car. They saw the whole thing, while the people in the other car only saw the fatal collision. Traumatic as hell for both, though.
@@Jlipnicki Disneyland is an overpriced, tacky hellhole and its Floridian brother has pushed so many animals out of their natural habitat. Just a bunch of sweaty summer students dressed as cartoon characters, lame-ass rides and meals that cost more than law school textbooks. I will never understand why grown-ass adults love it so much.
Millions and millions of people using that facility and only a couple of accidents I think they're doing fairly well considering the amount of stupid people that would have gone through the park in that time
The fact the first death occurred when the kid stood up kind of makes it obvious he had undone his belt intentionally. Had it not been secure or come undone accidently during the ride there would have been no reason that he would attempt to stand up.
@@imxploring Longer, older version of expectations from young males from a sergeant -- "if I leave the squad in a locked room with three steel bowling balls and come back in a couple hours, one will be broken, one will be missing and the third will be pregnant.......... and nobody will have seen anything".
That’s really not true necessarily! He could have very easily saw that his seatbelt came undone and took advantage of the moment! It’s hard to know what was going through his mind since he’s no longer here, but just because he stood up doesn’t mean he undid the seatbelt. Especially because there’s a huge history on that specific ride of the seatbelts coming undone. There’s actually other people in this comment section who say the seatbelt on that ride came off for them too It wouldn’t take much for any one of those people to stand up while that’s happening..
Briefly, at the beginning of the video, the narrator mentioned that the Matterhorn Bobsleds were the first tubular steel roller coaster. What was not mentioned is that tubular steel rails very quickly became the standard for steel roller coasters, and only recently have alternatives been used with any serious frequency. If you're riding a steel roller coaster today, then unless it features Rocky Mountain Construction's I-Box track, or is a single-rail coaster, it's probably a tubular steel coaster. Arrow Development came up with the design of the tubular steel rails. This was also the start of Arrow Development's involvement with roller coasters, which would continue until 2001, when the company (since renamed to Arrow Dynamics after a series of mergers) would go bankrupt, in part as a result of the building of their X coaster at Magic Mountain (now X2).
I had never been scared on a rollercoaster until I rode X at Magic Mountain the first time then again when it became X2. Man that ride scared me half to death…
I know it well. My first home when I was born was right across the street from Arrow's first site at Moffett blvd. and Jackson st.. Today the building (that they built themselves) still stands with an auto body shop as resident. In the early 1970s a water softening business occupied the back of the building. Arrow had moved out of the building to the bigger site before I was born in 1960, but I have fond memories of my mother telling me of seeing them make the cups for the teacup ride, and apparently much more was made for Disney within those walls too. I saw many test rides set up in their back lot next to Moffett Drive-in. I recall a log flume track and a waterslide at different times. Last thing I saw there looked like a "dangle" coaster with the train suspended below the track and free to swing to the side in turns. Just a simple square-oval layout with a lift hill. That eventually led to the NINJA suspended coaster at Magic Mountain. I eventually got to ride it in the early 1990s. Both company and drive-in were gone by the mid 1980s. Google has a building on the site now. It wasn't just the X-coaster that took them down but also fierce competition in making new rides.
As someone who's nearly died from malfunctioning safety harnesses in a roller coaster before, I understand the terror from these incidents . I haven't been on a roller coaster since then, nearly 20 years.
I can't help but think that 2 fatal accidents on a roller coaster in 60+ years is not bad. Of course, the question then becomes how many non-fatal accidents were there?
@@ethribin4188 By today's standards sure, but even in the 80's, theme parks rides were fairly unregulated across much of the world. And technology has advanced significantly since the 50's. A friction adjustment lap seatbelt would have been considered fairly high safety in an era when cars generally didn't have seatbelts. Related to that, the riders also wouldn't have had that automatic reaction of doing up their seatbelt like we all do today.
@@kamakaziozzie3038 I wouldn't exactly say it is unanimous human nature. Thankfully, I've been able to say it plenty of times, and the recipient listened to me.
They _said_ the ride attendants had been trained to check the seat belts before the ride departed the boarding area, _but_ in any system where humans are responsible for checking something there is going to be an error rate. I'm amazed they only had two fatalities in two and a half decades. I wonder how many "near misses" they had in that time?
Of the thousands of rides that were sent through that mountain there were only two deaths. I'm no disney shill, far from it, but I've noticed watching these videos that there's always a need to implicate the company, even if its likely the accident was just that an accident. Why is this? Well because the victims survivors got to get their money out of it. Look at Dolly's husband, he was so incensed about what happened to his wife but that all seemed to go away once Disney decided to give him some go away money.
@TheDragonEpyon I never understood that either. People suing for so much money. Millions are not going to bring her back. Unfortunately, it was an accident. No disrespect to her.
@@margin606 true, but given the tendency of human error with every job, I’d think the number of unknowing chances is non-zero. All it requires is not saying or doing one thing
Ooh, my mom was almost the second victim on the Matterhorn. When she was a kid in the 60's she got on the ride but her belt didn't fasten and the attendant didn't check, he just sent the ride going. Mom said that she was so scared and held on as hard as she could to not get thrown out of the seat. She never got on the Matterhorn again and would never let us ride it at all! It wasn't until my Grad Night in the 90's that I got to ride it for the first time.
@@pocketmarcy6990 8:55 It said the sky way has been retired and no longer passes through the Matterhorn. That's a shame. I went fairly often back in the 70's. Then I went once years later after they had retired the Light Parade and replaced it with The Lion King Parade. It just wasn't the same.😢
When Great America opened in Illinois, (at that time it was owned by Marriott, not Six Flags) they had a cable car/sky ride too, but those are long gone. I used to love riding those! It was a little scary when the wheels rolled over one of the support towers and there was a little jolt, but it was a fun way to get from one side of the park to the other. Somewhere I still have a keychain that says Marriott's Great America.
I had heard about dollys accident before. (I think it may have been from another video on this channel)what I can’t imagine is how powerless that family that was riding the cable cars felt…there was a father and his kids and I remember hearing that he pulled them close to him so they couldn’t see dolly get hit. And those people in the other train…that had to be horrible.😢
A big issue I have with DisneyLand is that they are notorious for not taking responsibility for their actions. Whenever somebody gets injured on a ride, the park is very quick to blame the guest for their injuries. They’ll say that “it’s your fault for not following the rules”. Even if the guests weren’t following the rules, constantly blaming the guests for their injuries is not a very good look for the park management
@@craigmeyer6957, when they tell you to keep your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside the ride vehicle at all times, they do so for a reason. It's not to be a killjoy, but to keep you from being killed. And let's face it, the majority of accidents are because people don't follow the rules.
@@j.d.e.7416 These two here? yeah... hard to say. from the looks of it holding on to the rails on the sides with your hands should be all you need to avoid falling out.
@@marhawkman303 Not even that would be required. The high sides on the vehicle and lack of any "air time" means that unless someone intentionally moved their center of mass higher than the sides of the car, they would not fall out.
@@ducatisti You're absolutely right. You have to try hard to fall out of that ride. I've been going there for years before I had kids and now w my kids. 4 year old kids are safe riding that ride. I feel sorry for Disney when people pull this and they have to pay out.
The Matterhorn used to be my favorite ride at Disneyland. I liked it because as a young child I was able to ride it and it was still thrilling. I wanted to ride the rides that were not specifically for kids because I thought they were too slow. The Matterhorn I guess you could say was my first roller coaster
Went on it in 74'. Awesome ride. The boy who went to stand up implies he or one of his friends had to undo the belt. Millions of people have had safe trips on this ride.
It's always so interest to hear about Disneyland tragedies, given my prior know bc of living so locally (and working there myself for several years long ago). The safety rate at Disneyland is SO dramatically higher than other theme parks, let alone just driving everyday. It's really the high profile nature that brings it to life!
A big issue I have with DisneyLand is that they are notorious for not taking responsibility for their actions. Whenever somebody gets injured on a ride, the park is very quick to blame the guest for their injuries. They’ll say that “it’s your fault for not following the rules”. Even if the guests weren’t following the rules, the park is still liable for all injuries that occur within its boundaries, you can’t just always blame the guest
@@craigmeyer6957 this is true to an extent perhaps, but Disney shouldn't have to take complete responsibility of the actions of fools. Disney does take actions to rectify bad situations such as with what happened on "America Sings" when a cast member got caught between two stages of the ride and was crushed to death. Disney did take responsibility and immediately made safety improvements to the ride. Disneyland has, over the years, strived to make their rides "idiot-proof," but it does suck that dumb people do dumb things that "ruin it for everybody else." (So to speak.)
@@skyden24195 Exactly. Thank you for responding to this, as I don't check my notifications often! I always believe in safety first, but reckless people will ALWAYS find a way to hurt (or kill) themselves, no matter how many safety measures you have in place.
This kinda stuff blows my mind, As a kid I was fortunate enough to be able to go to Disneyland almost yearly for a decade and i absolutely fell in love with the Matterhorn. Brings me shock and horror knowing people have lost their lives in such a brutal way in what’s supposed to be the happiest place on earth. RIP
8:20 This new restraint was implemented DECADES later in 2012 when the cars design was changed, NOT "in the aftermath of the accident". I know, I live next to the park and the traditional belt lock was used up until then.
I rode it age 4 in 1959. The unfinished interior was the scariest part of the ride. My mom and her cousin were terrified I'd fly out. I was sitting in the lap of the cousin and boy did she hold me tight!
I grew up one county away from Disneyland, and visited frequently. I’ve been on the Matterhorn Bobsleds, they’re fun. Typically it’s hard to get on them because the line is always so long, it’s a very popular attraction. I’ve been on it back when it had the growling yeti animatronic, and then later when they removed it and replaced it with the digital screens featuring the yeti moving around and growling on them. I loved to ride the Skyway through the Matterhorn as well.
Original Harold (the Abominable Snowman) is presently hanging out at Disney's California Adventure as part of The Collector's collection in the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout! ride.
Know what's (ironically) funny that I just thought of? The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride, for a long time, had no seatbelts in the cars, it was just a "Hold onto the handrail, because this here is the wildest ride in the wilderness." kind of ride. Thunder Mountain is about as wild as Matterhorn yet, even without seatbelts, it hasn't seen nearly as many (although there has been a few) fatal accidents as one would think in consideration of this fact.
I remember the first time I rode the Matterhorn, at that time the tunnel linings were not complete, and you could see around the inside of the mountain. Years later when I went again, I was disappointed that you could only see the lining of the tunnels, still fun anyway!! Also weird how the mountain "healed" from when the overhead tram that used to go through the big holes was removed. It was always interesting to see the changes as the years go by.
