The Matterhorn ride at Disneyland in California has a basketball court on top, but it was not built to bypass height restrictions as urban legends suggest. The court was used by climbers waiting for their turn to entertain guests by climbing the mountain in costume, but has since been removed due to renovations.
To the uninitiated, it may seem strange to see an artificial Swiss alp rising out of concrete in Anaheim, California. Disneyland patrons, however, will recognize the Matterhorn, one of the rides from Disneyland Park’s early years. Besides the obvious juxtaposition of the faux Matterhorn in Southern California, there are many other strange facts and legends that accompany the Matterhorn and its history. One such fact is the true existence of a basketball court located on top of the Matterhorn.
Urban legends about Disneyland abound, and the Matterhorn has its fair share. A popular urban legend holds that when Walt Disney had the Matterhorn built, Anaheim building codes and city ordinances banned any structure over a certain, usually unspecified, height, except only sports venues. To get around this law, Disney reportedly had a basketball court built at the top of the Matterhorn, so he could call the mountainous structure a sports facility and bypass all height restrictions.
What is ignored by the legend tellers is that Anaheim had no laws, rules, or ordinances regarding building or structure height until 1970. Since construction on the Matterhorn was completed in 1959, any height restrictions would not have been applied. What’s more, even Disney may not have been able to convince people that its Orange County Swiss Paddle, including the bobsleds, was a basketball facility.
The truth is less exciting, but it still includes a basketball court. There is a small preparation and rest area inside the top of the Matterhorn for climbers who have been known to entertain Disneyland guests by climbing the Matterhorn in costume. In addition to the time spent preparing and changing for climbs, climbers will occasionally need to wait inside the staging area when rain or other conditions prevent them from performing outside.
Wanting a way to pass the time, one climber set up a backboard and basketball hoop to entertain himself during his time waiting. Floor markings were added, although the area is not as large as a regulation half court, so it could more accurately just be called a basketball hoop. Unfortunately, this field is said to have been removed since the restroom was renovated due to dry rot, from which even the happiest place on earth isn’t immune.
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