It ranks up there as one of the top Disneyland legends — that rumored basketball court inside the Matterhorn. But what’s the real story?

“There’s a half court.”
Sort of. The rumor brings to mind images of a carefully polished wood floor with inlaid markings and such, but the truth is less glamorous. The “court” was simply a backboard and rim nailed to a staircase, with floor markings somewhat short of NBA regulations.

“It’s there so they can call it a sports facility.”
Sorry, even the City of Anaheim isn’t that naive. As the rumor goes, the basketball court was installed so that the Matterhorn could avoid height restrictions by being designated as a sports facility. There’s only a few problems with this: first off, in 1959 when the Matterhorn was built, Anaheim had no height restrictions. Secondly, why would a sports area not be subject to height rules? Thirdly, the Matterhorn is not as tall as the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, so one can safely assume that it does not violate any height restrictions.

So, why was the court there? At one time, the Matterhorn was scaled daily by mountain climbers. At the top of the mountain is a room that was used for preparation and breaks; at some point, one of the climbers installed the backboard to kill time while waiting to perform for the guests. This room was reconfigured as a staging area for Tinkerbell’s flight over Fantasyland for Disneyland’s 50th anniversary, and sources say that the court was removed soon after that.

[Photo via Snopes Urban Legends Reference Pages]

Update, February 28: In a video about the Matterhorn renovations, it’s clear that the famous basketball backboard is still in place in the mountain’s break room!