I was mulling this over, and while I think Mark probably intentionally removed his lap belt and stood up for whatever dumb teenage reason, Dolly's death made me think. Even if her lap belt had not been fastened from the beginning, would she have fallen out if she hadn't stood up, and if that was the case, why on earth would a grown woman described as very cautious stand up in the middle of a roller coaster ride? I wonder if she might have experienced some kind of medical event during the course of the ride that caused her to act irrationally or try to signal for help. Considering that from the description given it would be reasonable to believe her injuries were likely catastrophic, it's possible that the evidence for some kind of medical crisis precipitating the accident would have been overlooked or possibly completely destroyed by the injuries caused by falling out of the ride and then being struck by the second sled.
I wonder if she didn't experience a panic attack. The attack comes on quickly and feels like impending death. While experiencing an attack, you feel the intense need to flee, regardless of whether you safely can or not. Personally, I tried to get out of a car while on the highway during one of my first panic attacks. It could explain why a cautious person attempted to stand on a moving roller coaster.
@@WholeWheatWhale What you say makes sense. I've been riding those bobsleds for years. Even without a seatbelt on it would be hard to fly out. They don't go very fast.
I think the belt may have squeezed her a bit too hard and made her uncomfortable, it's why some people refuse to wear seatbelts in cars after all, she probably thought it was not a big deal to just unfasten it, after all ,that ride doesn't do any loops
Another thing, not mentioned in the video, each car is equipped with handgrips inside for additional security. Why weren't these utilized if the seatbelt suddenly became faulty? It's not like the grips are difficult to see or grasp.
Way back in 1960, when I was four, for a trivial amount of money, my parents purchased season passes for Disneyland. So many, many times I rode the Matterhorn Bobsled ride, and it was my favorite ride. Years later in 1986 I rode it again but this time I had severe claustrophobia for as an adult I felt like my head was going to be lopped off by the low ceilings of the tunnels.
Good comment. My parents, perhaps incorrectly referred to as a "Season Pass" was to a "Big Ticket Book" which had ten tickets for $3.75, for adults... 1959 prices were much cheaper, even factoring inflation.
Actually in the 60s, the mountain WAS more open. The late 70s is when the icy tunnels were installed. Not to worry, a rig known as the "envelope" of protection is used to check clearances around the track for seated people, even with long arms or very tall.
@@tikitavi7120 wow you had to go out of your way just to make this comment. Who cares if it was called a season pass or kiss my ass it's the same f****** concept. You must be a woman.
I'm 37 and am very much a norcal/socal kid. My family has always been Disney heads and a trip to Disneyland was always our family vacation through out the years. My parents were born, raised and lived in that area until getting him a new job, then moving to, where I am now in the SF bay area. When I was younger and once the internet came about and we all got more information, I had learned about this. One family trip there, I had mentioned I read about this and asked if they had seen about it at the time in newspapers or whatever. My dad just looked down and off to the side. He wasn't super close friends to Mark, but, someone he knew at highschool and had classes with. I couldn't find anything exact, but I think this was a special event for HS students that night. My dad said he was there that night, but not around all this happening. From what he said (this being about 20 years ago and I don't want to ask him again. Plus this was 40 years after the event and it was off of what he had heard through friends/classmates at the time, so don't take this as fact.) that Mark had removed his seatbelt on his own. He was going to stand up for just a quick bit as the bobsleds were going to be outside of the mountain, raise his hands and yell to get peoples eyes on him. Just some silly stuff you do at 15 but unfortunately with some terrible consequences. Those on the bobsled didn't know how low the clearances were from the sleds to the top of the parts of the ride and......well, you've already stated what happened after he stood up. It made my dad sad about 40 years later, so I can't even imagine what those that saw it all are thinking today. :(
I was absolutely terrified of this ride as a kid, not because of the speed or the dark, but because of the frickin yeti animatronic. The sound it made scared the shit out of me and I would put my fingers in my ears and shut my eyes, forcing my mother to hang onto me with one arm, and the handhold in the bobsled with the other. I grew up in California and we went to Disneyland sometimes multiple times a year when I was little because we had year round passes. Of course this was in the late 80's so the cost wasn't half our yearly mortgage PER PERSON like it is now.
The Matterhorn Bobsleds ride was not mild enough for my 9 year old sister or my mum -- they were both terrified when my family rode it in the late 1970's. The "cast members" did indeed check our lap belts twice before the ride took off, & the entire half hour or so we waited in line for the ride we heard a repeated announcement, alternating from English to Spanish & back, about keeping your seatbelt fastened & all of your body parts in the vehicle at all times. I liked the ride, but it was much tamer than Space Mountain, which was pretty new at the time & was more exciting & fun. I ended up riding Space Mountain twice that visit, but neither time was with my sister or mum, thank goodness. I've always loved rollercoasters, but I never understood why mum & sis tried so hard over & over to enjoy rollercoasters for years, when they were too scared to have any fun every time they rode one! I was SO glad when they gave it up, & I imagine it was a relief for them, too.
Hah, I rode Space Mountain soon after it was built - once. For me it was too much like riding a rollercoaster blindfolded due to how much of it was in the dark (back then at least). Being in the dark meant being unable to mentally prepare for the next turn so I got motion sickness. Not enough to barf but enough to feel nauseated for a few hours.
Would you please consider doing a video on the ride the ducks attraction in Branson? There was a horrific incident there where I believe over 20 people died in the lake nine of which belong to the same family
My family and I were in branson when it happened. My dad had scheduled a time for us on the boats 40 mins before the accident. He decided not to go because he thought they would be canceled from the weather. We were in the lobby helping people come in from thw storm when we saw three of thw firetrucks pass us. We thought someone just didn't know how to drive in the rain. We didn't realize it was something serious untill the third one passed us and then the videos came out. We haven't been on the lake since. We have dozens of photos of me and my siblings driving the ducks on the water as kids.
Not bad, since this ride seem to kicked in on a time when for example cars on roads had no winter tires, no abs, no belts necessarily, atleast not on backseat, no neck supports and.. you get my point. This ride on that time was probably more safe than a ride with a passenger car! Amazing facts!
Winter tires was invented in the 1930s, but i get your point. I grew up in the 70s and 80s, living the way we did then, would be considered an extreme sport, by todays standard...
@@danpedersen55 Winter tires were invented then here in Finland, but they were not used immediately by all. They were forced to use at 1978 onwards only, so... the reality was there was no winter tires on that time.
@@thetoughcookie3665 I know my late Dad had winter tires on his cars, even in the 70s, but his job involved a lot of driving, maybe that had something to do with it.
Back in the early 1970s, my brother and I went to Disneyland with some other young men. We were paperboys for The Deseret News. We loved the Matterhorn ride. We formed a cohesive bobsled team and were able to anticipate and lean into each curve. What an awesome thrill! We were going so fast that at the end we by-passed the stopping mechanisms and went a second time up the starting ramp to ride down the rails again. Every corner and every place where there was a braking system, the operators slowed us almost to a complete stop. At the end, the security people escorted us off and banned us from riding the Matterhorn again. A decade later, as we entered adulthood, we realized how really stupid and foolish we had been. Thanks to the operators we didn't kill ourselves. But.... I still, to this day, remember the adrenaline rush as we zipped through that mountain!
I was there in the early ‘80s. My parents thought we were too young to ride the Matterhorn. I cannot remember if we rode the skyway, but I remember seeing it running through the Matterhorn. From the ground you could easily see the bobsled cars peeking in and out of the mountain and it looked fast and scary. I distinctly remember that from quite a distance you could hear the riders screaming as they popped out of the mountain.
I went on this ride last year on a trip to CA and changing the belts was definitely a good choice. The ride REALLY jerks you around, so much so that my mom hurt her back on it. It’s a noted phenomenon that many people have passed kidney stones on the ride just because of the force of it.
Whimsical topiary and flower beds, thousands of magical lights, exotic theme areas, strolling musicians and costumed characters, theme restaurants, adjacent hotel next to the park, quiet expo type exhibits, and a Matterhorn themed roller coaster ride (one of the oldest continuously running). Sound familar? This is Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark, which Walt Disney visited, and which clearly was his inspiration for Disneyland and the Matterhorn ride.
My cousins lived in Anaheim and we used to go yearly to Disneyland from 1979-1984 (age 6 to 10) The Matterhorn was one of my favorites! The tragedies seem to happen when those involved dont follow safety rules. Sorry and RIP
While deaths are relatively rare, people don't realize how often injuries happen at the Disney parks, and that's very much by design. Cast members are trained to keep things on the DL as much as possible. I was injured on a ride in 1997, and they went to a lot of trouble to keep a "nothing to see here" facade. I didn't get a C-collar until I was in their medical facility, and instead of an ambulance, I literally left in an unmarked van (sitting upright, too, when I 100% should've been on a backboard). Someone at the hospital remarked to me that they see at least one person there *daily* from Disneyland, and this wasn't even the hospital closest to the park. Rides malfunction. People get hurt. The parks try their best not to let people see it, but it absolutely happens.
And because I realize I didn't make it clear: the hospital staff told me that patients with injuries from ride malfunctions are very, very common. They get people in all the time for things like heat exhaustion and turned ankles, but people coming into the ER because of a malfunctioning ride are *very* common. I had been hurt on a malfunctioning ride and commented about how unexpected that was, and the response was essentially, "We see people like you every day." Sorry I didn't make that clearer!
I've ridden the Matterhorn Bobsleds a few times. However, because my first visit to Disneyland was in 1958 (I was 3 years-old), I can still remember the hammering sounds going on while the Matterhorn ride was still under construction. I do remember while on the ride that took us on a trip to the moon, I tugged on my mother's sleeve and asked her: "Can we go back to Disneyland now?". I must have believed we had really travelled to outer space.
I actually covered my eyes and shivered when it got to the part about Dolly being hit by the second bob sled. I feel so bad for the family on the cable car.
Until I found this video, I hadn't realized that people have died on this ride. I had my close call on the Matterhorn ride in Summer 1972 during a family vacation to California. My brother and I went on this ride together. The bobsleds then were a 2x2 arrangement, two in front and two in back. We were in the back seat, I was on the right side. They were using lap belts. I was not very familiar with lap belts and was struggling to figure it out. The park attendant was helping the people in the front seat. Just when I realized that I needed help, I lifted up the two halves of my lap belt and started to say to the attendant,"I can't get this' JOLT suddenly the car started moving. It was either on a timing mechanism or somebody in the hut next to the start triggered our car to start moving. I looked at my brother with my fear mounting and said,"I can't get this to work!" He laughed. So, I spent the whole ride trying to get myself as low in the car as I could. I thought I was going to be thrown out, especially on the left hand turns as I was on the right side. Even years later, when I told this story to my brother and mentioned his nonchalance toward my predicament, he would laugh. The physics of it may have been that I wouldn't have been thrown out, but it certainly seemed imminent at the time. One minute of absolute stark terror. I've been on rollercoasters since then, but have no desire to revisit the "Matterhorn".
