The Matterhorn Bobsleds is one of those Disneyland attractions that guests build trips around. The 147-foot mountain sitting at the intersection of Fantasyland and Tomorrowland has been part of the Disneyland skyline since 1959 and remains one of the most recognizable structures in theme park history. When it closes, people notice. When it closes during the summer, people panic.
The closure is confirmed. The reopening date is now confirmed too, and the news is better than most guests were expecting.
The Dates
According to the Disneyland park calendar, the Matterhorn Bobsleds will close for refurbishment on July 20, 2026. The last day to ride before the closure is July 19. The attraction is scheduled to reopen on July 24, just four days after closing.
Four days. For a 67-year-old roller coaster that has been running since the Eisenhower administration, that is a remarkably short window. Guests with trips falling between July 20 and July 23 will need to plan their Disneyland day without the Matterhorn. Everyone arriving July 24 or later is clear.
If the Matterhorn is a priority and your dates are at all flexible, July 19 is the last confirmed operating day before the closure and July 24 is the first confirmed day of its return.
What the Matterhorn Actually Is
For guests who have never experienced it, the Matterhorn Bobsleds is not just a landmark. It is a genuine piece of theme park history. The attraction opened on June 14, 1959, making this weekend its 67th birthday, and it holds the distinction of being the world’s first tubular-steel roller coaster. Walt Disney fell in love with the real Swiss Matterhorn while filming Third Man on the Mountain and returned determined to build his own version at Disneyland. What started as a 20-foot forested mound called Holiday Hill eventually became the 147-foot mountain guests know today.
The ride runs two simultaneous bobsled tracks, one on the Fantasyland side and one on the Tomorrowland side, and features the Abominable Snowman waiting in the icy darkness to startle guests who momentarily forgot he was there. It is one of the few Disneyland attractions that has never been replicated at any other Disney park in the world, which makes it uniquely irreplaceable in a way that matters to guests who understand what that distinction means.
The Broader Closure Picture at Disneyland Right Now
The Matterhorn has been added to a summer 2026 closure list at Disneyland, which has been running heavier than average. Pirates of the Caribbean closed May 4 with no confirmed return date, leaving that gap as one of the more significant in the classic Disneyland experience for guests whose trips center on the original park icons.
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, which had been closed since April 13, reopened on June 12, which is good news for families with younger children who had been planning around its absence. That reopening removes one closure from the list just as the Matterhorn announcement adds another.
At Disney California Adventure, Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind has been offline since January with no confirmed return. Silly Symphony Swings closed April 27. Soarin’ Over California transitions to Soarin’ Across America on July 2 as part of the America 250 celebration, which is a planned change rather than a standard closure. The Avengers Campus expansion has rerouted the walkway between Avengers Campus and Cars Land, with both areas still accessible via the Performance Corridor.
What This Means for Summer Trips
The confirmed four-day closure window for the Matterhorn is the most manageable version of this news that summer guests could have received. An open-ended closure at the peak of summer would have been significantly more disruptive for the volume of guests who have the Matterhorn on their Disneyland non-negotiable list.
July 19 if you want to ride before it closes. July 24, if you want to ride after it reopens. Everything in between, plan your Disneyland day without counting on the mountain being open.
The Matterhorn turns 67 this weekend. Four days offline after 67 years of continuous operation is a reasonable ask from an attraction that has earned every bit of the maintenance it receives.