People sit in tandem on the Matterhorn. There aren't now, and never have been, left and right seats. The original cars were so deep, you really couldn't have been thrown out. It's not that wild of a ride. Both of these people stood up.
@@wintersbattleofbands1144 they were bench seats which could seat two smaller people per seat. We were like 9 and 11 years old. Check Wikipedia entry for this ride. It shows the bobsleds as they were from 1959-78 and has a picture of the bobsled with occupants seated side by side.
I remember being told of these incidents. As for Mark, I used to live in California, and it used to be the popular thing to do to try and stand up on rides or not get belted in so you could really have a more exciting ride. It was showing off. Lots of kids tried to do this not just at Disney, but at Six Flags Magic Mountain or Great America in northern California. Dolly was another story altogether. Usually the Disney employees were a lot more conscientious than at the other parks. At other parks I've noticed when they've let the lap belts slid for people who didn't want to wear them though I hadn't seen it at Disney. Things got stricter as I got older. I've ridden the ride. I miss going on roller coasters. I need to head down to a park sometime and have some fun. Poor Dolly and Mark though. It could have been an employee having an off day, but honestly, I am a 47 yr old woman and as a 40 yr old woman I would have known to have my seat belt on you have a certain amount of awareness by that age. I wouldn't entirely defend Disney on this but... come on. She has to have known before the ride left if her belt was off. Maybe instead the belt malfunctioned... that I could see maybe.
The Matterhorn feels like a very safe ride. I wouldn't be surprised if there'd been some kind of situation where she dropped something into the foot well, or wanted to turn around to see something behind her, or any number of little reasons someone might thoughtlessly undo the lap belt to be able to move around more freely. Especially since a lot of people back then didn't like wearing seat belts in cars. I was a kid back then, but even I noticed how the people who didn't like seat belts REALLY didn't like seat belts.
@@purplecat4977 I was kindof thinking the same thing but I didn't want to come across as insensitive... Better these days when you CAN'T undo the restraints yourself at all.
@@purplecat4977 And I have ridden that ride. Years ago, but it was typical Disney. Very sedate compared to the kind of rides you get at places like Six Flags. Not what I would think of as dangerous at all.
That background music... I've been away from the channel for a few months now, but when I heard it again, all I can think about is horrific death and tragedy.
I grew up in LA in the 1980s and I rode the Matterhorn many times. I remember it was really rough and jerky unlike modern roller coasters so I can see how you could get thrown out. I also ride the skyway and my favorite Captain Nemo's submarine ride which actually went underwater! I never knew we were flirting with disaster
Many congratulations for these videos, you really do reinforce the need to learn from these awful disasters. Just in case you are looking for material. The tram accident from Vienna-Döbling on 2. August 1960 was the worst accident in the history of the Vienna tram. He occurred in the 19th Vienna municipality district Döbling at the then unregulated intersection Billrothstraße / Bald street with the Döbling main street. Two train sets of line 39 going in the opposite direction, each consisting of a Type K locomotive and a Type M3, were affected. A total of 19 people (according to other sources: 20 or 21) died directly at the accident or as a result, over a hundred people were partially seriously injured. To date, the accident is considered the most serious traffic accident in Vienna. Source: ÖNB, Wikipedia
I used to live about 30-40 minutes from Disneyland so it was a regular stop anytime people would come in from out of town. I have not been there for over 20 years, so I have no idea about exactly how it's setup now, but this is my recollection. The original Matterhorn ride bobsleds were single cars with 2 2 person seats for 4 riders per sled and when the ride wasn't as busy they would let one person sit alone in the seat even though each seat was made for 2 passengers (now 3). In 1978 they changed to 2 joined bobsleds (A train with 2 cars) for higher capacity of 8 riders because the lines had become so long, with 2 bobsled cars attached together they move slower on the corners because the second car sort of drags on the rails a bit acting as a brake for the first car, so the single car bobsleds were much faster prior to 1978 thus when Mark died it was a single car with 2 person seats a much faster bobsled than today and only one of his friends could of been sitting in the same seat because they were two person seats. Also if you were a party of 3 back then and the next party was 4 they would let 3 people occupy the single bobsled putting one of the passengers alone. Later they upgraded the cars to 3 passenger seats for people 6 per sled or 12 people total per 2 car train. They also became more strict because of the long lines and created a single persons line to fill the empty seats for say a family of 5 the single rider would be added to the family's car. I don't know if they adjusted the corners or wheel chucks so the longer bobsled train set would do the corners without dragging and becoming slower but I doubt the track was adjusted for speed though they obviously replace for maintenance. In my early teens I was encouraged by a friend to stand up during the ride and I did going up the hill for a moment then I was screamed at by an unseen ride attendant that screamed very loudly "sit down now". I sat down and realized they are always watching you and worried they were going to pull me aside when I got off the ride, but they didn't. I wouldn't of stood up while it was moving fast, but it was still dumb standing while slowly climbing doing the dare obviously. I don't remember if I loosened the belt or it was loose enough to begin with but obviously it was easy for me to stand back then, so it doesn't surprise me those who died did it at the wrong time and fell out.
I love the information that you give on your channel to show exactly why certain "annoying" regulations and procedures are in place for certain buisnesses. In the age of "deregulation", we need to remember the reasons for government being tough.
I remember riding the Matterhorn back in 1978 at Disneyland. My aunt talked me into going on that ride. The lap belts in the bobsleds were double checked by staff for security before they would start the ride. It was a fun experience that I will never forget. The Yeti was automateonic and he made moves as though he was going to grab you out of the sled. I remember the skyway cars going through the mountain was a cool feature. We went on the ride at night because they had lots of colored lights lighting up the tracks that could only be appreciated at night. Sounds like the two guests that died on that ride had to have messed with their safety belts in some manner because the staff always double checked to make sure the guests were secure in the bobsleds before dispatching the bobsleds. I'm sure they have upgraded the bobsleds since then with more stringent safety belts and have better safery measures in place to prevent something like this from happening again.
That's the thing; the majority of serious injuries and fatalities at Disneyland/World have been because of guests ignoring safety instructions, doing things they had been warned not to do, or going where they weren't supposed to go. It's like... safety protocols are there for a reason, people! It's why I am always flabbergasted by parents who put their small children in clunky shoes or stuff the shoes with tissue to make them reach the height requirements for certain rides. If your kid is too short, they're too short and the ride is potentially dangerous because the restraints aren't made for people their size. Why put your kids in danger like that?!🤦♀️
@@seandelap8587 Yeah he should have, but teens in his age have a lot higher chance of doing stupid things. That's why safety regulations are needed, to protect them from themself. Being able to undo your seatbelt by your own screams for kids to do stupid stuff. And 99% of teens can be rational, it only takes 1 kid to be irrational for a few seconds for accidents like this to happen. I've been to alot of parks and i think i have never seen a ride where you could undo your seatbelt (or whatever) yourself. And that's a good thing.
Having been on this ride many times while working at Disney, there’s no way a person can just fall out when still sitting. There’s no real steep slopes, it’s not terribly fast of a ride, and the ride cars are deep. These 2 people would have HAD to be standing or doing something they weren’t supposed to do, regardless if they had the belt locked or not.
Neither is the lack of counter-argument. But yeah, this is disney we talking about... Who knows really, just what went wrong on that two unfortunate instances *by this point in time*
My favourite ride. Probably ever. I’m from Utah and I try to go to Disneyland once a year to ride this magnificent piece of history multiple times in a row!
New to the channel and it’s great when you find one that is really interesting and very well researched 👏.. Binge watching them all now 😊.. Well done sir !!
I remember riding the Bob sled it was fun, I also remember the attendant pulling hard on the belt to make sure it was locked in place. And telling us to keep our hands inside the ride. That was back in 1968-1984 .
When you hear that someone was decapitated in an accident it really means the person's head was smashed like a pumpkin. Decapitation just sounds nicer.
I grew up in Buena Park during the 60's and we went to Disneyland once a year. Needless to say it was the 1 day a year I looked forward to next to my birthday and xmas. We rode the matterhorn every year and it always made me feel like I really was in a real mountain and at the end of the night Tinkerbell would glide down from the top of the matterhorn and then the fireworks would go off....the magic days of youth. They had a ride called trip to the moon and I always cried thinking we were leaving the planet. It was a purely family magical place as a kid
We just went to Disneyland in February and I told my niece that no one had ever been hurt on the Matterhorn, trying to get her to not sit out every single ride. Turns out I unwittingly lied to her... oops! (And no, she didn't end up riding the Matterhorn!!)
They don't always test the belts correctly. An attendant touched mine, but didn't adjust it. It was loose, but I thought it must be okay based on them doing a "check", but it turned out to be too superficial. When we hit a curve, I started to be pulled out of my seat. My brother was able to grab me and force me back down. Since he saved my life, I can say clearly that I never touched my belt, the attendant just wasn't paying enough attention.
Anyone else's jaw drop at the newspaper showing the home addresses of the 15-year olds??? I know security was lax back then but that seems completely unnecessary and a huge overshare. Make them at least look you up in the phone book, eh? 🤔
I agree; for what possible purpose could it serve to print the address? So people could slowly drive by and whisper, "Their kid died at Disneyland." Why?
I saw another video that said there was speculation that Dolly may have unbuckled her belt in order to turn around and assist the person (child) behind her, for some reason. Also, he kind of glossed over it, probably for delicacy (which I understand), she wasn't just hit by the second sled. She was dragged by it, and her body was pinned under it. They had to remove the sled from the tracks, to be able to remove her body. She was-I'm sorry, there's no other way to put it-mangled.
I think I rode the Matterhorn as a little boy, I have memories of an ice-cave themed ride with an abominable snowman....but I mostly remember my dad trying to hold my head and neck in place so I wouldn't hurt myself
If he was sitting next to you then it wasn’t the Matterhorn. Maybe you’re thinking of Expedition Everest, which is a similar themed coaster in Disney World in Florida.
@@Bempes3477Yes that was it, I knew there was some similar themed roller coaster from way back then that I rode, because this one seemed similar to it, but never have been to Disney Land so I wasn’t sure if it was like a fever dream or something lol.
@@Steve-fv7zcExpedition Everest is at Animal Kingdom at Disney World, but it didn’t open until 2006. So, if you’re thinking of a ride from back when the incident in the video took place (the 80s), neither Expedition Everest (nor Animal Kingdom) were there yet.
Children do dangerous things all the time so I'm not that surprised about the first incident but a grown woman is much more cautious for the most part. Very strange turn of events altogether.
When I went to Disneyland in Annaheim in late 2022, I rode the Matterhorn 3 times late into the day when the sun had already set. I had not known of the accidents that happened on the ride and my first two rides went without incident and it was really fun but, curiously enough, on the third go my seatbelt had issues being fastened and the person who was checking everyone to make sure it was fastened correctly with a flashlight before we went up the lift hill was not paying attention to the front of the bobsled where I was seated. The ride started to move and I tried to wave down the staff and said "hey wait" but clack clack clack we went into the lift tunnel whilst I was still frantically trying to get the belt to "click" over my waist, the locking mechanism was not clicking as it had the two times previous! I did finally get it about half way up but after watching videos about these accidents I feel very lucky to have not been another victim. The ride is very shaky and old and very fast, much faster than any other ride I rode at Disneyland. It was also the scariest for sure as the ambient wind sounds that play loudly when standing near the ride reminded me of the dangers of mountaineering. I also wasn't expecting to see a Yeti and learned that the ride screams at you over its loudspeakers to encourage people to scream. A truly bone-chilling experience looking back on it as I didn't know how close I was to facing death.
The ride is really tight. Even though I'm sure it's safe (now), but the walls and everything are so close to you, I always feel like a too-tall person could hit their head.
Can't imagine being able to get over if I were to unbuckle a seat belt as a prank or be apart and that were to happen. Hope his friends didn't do that...
Narrator says, "... with guest sitting in single file..." although the image @2:18 shows side by side seating in "Bobsled" car. Then @2:35 image shows single occupany seats.
The ride had been refurbished multiple times. Likely used pics at different points of time. Even the park location could be a factor in seats. For example, WDW version f Splash Mountain had people sitting side by side, but the Disneyland version they’re single file in the log.
So this reminds me of a time I went to Disney World when I was in college. The Space Mountain ride at the time had a similar seat belt system to the one featured here. I had my seat belt fastened when we left the boarding area, but some how, some way I was squeezing my purse against my side to make sure I didn't lose hold of it caused the seat belt to become undone (that is a guess, I still have no idea how the seat belt came undone, I definitely was NOT trying to undo it). The inside of the car had handrails you could hold onto, so I just grabbed those and braced my feet against the sides of the car and held on for dear life. I have to say that was my scariest roller coaster ride ever. Now I am wondering if this seat belt thing was more of an issue, but we don't hear about it because most people survive....
The seat belt was there just to keep riders from standing up during the ride, even though I'm sure it was scary, you were in no danger of being ejected.
Oh it was somebody else's video of this that actually first got me into watching stuff like this. To me the story is sort of special to me. Thank you for making it.
I don’t know where it’s written that they have safer “lock-in” seatbelts but they still had the regular old fashioned kind, like airplane seatbelts on some of the bobsleds last I remember at least 2010. I don’t recall ever having used a lock-in seatbelt on this ride. My father worked for the park for 3 decades as of 2018 and was great friends and shared an office with the official photographer at the Disneyland Resort. He would regale me with stories of accidents and tragedies that happened in the magic kingdom, all of which he had attended and photographed. I was a strange child. Our Christmas Eve dinner was cut short by the. Columbia accident. My dad had to dash out to meet the media and manage the situation information.
I must have ridden it for the first time as a little kid not that long after the second incident. Maybe a few years later at most. And I even remember the "double checking" thing being done, and being slightly confused why they did it twice as a little kid. One of the most unique and awesome rides ever. I would bet that the friends in the first incident knew exactly what happened and played a role in it.
I've gone to Disneyland since the early nineties, and they've always done the double-check on the Matterhorn. I was so disappointed when I went after the refurbishment and they had changed the bobsleds because now I can't have my girlfriend in my lap and cop a feel when we pass the Yeti.
The most tragic thing about Dolly's death was how she survived the initial fall only to be struck by another car. It's just sad and brutal.
And she couldn't get up after the fall. Impending doom.
Really feels like the Final Destination movies
any young kid dying is upsetting, but the fact that a family witnessed her fall, her struggle to get back up, and ultimately Dolly most likely realized what was about to happen was enough to literally make my stomach twist a few times. Ugg! How terrible. That isn't even mentioning the riders in the second car. I don't even want to imagine....
It had to have been bad. The first employee in the scene told the others not to look. I'm thinking cut up like a train accident. 😞
@@davedunks4647 She was 48 though
I was there with friends the day it happened in 1984. We didn't know there had been a death, we only knew the ride had closed and we saw grim-faced men in dark suits escorting guests from the area - one suit man tightly holding each arm of the guests. The guests looked shocked and pale, maybe they had seen the accident? Anyway, men in suits inside the park was extremely unusual at that time, cast members were always costumed back then. I grew up at Disneyland and I had never seen anything like that before. We knew something big had happened but we only found out about the accident when we stopped for pizza on the way home. The pizza place had the news on their big screen tv and we saw it there. The news report didn't give any details, only saying a woman had died at the park. I had to jump up and call my mom on a pay phone and let her know it wasn't me! There were no cell phones back then. I was a teenager and that was just the kind of thing my mom worried about.
I was in the park that day as well with a friend. We saw people walking the tracks on the Matterhorn and knew something bad had happened. Found out about an hour later that someone had died.
I am proud to say that I have never visited, and never will, a disney property.
@@ThatOpalGuy Congrats, you want a cookie?
@@organlover1988 I want to see disney keep owning that floriduh fascist, ron.
Somehow I never thought of all of the anxious parents that day, sweating it out and waiting for their kids to come home. What a terrible day!
Considering the volume of passengers and reliance on them to stay safe, it's amazing that only two fatalities happened in all this time.
I'm glad they changed the lap belts. When they still had the old style, I had one come partially undone while I was riding. I was able to pull it tight but it slipped again immediately. I yanked it tight, passed the end to my friend (who was sitting behind me) and screamed, "DON'T LET GO!!" Luckily she was a big, strong girl and was able to hang onto it for the remainder of the ride. It was pretty darn scary, I tell you what.
😰😰😰
probably the belt was worn out by the overweight chubby americans that nowadays are cheered for their "empowerment" and "happysize"
I had something similar happen on a rollercoaster once with a lap bar! It was one of the scariest experiences in my life. You become properly aware of just how fast you're moving and how rough those sharp turns are - it's not possible to hold on. Without that gear you will be flung out of that seat.
Nice story bro.
Now I finally undersrand why Americans are so enormously fat! It’s their safety measure for when they make a trip to Disney.
the passengers who were on the sled that struck Dolly must have been mentally scarred for life.
PTSD can come from many places.
and it can strike at literally any time
Probably also the family in the Skyway, the employee who discovered the body, and the first responders. I think anyone seeing that firsthand would.
They would have been horrific to see eh. 🥺
@@shakti666 And a chicken is a flightless bird.
Oh sorry, is this a theme?
You know, this video brought back a very old memory. My little sister stood up and hit her head on the Matterhorn sometime around ‘97. I wasn’t riding that time because I didn’t feel like standing in line and went on Peter Pan with a younger cousin instead. We came back from the ride and met up with the grandparents who told us mom and dad were with park staff getting my sister some medical assistance. I guess she was small enough to slip her restraint and get vertical before dad could stop her? Man, that’s a throwback memory. Good video as always!
There have been very few deaths at Disneyland compared to the amount of people who've ever been, but when it does happen it's usually a horrible way to go.
Well, the medics who work there won't declare anyone dead if they can get away with shoving the corpse into an ambulance and saying they died en route to the hospital.
So the only ones are the ones where it's blatantly obvious.
@@marhawkman303 Well, the fact that the first person in this story, the 15-year-old, spent 3 days in the hospital before he died and yet is still known as dying from a Disney ride would seem to counteract your "fact". There have been other known deaths at Disney Parks over the years. Why would they acknowledge some, but cover up others?
@@laras678 The key here is dying IN the park, not hiding THAT the person died. To you it seems like a trivial technicality, but it matters for casualty statistics. Arguably those numbers don't really mean anything, but PR people like to wave them around. "only one person has ever died here" sounds kind of impressive. doesn't count the number who sustained fatal injuries in the park though.
Again, the trickery is in concealing the LOCATION of the death, not the nature of death. Also, it has a warm fuzzy feeling that the medics "did everything they could" to save the guy while en route to the hospital... it might be a lie where the guy is known to the medics be dead already, but the public doesn't know that.
@Mar Hawkman You are correct. If at all possible, NO ONE dies "AT" Disneyland/Disneyworld.
@@marhawkman303 Actually, that's less about Disneyland's image (though Disney does guard that like a dragon) than it is about California law. The circumstances under which a death can be declared are unlikely to be met at a theme park; usually it has to be done by a medical professional, iirc. (I've lived most of my life close enough to Disneyland to set my watch by the fireworks.) And while there is a police substation and a first-aid station at the park, there isn't a full medical facility.
Ask A Mortician made a great video series about death at Disneyland with a more detailed explanation, if you'd like that.
Tl;dr: Nobody dies at Disneyland because nobody dies at a theme park in California.
What an absolute nightmare that second incident was. Surviving only to be unable to move then a second bobsled arrives. Can't imagine the PTSD the witnesses have endured, something like that stays with one. The happiest place on earth has it's tragic side alright.
Yeah, its like a scene from a *_Final Destination_* movie.
It had to be most horrifying for the people in the skyway car. They saw the whole thing, while the people in the other car only saw the fatal collision. Traumatic as hell for both, though.
You honestly believe Disneyland is ' the happiest place on earth ' ?
@@Jlipnicki Disneyland is an overpriced, tacky hellhole and its Floridian brother has pushed so many animals out of their natural habitat. Just a bunch of sweaty summer students dressed as cartoon characters, lame-ass rides and meals that cost more than law school textbooks. I will never understand why grown-ass adults love it so much.
Millions and millions of people using that facility and only a couple of accidents I think they're doing fairly well considering the amount of stupid people that would have gone through the park in that time
The fact the first death occurred when the kid stood up kind of makes it obvious he had undone his belt intentionally. Had it not been secure or come undone accidently during the ride there would have been no reason that he would attempt to stand up.
As a former 15 y/o male, there is little limit to what could have happened.
@@jimmiller5600 Unfortunately very true.... and very often with unintended results.
@@imxploring Longer, older version of expectations from young males from a sergeant -- "if I leave the squad in a locked room with three steel bowling balls and come back in a couple hours, one will be broken, one will be missing and the third will be pregnant.......... and nobody will have seen anything".
That’s really not true necessarily!
He could have very easily saw that his seatbelt came undone and took advantage of the moment!
It’s hard to know what was going through his mind since he’s no longer here, but just because he stood up doesn’t mean he undid the seatbelt.
Especially because there’s a huge history on that specific ride of the seatbelts coming undone.
There’s actually other people in this comment section who say the seatbelt on that ride came off for them too
It wouldn’t take much for any one of those people to stand up while that’s happening..
Briefly, at the beginning of the video, the narrator mentioned that the Matterhorn Bobsleds were the first tubular steel roller coaster. What was not mentioned is that tubular steel rails very quickly became the standard for steel roller coasters, and only recently have alternatives been used with any serious frequency. If you're riding a steel roller coaster today, then unless it features Rocky Mountain Construction's I-Box track, or is a single-rail coaster, it's probably a tubular steel coaster. Arrow Development came up with the design of the tubular steel rails.
This was also the start of Arrow Development's involvement with roller coasters, which would continue until 2001, when the company (since renamed to Arrow Dynamics after a series of mergers) would go bankrupt, in part as a result of the building of their X coaster at Magic Mountain (now X2).
I had never been scared on a rollercoaster until I rode X at Magic Mountain the first time then again when it became X2. Man that ride scared me half to death…
Thankyou for mentioning this. The ARROW DEVELOPMENT COMPANY gets the credit for coming up with the tubular track idea.
I know it well. My first home when I was born was right across the street from Arrow's first site at Moffett blvd. and Jackson st.. Today the building (that they built themselves) still stands with an auto body shop as resident. In the early 1970s a water softening business occupied the back of the building.
Arrow had moved out of the building to the bigger site before I was born in 1960, but I have fond memories of my mother telling me of seeing them make the cups for the teacup ride, and apparently much more was made for Disney within those walls too.
I saw many test rides set up in their back lot next to Moffett Drive-in. I recall a log flume track and a waterslide at different times. Last thing I saw there looked like a "dangle" coaster with the train suspended below the track and free to swing to the side in turns. Just a simple square-oval layout with a lift hill. That eventually led to the NINJA suspended coaster at Magic Mountain. I eventually got to ride it in the early 1990s. Both company and drive-in were gone by the mid 1980s. Google has a building on the site now.
It wasn't just the X-coaster that took them down but also fierce competition in making new rides.
As someone who's nearly died from malfunctioning safety harnesses in a roller coaster before, I understand the terror from these incidents . I haven't been on a roller coaster since then, nearly 20 years.
Holy crap, what happened?
(If you don't want to talk about it, that's alright. I'm just curious)
Story time?
Don't leave us hanging.
remindme! 1 day
I'm glad you're ok. Please share your story ♥️
I can't help but think that 2 fatal accidents on a roller coaster in 60+ years is not bad. Of course, the question then becomes how many non-fatal accidents were there?
2 accidents in 60 years is not a terrible ratio.
No.
But its way higher then it should be.
Good question 😬
You mean the number of children conceived?
The park doesn't sell alcohol, so probably not many 😂
@@ethribin4188
By today's standards sure, but even in the 80's, theme parks rides were fairly unregulated across much of the world. And technology has advanced significantly since the 50's. A friction adjustment lap seatbelt would have been considered fairly high safety in an era when cars generally didn't have seatbelts. Related to that, the riders also wouldn't have had that automatic reaction of doing up their seatbelt like we all do today.
@@ethribin4188 more people die tripping over their own feet in 60 years
you cant make ANYTHING 100% safe
That only two such incidents have occurred in 60 years of operation is testament to the safety of that particular attraction.
Both were rider error. Both people tried to stand up.
Where is the evidence the second, 1984 victim attempted to stand up?@@wintersbattleofbands1144
@@wintersbattleofbands1144 dolly *fell* she did not try to stand up.
Good on the ride worker who first found Dolly telling his co-workers not to look.
Good for him for not doing his job in the first place.
It's okay, Dolly probably would've queefed out a bunch of moron children anyways.
The problem is human nature.
when someone tells you not to see something, that’s when you want to look.
@@kamakaziozzie3038 I wouldn't exactly say it is unanimous human nature. Thankfully, I've been able to say it plenty of times, and the recipient listened to me.
Not hard to do. Decapitation scenes are very gory.
They _said_ the ride attendants had been trained to check the seat belts before the ride departed the boarding area, _but_ in any system where humans are responsible for checking something there is going to be an error rate. I'm amazed they only had two fatalities in two and a half decades. I wonder how many "near misses" they had in that time?
Speculation dude. The error rate could have been zero
Of the thousands of rides that were sent through that mountain there were only two deaths. I'm no disney shill, far from it, but I've noticed watching these videos that there's always a need to implicate the company, even if its likely the accident was just that an accident. Why is this? Well because the victims survivors got to get their money out of it. Look at Dolly's husband, he was so incensed about what happened to his wife but that all seemed to go away once Disney decided to give him some go away money.
@TheDragonEpyon I never understood that either. People suing for so much money. Millions are not going to bring her back. Unfortunately, it was an accident. No disrespect to her.
@@DragoEpyon Watching this channel for months you hear that a lot
accident happens, people sue and then just quietly leave after getting their money
@@margin606 true, but given the tendency of human error with every job, I’d think the number of unknowing chances is non-zero.
All it requires is not saying or doing one thing
Ooh, my mom was almost the second victim on the Matterhorn. When she was a kid in the 60's she got on the ride but her belt didn't fasten and the attendant didn't check, he just sent the ride going. Mom said that she was so scared and held on as hard as she could to not get thrown out of the seat. She never got on the Matterhorn again and would never let us ride it at all! It wasn't until my Grad Night in the 90's that I got to ride it for the first time.
Wow! Your mom lived to tell the tale.
Apologies if this is from left field, but you had your Grad Night in the 90s? Nice. Me too (Class of '93.)
The ceilings and walls seem really close on the Matterhorn. Standing up is insane.
I didn't understand why Dolly stood up? Did they give an explanation?
@@lalathebenificent1335it was fun
@lalathebenificent1335 she didn't stand up, she fell
the first victim stood up, not dolly. dolly fell. @@lalathebenificent1335
The sky ride predates the Matterhorn bobsleds. They built the "mountain" around the gondola ride, which was a stroke of entertainment genius.
Are the Gondolas still there? I’ve only ever been to Disney world and the Magic Kingdom had its sky-tram removes
@@pocketmarcy6990
8:55
It said the sky way has been retired and no longer passes through the Matterhorn.
That's a shame.
I went fairly often back in the 70's.
Then I went once years later after they had retired the Light Parade and replaced it with The Lion King Parade.
It just wasn't the same.😢
The LIGHT PARADE is GONE??!!😭☹️
When Great America opened in Illinois, (at that time it was owned by Marriott, not Six Flags) they had a cable car/sky ride too, but those are long gone. I used to love riding those! It was a little scary when the wheels rolled over one of the support towers and there was a little jolt, but it was a fun way to get from one side of the park to the other. Somewhere I still have a keychain that says Marriott's Great America.
I had heard about dollys accident before. (I think it may have been from another video on this channel)what I can’t imagine is how powerless that family that was riding the cable cars felt…there was a father and his kids and I remember hearing that he pulled them close to him so they couldn’t see dolly get hit. And those people in the other train…that had to be horrible.😢
A big issue I have with DisneyLand is that they are notorious for not taking responsibility for their actions. Whenever somebody gets injured on a ride, the park is very quick to blame the guest for their injuries. They’ll say that “it’s your fault for not following the rules”. Even if the guests weren’t following the rules, constantly blaming the guests for their injuries is not a very good look for the park management
@@craigmeyer6957, when they tell you to keep your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside the ride vehicle at all times, they do so for a reason. It's not to be a killjoy, but to keep you from being killed. And let's face it, the majority of accidents are because people don't follow the rules.
@@j.d.e.7416 These two here? yeah... hard to say. from the looks of it holding on to the rails on the sides with your hands should be all you need to avoid falling out.
@@marhawkman303 Not even that would be required. The high sides on the vehicle and lack of any "air time" means that unless someone intentionally moved their center of mass higher than the sides of the car, they would not fall out.
@@ducatisti You're absolutely right. You have to try hard to fall out of that ride. I've been going there for years before I had kids and now w my kids. 4 year old kids are safe riding that ride. I feel sorry for Disney when people pull this and they have to pay out.
One thing for sure, that ride is hard on your back. It's like riding a sled down a hill of rocks.
The Matterhorn used to be my favorite ride at Disneyland. I liked it because as a young child I was able to ride it and it was still thrilling. I wanted to ride the rides that were not specifically for kids because I thought they were too slow. The Matterhorn I guess you could say was my first roller coaster
Went on it in 74'. Awesome ride. The boy who went to stand up implies he or one of his friends had to undo the belt. Millions of people have had safe trips on this ride.
Wonder if it was his first time on that ride. I remember being uncomfortable just raising my arms because of the low clearances.
It's always so interest to hear about Disneyland tragedies, given my prior know bc of living so locally (and working there myself for several years long ago). The safety rate at Disneyland is SO dramatically higher than other theme parks, let alone just driving everyday. It's really the high profile nature that brings it to life!
A big issue I have with DisneyLand is that they are notorious for not taking responsibility for their actions. Whenever somebody gets injured on a ride, the park is very quick to blame the guest for their injuries. They’ll say that “it’s your fault for not following the rules”. Even if the guests weren’t following the rules, the park is still liable for all injuries that occur within its boundaries, you can’t just always blame the guest
The reality is you are more likely to be in an accident to or from Disneyland than at Disneyland.
@@craigmeyer6957 this is true to an extent perhaps, but Disney shouldn't have to take complete responsibility of the actions of fools. Disney does take actions to rectify bad situations such as with what happened on "America Sings" when a cast member got caught between two stages of the ride and was crushed to death. Disney did take responsibility and immediately made safety improvements to the ride. Disneyland has, over the years, strived to make their rides "idiot-proof," but it does suck that dumb people do dumb things that "ruin it for everybody else." (So to speak.)
@@skyden24195 Exactly. Thank you for responding to this, as I don't check my notifications often! I always believe in safety first, but reckless people will ALWAYS find a way to hurt (or kill) themselves, no matter how many safety measures you have in place.
This kinda stuff blows my mind, As a kid I was fortunate enough to be able to go to Disneyland almost yearly for a decade and i absolutely fell in love with the Matterhorn. Brings me shock and horror knowing people have lost their lives in such a brutal way in what’s supposed to be the happiest place on earth. RIP
As a kid in CA in the 60’s and 70’s, I rode the Matterhorn bobsleds many times. It was a very benign ride compared to many today.
Still in my top 3 favorite Disneyland rides, along with Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain Railroad.
I think I went on Thunder Mountain Railroad 3 or 4 times on my visit to the park! Love it.
Space Mountain.... Wooooooooooooooo!
The first star tours was fun. Not caring for the newer version
I absolutely love this channel, and squeal when I get the "new upload" notification. It's been so cool watching the channel grow. ❤
8:20 This new restraint was implemented DECADES later in 2012 when the cars design was changed, NOT "in the aftermath of the accident". I know, I live next to the park and the traditional belt lock was used up until then.
I rode it age 4 in 1959. The unfinished interior was the scariest part of the ride. My mom and her cousin were terrified I'd fly out. I was sitting in the lap of the cousin and boy did she hold me tight!
It was faster back then.
Sounds like Mark the first story intentionally stood up and took off belt
I grew up one county away from Disneyland, and visited frequently. I’ve been on the Matterhorn Bobsleds, they’re fun. Typically it’s hard to get on them because the line is always so long, it’s a very popular attraction.
I’ve been on it back when it had the growling yeti animatronic, and then later when they removed it and replaced it with the digital screens featuring the yeti moving around and growling on them. I loved to ride the Skyway through the Matterhorn as well.
Original Harold (the Abominable Snowman) is presently hanging out at Disney's California Adventure as part of The Collector's collection in the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout! ride.
Know what's (ironically) funny that I just thought of? The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride, for a long time, had no seatbelts in the cars, it was just a "Hold onto the handrail, because this here is the wildest ride in the wilderness." kind of ride. Thunder Mountain is about as wild as Matterhorn yet, even without seatbelts, it hasn't seen nearly as many (although there has been a few) fatal accidents as one would think in consideration of this fact.
@@j.d.e.7416 Yeup, I just recently saw it last December. Pretty neat.
The yeti is still there as an animatronic, he moves a bit, tracking the bobsled. It’s pretty cool
@@caljones, that's Harold 2.0. The original one is across the courtyard at DCA.
Thanks for the respectful coverage of this topic.
I remember the first time I rode the Matterhorn, at that time the tunnel linings were not complete, and you could see around the inside of the mountain. Years later when I went again, I was disappointed that you could only see the lining of the tunnels, still fun anyway!! Also weird how the mountain "healed" from when the overhead tram that used to go through the big holes was removed. It was always interesting to see the changes as the years go by.
I liked the overhead tram.
I was mulling this over, and while I think Mark probably intentionally removed his lap belt and stood up for whatever dumb teenage reason, Dolly's death made me think. Even if her lap belt had not been fastened from the beginning, would she have fallen out if she hadn't stood up, and if that was the case, why on earth would a grown woman described as very cautious stand up in the middle of a roller coaster ride? I wonder if she might have experienced some kind of medical event during the course of the ride that caused her to act irrationally or try to signal for help. Considering that from the description given it would be reasonable to believe her injuries were likely catastrophic, it's possible that the evidence for some kind of medical crisis precipitating the accident would have been overlooked or possibly completely destroyed by the injuries caused by falling out of the ride and then being struck by the second sled.
I wonder if she didn't experience a panic attack. The attack comes on quickly and feels like impending death. While experiencing an attack, you feel the intense need to flee, regardless of whether you safely can or not. Personally, I tried to get out of a car while on the highway during one of my first panic attacks. It could explain why a cautious person attempted to stand on a moving roller coaster.
@@WholeWheatWhale What you say makes sense. I've been riding those bobsleds for years. Even without a seatbelt on it would be hard to fly out. They don't go very fast.
I think the belt may have squeezed her a bit too hard and made her uncomfortable, it's why some people refuse to wear seatbelts in cars after all, she probably thought it was not a big deal to just unfasten it, after all ,that ride doesn't do any loops
@@YerALizard possibly even with the intention to refasten it in a more comfortable position, but it was just at the exact wrong moment.
Another thing, not mentioned in the video, each car is equipped with handgrips inside for additional security. Why weren't these utilized if the seatbelt suddenly became faulty? It's not like the grips are difficult to see or grasp.
Way back in 1960, when I was four, for a trivial amount of money, my parents purchased season passes for Disneyland. So many, many times I rode the Matterhorn Bobsled ride, and it was my favorite ride. Years later in 1986 I rode it again but this time I had severe claustrophobia for as an adult I felt like my head was going to be lopped off by the low ceilings of the tunnels.
They did not sell season passes in the 60's.
Good comment. My parents, perhaps incorrectly referred to as a "Season Pass" was to a "Big Ticket Book" which had ten tickets for $3.75, for adults... 1959 prices were much cheaper, even factoring inflation.
Actually in the 60s, the mountain WAS more open. The late 70s is when the icy tunnels were installed. Not to worry, a rig known as the "envelope" of protection is used to check clearances around the track for seated people, even with long arms or very tall.
@@tikitavi7120 wow you had to go out of your way just to make this comment. Who cares if it was called a season pass or kiss my ass it's the same f****** concept. You must be a woman.
I'm 37 and am very much a norcal/socal kid. My family has always been Disney heads and a trip to Disneyland was always our family vacation through out the years. My parents were born, raised and lived in that area until getting him a new job, then moving to, where I am now in the SF bay area. When I was younger and once the internet came about and we all got more information, I had learned about this. One family trip there, I had mentioned I read about this and asked if they had seen about it at the time in newspapers or whatever. My dad just looked down and off to the side. He wasn't super close friends to Mark, but, someone he knew at highschool and had classes with. I couldn't find anything exact, but I think this was a special event for HS students that night. My dad said he was there that night, but not around all this happening. From what he said (this being about 20 years ago and I don't want to ask him again. Plus this was 40 years after the event and it was off of what he had heard through friends/classmates at the time, so don't take this as fact.) that Mark had removed his seatbelt on his own. He was going to stand up for just a quick bit as the bobsleds were going to be outside of the mountain, raise his hands and yell to get peoples eyes on him. Just some silly stuff you do at 15 but unfortunately with some terrible consequences. Those on the bobsled didn't know how low the clearances were from the sleds to the top of the parts of the ride and......well, you've already stated what happened after he stood up. It made my dad sad about 40 years later, so I can't even imagine what those that saw it all are thinking today. :(
I was absolutely terrified of this ride as a kid, not because of the speed or the dark, but because of the frickin yeti animatronic. The sound it made scared the shit out of me and I would put my fingers in my ears and shut my eyes, forcing my mother to hang onto me with one arm, and the handhold in the bobsled with the other. I grew up in California and we went to Disneyland sometimes multiple times a year when I was little because we had year round passes. Of course this was in the late 80's so the cost wasn't half our yearly mortgage PER PERSON like it is now.
The Matterhorn Bobsleds ride was not mild enough for my 9 year old sister or my mum -- they were both terrified when my family rode it in the late 1970's. The "cast members" did indeed check our lap belts twice before the ride took off, & the entire half hour or so we waited in line for the ride we heard a repeated announcement, alternating from English to Spanish & back, about keeping your seatbelt fastened & all of your body parts in the vehicle at all times. I liked the ride, but it was much tamer than Space Mountain, which was pretty new at the time & was more exciting & fun. I ended up riding Space Mountain twice that visit, but neither time was with my sister or mum, thank goodness. I've always loved rollercoasters, but I never understood why mum & sis tried so hard over & over to enjoy rollercoasters for years, when they were too scared to have any fun every time they rode one! I was SO glad when they gave it up, & I imagine it was a relief for them, too.
Hah, I rode Space Mountain soon after it was built - once. For me it was too much like riding a rollercoaster blindfolded due to how much of it was in the dark (back then at least). Being in the dark meant being unable to mentally prepare for the next turn so I got motion sickness. Not enough to barf but enough to feel nauseated for a few hours.
Hey I worked as an ride operator on Matterhorn from August 2021-March 2022. AMA
Would you please consider doing a video on the ride the ducks attraction in Branson? There was a horrific incident there where I believe over 20 people died in the lake nine of which belong to the same family
Why? It's all over Google. Wasn't that long ago.
My family and I were in branson when it happened. My dad had scheduled a time for us on the boats 40 mins before the accident. He decided not to go because he thought they would be canceled from the weather. We were in the lobby helping people come in from thw storm when we saw three of thw firetrucks pass us. We thought someone just didn't know how to drive in the rain. We didn't realize it was something serious untill the third one passed us and then the videos came out. We haven't been on the lake since. We have dozens of photos of me and my siblings driving the ducks on the water as kids.
@@wintersbattleofbands1144this videos story is all over google too. Your point?
Not bad, since this ride seem to kicked in on a time when for example cars on roads had no winter tires, no abs, no belts necessarily, atleast not on backseat, no neck supports and.. you get my point. This ride on that time was probably more safe than a ride with a passenger car! Amazing facts!
Winter tires was invented in the 1930s, but i get your point.
I grew up in the 70s and 80s, living the way we did then, would be considered an extreme sport, by todays standard...
@@danpedersen55 Winter tires were invented then here in Finland, but they were not used immediately by all. They were forced to use at 1978 onwards only, so... the reality was there was no winter tires on that time.
@@thetoughcookie3665 I know my late Dad had winter tires on his cars, even in the 70s, but his job involved a lot of driving, maybe that had something to do with it.
I’ve always been enamored with the Matterhorn , never knew they had a ride based on it!
Back in the early 1970s, my brother and I went to Disneyland with some other young men. We were paperboys for The Deseret News. We loved the Matterhorn ride. We formed a cohesive bobsled team and were able to anticipate and lean into each curve. What an awesome thrill! We were going so fast that at the end we by-passed the stopping mechanisms and went a second time up the starting ramp to ride down the rails again. Every corner and every place where there was a braking system, the operators slowed us almost to a complete stop. At the end, the security people escorted us off and banned us from riding the Matterhorn again. A decade later, as we entered adulthood, we realized how really stupid and foolish we had been. Thanks to the operators we didn't kill ourselves. But.... I still, to this day, remember the adrenaline rush as we zipped through that mountain!
I was there in the early ‘80s. My parents thought we were too young to ride the Matterhorn. I cannot remember if we rode the skyway, but I remember seeing it running through the Matterhorn. From the ground you could easily see the bobsled cars peeking in and out of the mountain and it looked fast and scary. I distinctly remember that from quite a distance you could hear the riders screaming as they popped out of the mountain.
I rode it as a little kid back in 1964. Was pretty scary. Still remember the splash of water at the end.
It’s that time of the week. Thank you. RIP to those.
I went on this ride last year on a trip to CA and changing the belts was definitely a good choice. The ride REALLY jerks you around, so much so that my mom hurt her back on it. It’s a noted phenomenon that many people have passed kidney stones on the ride just because of the force of it.
I rode it twice earlier this year and it's still a fun ride
Thank you for posting so much recently!
its sad how fun can be turned to terror so quickly
So true
is kinda funny actually
@@updatedotexe you need help then
Grew up 5 mins from Disneyland. I went frequently. I loved Matterhorn and rode it probably 50 times in my years that I have been there.
Whimsical topiary and flower beds, thousands of magical lights, exotic theme areas, strolling musicians and costumed characters, theme restaurants, adjacent hotel next to the park, quiet expo type exhibits, and a Matterhorn themed roller coaster ride (one of the oldest continuously running). Sound familar? This is
Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark, which Walt Disney visited, and which clearly was his inspiration for Disneyland and the Matterhorn ride.
My cousins lived in Anaheim and we used to go yearly to Disneyland from 1979-1984 (age 6 to 10) The Matterhorn was one of my favorites! The tragedies seem to happen when those involved dont follow safety rules. Sorry and RIP
While deaths are relatively rare, people don't realize how often injuries happen at the Disney parks, and that's very much by design. Cast members are trained to keep things on the DL as much as possible. I was injured on a ride in 1997, and they went to a lot of trouble to keep a "nothing to see here" facade. I didn't get a C-collar until I was in their medical facility, and instead of an ambulance, I literally left in an unmarked van (sitting upright, too, when I 100% should've been on a backboard). Someone at the hospital remarked to me that they see at least one person there *daily* from Disneyland, and this wasn't even the hospital closest to the park.
Rides malfunction. People get hurt. The parks try their best not to let people see it, but it absolutely happens.
And because I realize I didn't make it clear: the hospital staff told me that patients with injuries from ride malfunctions are very, very common. They get people in all the time for things like heat exhaustion and turned ankles, but people coming into the ER because of a malfunctioning ride are *very* common. I had been hurt on a malfunctioning ride and commented about how unexpected that was, and the response was essentially, "We see people like you every day." Sorry I didn't make that clearer!
What was your settlement amount?
For a second I thought that you can use a bobsled on the Matterhorn for real
You can but only once.
@@andruwowen8485 😂
I've ridden the Matterhorn Bobsleds a few times. However, because my first visit to Disneyland was in 1958 (I was 3 years-old), I can still remember the hammering sounds going on while the Matterhorn ride was still under construction. I do remember while on the ride that took us on a trip to the moon, I tugged on my mother's sleeve and asked her: "Can we go back to Disneyland now?". I must have believed we had really travelled to outer space.
I remember the moon ride. The seat actually moved and pushed your butt up like you were accelerating. Cool stuff back then.
I actually covered my eyes and shivered when it got to the part about Dolly being hit by the second bob sled. I feel so bad for the family on the cable car.
You covered your eyes to words being said? Kind of odd of you to do….
@@CrackingCody thanks for the commentary cody
@@CrackingCody I know! It makes no sense, but for some reason that was my reaction.
Toughen up or you're going to have a very bad time in life. It's a cruel world
Pull yourself together
Your story are great in a sad way , and you are a natural narrator!!!!!😊
Until I found this video, I hadn't realized that people have died on this ride.
I had my close call on the Matterhorn ride in Summer 1972 during a family vacation to California. My brother and I went on this ride together. The bobsleds then were a 2x2 arrangement, two in front and two in back. We were in the back seat, I was on the right side. They were using lap belts. I was not very familiar with lap belts and was struggling to figure it out. The park attendant was helping the people in the front seat. Just when I realized that I needed help, I lifted up the two halves of my lap belt and started to say to the attendant,"I can't get this' JOLT suddenly the car started moving. It was either on a timing mechanism or somebody in the hut next to the start triggered our car to start moving. I looked at my brother with my fear mounting and said,"I can't get this to work!" He laughed. So, I spent the whole ride trying to get myself as low in the car as I could. I thought I was going to be thrown out, especially on the left hand turns as I was on the right side. Even years later, when I told this story to my brother and mentioned his nonchalance toward my predicament, he would laugh. The physics of it may have been that I wouldn't have been thrown out, but it certainly seemed imminent at the time. One minute of absolute stark terror.
I've been on rollercoasters since then, but have no desire to revisit the "Matterhorn".
People sit in tandem on the Matterhorn. There aren't now, and never have been, left and right seats. The original cars were so deep, you really couldn't have been thrown out. It's not that wild of a ride. Both of these people stood up.
@@wintersbattleofbands1144 they were bench seats which could seat two smaller people per seat. We were like 9 and 11 years old. Check Wikipedia entry for this ride. It shows the bobsleds as they were from 1959-78 and has a picture of the bobsled with occupants seated side by side.
I know exactly how you feel. I almost bought it too.
Nice documentary. I saw that as an exhibit at the Disney 100 Exhibit at the Franklin Institute.
I remember being told of these incidents. As for Mark, I used to live in California, and it used to be the popular thing to do to try and stand up on rides or not get belted in so you could really have a more exciting ride. It was showing off. Lots of kids tried to do this not just at Disney, but at Six Flags Magic Mountain or Great America in northern California. Dolly was another story altogether. Usually the Disney employees were a lot more conscientious than at the other parks. At other parks I've noticed when they've let the lap belts slid for people who didn't want to wear them though I hadn't seen it at Disney. Things got stricter as I got older. I've ridden the ride. I miss going on roller coasters. I need to head down to a park sometime and have some fun. Poor Dolly and Mark though. It could have been an employee having an off day, but honestly, I am a 47 yr old woman and as a 40 yr old woman I would have known to have my seat belt on you have a certain amount of awareness by that age. I wouldn't entirely defend Disney on this but... come on. She has to have known before the ride left if her belt was off. Maybe instead the belt malfunctioned... that I could see maybe.
The Matterhorn feels like a very safe ride. I wouldn't be surprised if there'd been some kind of situation where she dropped something into the foot well, or wanted to turn around to see something behind her, or any number of little reasons someone might thoughtlessly undo the lap belt to be able to move around more freely. Especially since a lot of people back then didn't like wearing seat belts in cars. I was a kid back then, but even I noticed how the people who didn't like seat belts REALLY didn't like seat belts.
@@purplecat4977 I was kindof thinking the same thing but I didn't want to come across as insensitive... Better these days when you CAN'T undo the restraints yourself at all.
@@purplecat4977 And I have ridden that ride. Years ago, but it was typical Disney. Very sedate compared to the kind of rides you get at places like Six Flags. Not what I would think of as dangerous at all.
That background music... I've been away from the channel for a few months now, but when I heard it again, all I can think about is horrific death and tragedy.
I grew up in LA in the 1980s and I rode the Matterhorn many times. I remember it was really rough and jerky unlike modern roller coasters so I can see how you could get thrown out. I also ride the skyway and my favorite Captain Nemo's submarine ride which actually went underwater! I never knew we were flirting with disaster
Finally. A classy informative educational poster. Thank you sir!
Many congratulations for these videos, you really do reinforce the need to learn from these awful disasters. Just in case you are looking for material. The tram accident from Vienna-Döbling on 2. August 1960 was the worst accident in the history of the Vienna tram. He occurred in the 19th Vienna municipality district Döbling at the then unregulated intersection Billrothstraße / Bald street with the Döbling main street. Two train sets of line 39 going in the opposite direction, each consisting of a Type K locomotive and a Type M3, were affected. A total of 19 people (according to other sources: 20 or 21) died directly at the accident or as a result, over a hundred people were partially seriously injured. To date, the accident is considered the most serious traffic accident in Vienna.
Source: ÖNB, Wikipedia
I used to live about 30-40 minutes from Disneyland so it was a regular stop anytime people would come in from out of town. I have not been there for over 20 years, so I have no idea about exactly how it's setup now, but this is my recollection.
The original Matterhorn ride bobsleds were single cars with 2 2 person seats for 4 riders per sled and when the ride wasn't as busy they would let one person sit alone in the seat even though each seat was made for 2 passengers (now 3). In 1978 they changed to 2 joined bobsleds (A train with 2 cars) for higher capacity of 8 riders because the lines had become so long, with 2 bobsled cars attached together they move slower on the corners because the second car sort of drags on the rails a bit acting as a brake for the first car, so the single car bobsleds were much faster prior to 1978 thus when Mark died it was a single car with 2 person seats a much faster bobsled than today and only one of his friends could of been sitting in the same seat because they were two person seats. Also if you were a party of 3 back then and the next party was 4 they would let 3 people occupy the single bobsled putting one of the passengers alone. Later they upgraded the cars to 3 passenger seats for people 6 per sled or 12 people total per 2 car train. They also became more strict because of the long lines and created a single persons line to fill the empty seats for say a family of 5 the single rider would be added to the family's car. I don't know if they adjusted the corners or wheel chucks so the longer bobsled train set would do the corners without dragging and becoming slower but I doubt the track was adjusted for speed though they obviously replace for maintenance. In my early teens I was encouraged by a friend to stand up during the ride and I did going up the hill for a moment then I was screamed at by an unseen ride attendant that screamed very loudly "sit down now". I sat down and realized they are always watching you and worried they were going to pull me aside when I got off the ride, but they didn't. I wouldn't of stood up while it was moving fast, but it was still dumb standing while slowly climbing doing the dare obviously. I don't remember if I loosened the belt or it was loose enough to begin with but obviously it was easy for me to stand back then, so it doesn't surprise me those who died did it at the wrong time and fell out.
I love the information that you give on your channel to show exactly why certain "annoying" regulations and procedures are in place for certain buisnesses. In the age of "deregulation", we need to remember the reasons for government being tough.
Off-topic, the beat for this series of videos is an absolute banger.
I’ve ridden this many times. It can get claustrophobic at times but it’s generally fun. RIP to the victims. Safety tech back then was so different.
Thanks for the upload.You do great work.👍
We had a similar ride at Astroworld in Houston called The Alpine Sleighride. I don't think anyone ever got hurt on it. It was fun!
I remember riding the Matterhorn back in 1978 at Disneyland. My aunt talked me into going on that ride. The lap belts in the bobsleds were double checked by staff for security before they would start the ride. It was a fun experience that I will never forget. The Yeti was automateonic and he made moves as though he was going to grab you out of the sled. I remember the skyway cars going through the mountain was a cool feature. We went on the ride at night because they had lots of colored lights lighting up the tracks that could only be appreciated at night. Sounds like the two guests that died on that ride had to have messed with their safety belts in some manner because the staff always double checked to make sure the guests were secure in the bobsleds before dispatching the bobsleds. I'm sure they have upgraded the bobsleds since then with more stringent safety belts and have better safery measures in place to prevent something like this from happening again.
If Mark deliberately took off his belt and stood up on the ride then what else did he expect was going to happen
Kids.
He was a teenager so he really should have known better at his age not to do something like that
That's the thing; the majority of serious injuries and fatalities at Disneyland/World have been because of guests ignoring safety instructions, doing things they had been warned not to do, or going where they weren't supposed to go.
It's like... safety protocols are there for a reason, people! It's why I am always flabbergasted by parents who put their small children in clunky shoes or stuff the shoes with tissue to make them reach the height requirements for certain rides. If your kid is too short, they're too short and the ride is potentially dangerous because the restraints aren't made for people their size. Why put your kids in danger like that?!🤦♀️
@@seandelap8587 teenagers do some of the most stupid things.
@@seandelap8587 Yeah he should have, but teens in his age have a lot higher chance of doing stupid things. That's why safety regulations are needed, to protect them from themself. Being able to undo your seatbelt by your own screams for kids to do stupid stuff. And 99% of teens can be rational, it only takes 1 kid to be irrational for a few seconds for accidents like this to happen.
I've been to alot of parks and i think i have never seen a ride where you could undo your seatbelt (or whatever) yourself. And that's a good thing.
Thank you for covering this! I never knew why my father would not allow me to ride this as a kid in the 80’s…
Having been on this ride many times while working at Disney, there’s no way a person can just fall out when still sitting. There’s no real steep slopes, it’s not terribly fast of a ride, and the ride cars are deep. These 2 people would have HAD to be standing or doing something they weren’t supposed to do, regardless if they had the belt locked or not.
Victim blaming is not a good look
Exactly what a PR employee would say. Sorry for that but you know. Stranger things have been known to happen. Disney is rich as all hell.
Neither is the lack of counter-argument. But yeah, this is disney we talking about...
Who knows really, just what went wrong on that two unfortunate instances *by this point in time*
@@briewhit1312 i mean it's not victim blaming if it's true, and it's not like there have never been victims who caused their own accidents before
@@briewhit1312 Naturally you prefer people muzzled
I know it's Tuesday when I see a new Fascinating Horror vid pop up. ❤
My favourite ride. Probably ever. I’m from Utah and I try to go to Disneyland once a year to ride this magnificent piece of history multiple times in a row!
Thank you for your respectfull coverage of this topic.
New to the channel and it’s great when you find one that is really interesting and very well researched 👏.. Binge watching them all now 😊.. Well done sir !!
As a kid this was one of my favorite rides at dienseyland.
Pun intended I hope!
@@skylined5534 I actually misspelled it on accident 😅
I remember riding the Bob sled it was fun, I also remember the attendant pulling hard on the belt to make sure it was locked in place. And telling us to keep our hands inside the ride. That was back in 1968-1984 .
In the case of Dolly in 1984, she had been decapitated by the ride when she was hit. For those wondering what happened.
Oh no way 🙃🙃🙃🙃
I was happy not having this information.
Thank you, because I was wondering. I'm not being disrespectful, it just doesn't bother me unless I know the person.
When you hear that someone was decapitated in an accident it really means the person's head was smashed like a pumpkin. Decapitation just sounds nicer.
@@jemlyn67 wrong, it simply means the head is separated from the body.
I grew up in Buena Park during the 60's and we went to Disneyland once a year. Needless to say it was the 1 day a year I looked forward to next to my birthday and xmas. We rode the matterhorn every year and it always made me feel like I really was in a real mountain and at the end of the night Tinkerbell would glide down from the top of the matterhorn and then the fireworks would go off....the magic days of youth. They had a ride called trip to the moon and I always cried thinking we were leaving the planet. It was a purely family magical place as a kid
We just went to Disneyland in February and I told my niece that no one had ever been hurt on the Matterhorn, trying to get her to not sit out every single ride. Turns out I unwittingly lied to her... oops! (And no, she didn't end up riding the Matterhorn!!)
@@Mugwump7 not everyone likes thrill rides 🤷♀️ that doesn’t make them not fun
@@Mugwump7 maybe she’s a kid dude jeez
They don't always test the belts correctly.
An attendant touched mine, but didn't adjust it. It was loose, but I thought it must be okay based on them doing a "check", but it turned out to be too superficial.
When we hit a curve, I started to be pulled out of my seat. My brother was able to grab me and force me back down. Since he saved my life, I can say clearly that I never touched my belt, the attendant just wasn't paying enough attention.
Anyone else's jaw drop at the newspaper showing the home addresses of the 15-year olds??? I know security was lax back then but that seems completely unnecessary and a huge overshare. Make them at least look you up in the phone book, eh? 🤔
I agree; for what possible purpose could it serve to print the address? So people could slowly drive by and whisper, "Their kid died at Disneyland." Why?
I saw another video that said there was speculation that Dolly may have unbuckled her belt in order to turn around and assist the person (child) behind her, for some reason.
Also, he kind of glossed over it, probably for delicacy (which I understand), she wasn't just hit by the second sled. She was dragged by it, and her body was pinned under it. They had to remove the sled from the tracks, to be able to remove her body. She was-I'm sorry, there's no other way to put it-mangled.
I think I rode the Matterhorn as a little boy, I have memories of an ice-cave themed ride with an abominable snowman....but I mostly remember my dad trying to hold my head and neck in place so I wouldn't hurt myself
If he was sitting next to you then it wasn’t the Matterhorn. Maybe you’re thinking of Expedition Everest, which is a similar themed coaster in Disney World in Florida.
@@Bempes3477Yes that was it, I knew there was some similar themed roller coaster from way back then that I rode, because this one seemed similar to it, but never have been to Disney Land so I wasn’t sure if it was like a fever dream or something lol.
@@Steve-fv7zcExpedition Everest is at Animal Kingdom at Disney World, but it didn’t open until 2006.
So, if you’re thinking of a ride from back when the incident in the video took place (the 80s), neither Expedition Everest (nor Animal Kingdom) were there yet.
Quit lyin
@@teaguejelinek4038 quit trolling
Thanks!
Children do dangerous things all the time so I'm not that surprised about the first incident but a grown woman is much more cautious for the most part. Very strange turn of events altogether.
When I went to Disneyland in Annaheim in late 2022, I rode the Matterhorn 3 times late into the day when the sun had already set. I had not known of the accidents that happened on the ride and my first two rides went without incident and it was really fun but, curiously enough, on the third go my seatbelt had issues being fastened and the person who was checking everyone to make sure it was fastened correctly with a flashlight before we went up the lift hill was not paying attention to the front of the bobsled where I was seated. The ride started to move and I tried to wave down the staff and said "hey wait" but clack clack clack we went into the lift tunnel whilst I was still frantically trying to get the belt to "click" over my waist, the locking mechanism was not clicking as it had the two times previous! I did finally get it about half way up but after watching videos about these accidents I feel very lucky to have not been another victim. The ride is very shaky and old and very fast, much faster than any other ride I rode at Disneyland. It was also the scariest for sure as the ambient wind sounds that play loudly when standing near the ride reminded me of the dangers of mountaineering. I also wasn't expecting to see a Yeti and learned that the ride screams at you over its loudspeakers to encourage people to scream. A truly bone-chilling experience looking back on it as I didn't know how close I was to facing death.
The ride is really tight. Even though I'm sure it's safe (now), but the walls and everything are so close to you, I always feel like a too-tall person could hit their head.
This was the very first rollercoaster I ever rode.
That was in the early 90s.
I did not know about its history.
Can't imagine being able to get over if I were to unbuckle a seat belt as a prank or be apart and that were to happen. Hope his friends didn't do that...
Doubtful since he stood up.
Narrator says, "... with guest sitting in single file..." although the image @2:18 shows side by side seating in "Bobsled" car. Then @2:35 image shows single occupany seats.
The ride had been refurbished multiple times. Likely used pics at different points of time. Even the park location could be a factor in seats. For example, WDW version f Splash Mountain had people sitting side by side, but the Disneyland version they’re single file in the log.
So this reminds me of a time I went to Disney World when I was in college. The Space Mountain ride at the time had a similar seat belt system to the one featured here. I had my seat belt fastened when we left the boarding area, but some how, some way I was squeezing my purse against my side to make sure I didn't lose hold of it caused the seat belt to become undone (that is a guess, I still have no idea how the seat belt came undone, I definitely was NOT trying to undo it). The inside of the car had handrails you could hold onto, so I just grabbed those and braced my feet against the sides of the car and held on for dear life. I have to say that was my scariest roller coaster ride ever. Now I am wondering if this seat belt thing was more of an issue, but we don't hear about it because most people survive....
The seat belt was there just to keep riders from standing up during the ride, even though I'm sure it was scary, you were in no danger of being ejected.
Mattlerhorn was fun for me back in the 60's. Later there was Space Mountain, another level!
When I was there in the early 80's it was closed for maintenance. I was kinda bummed.
Oh it was somebody else's video of this that actually first got me into watching stuff like this. To me the story is sort of special to me. Thank you for making it.
"to me the story is special to me"
is what you just said lol
I don’t know where it’s written that they have safer “lock-in” seatbelts but they still had the regular old fashioned kind, like airplane seatbelts on some of the bobsleds last I remember at least 2010. I don’t recall ever having used a lock-in seatbelt on this ride. My father worked for the park for 3 decades as of 2018 and was great friends and shared an office with the official photographer at the Disneyland Resort. He would regale me with stories of accidents and tragedies that happened in the magic kingdom, all of which he had attended and photographed. I was a strange child. Our Christmas Eve dinner was cut short by the. Columbia accident. My dad had to dash out to meet the media and manage the situation information.
I must have ridden it for the first time as a little kid not that long after the second incident. Maybe a few years later at most. And I even remember the "double checking" thing being done, and being slightly confused why they did it twice as a little kid. One of the most unique and awesome rides ever. I would bet that the friends in the first incident knew exactly what happened and played a role in it.
I've gone to Disneyland since the early nineties, and they've always done the double-check on the Matterhorn. I was so disappointed when I went after the refurbishment and they had changed the bobsleds because now I can't have my girlfriend in my lap and cop a feel when we pass the Yeti.