Unseen Photo Of The Basketball Court

This fun fact was one of the original, and most shared, fun facts that I heard which sparked my interest in Disneyland history.

There is a half basketball court in the top of the mountain. Rumor has it that the reason they built a basketball court in the top of the mountain was that, back in the 1950s, the building codes prohibited any structure from being that tall unless it was a sports structure. It is located about two-thirds of the way up. It was actually built as a break room for Cast Members, for the mountain climbers to get ready for their climbs, and for Tinker Bell to prepare for her flight during the fireworks. They also added a ping-pong table.

These are the photos of the court that get shared around all the time.

Here is a never before seen photo of the basketball “court” with Tinker Bell before her flight. This is Gina Rock, the longest flying Tinker Bell in Disneyland history. She flew from 1983-2005. She liked shooting hoops with her team or playing ping-pong before she was tossed off the mountain.

In the top left of the photo, you can see the signatures of the Matterhorn Mountain climbers.

Here is a cutaway of the Matterhorn to show you the location of the basketball hoop.

Imagineer Tony Baxter was interviewed about the hoop being up there and about its history.

If you would like to get an autographed Tinker Bell photo of Gina or an autographed Tinker Bell collector’s pin, Gina donates all the money to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, just visit her website www.FlyingTinkerBell.org

*Matterhorn image from Wikipedia

*Basketball playing from invisiblethemepark.com

*Matterhorn cross section from Pinterest

*Other images from extinctattractionsclub.com 

Pixie Dust Donations

Thank you, everyone, who purchased the autographed bottles of Pixie Dust in December.
Gina donated all of the money from the sales to the Los Angeles Make-A-Wish foundation.

There are still some bottles left. If you would like an autographed bottle of Pixie Dust signed by Gina Rock, the longest flying Tinker Bell in Disneyland history, check out her website.

www.FlyingTinkerBell.org

New Tinker Bell Pixie Dust In A Bottle

When Tinker Bell was a young girl she used to wish really hard that someday she would do something special and her dreams would come true. She had a bottle very much like her magic pixie dust and that she would stuff all of her wishes into it.

One day her favorite Dream came true and she became the Flying Fairy....Tinker Bell

Gina has some new autographs up, but they are on bottles of Pixie Dust. Christmas is coming and they make great Christmas presents.

Order one now

Bottle Of Pixie Dust

It is also available with a Tinker Bell pin and autographed photograph.

To learn more about Gina, visit her website www.FlyingTinkerBell.org

Tinker Bell's Interview on The Magic Behind The Ears Podcast.

Throwback to early 2017 when Gina was interviewed on The Magic Behind The Ears Podcast. You can hear some of her stories from her time flying as Tinker Bell.

If you want to learn more about Gina, visit her website www.FlyingTinkerBell.org

How Does Tinker Bell Stop Her Plummet

When Gina would zip line down from the Matterhorn and across the castle during the fireworks show, she needed a way to stop. Disney created a way for the Tink Crew to stop her. They put a mattress in a cloth casing with handles. When crashing into it, Gina would turn her body and slam into it shoulder first. Cast Members have said they used to place bets on how hard she would slam into the mattress each night.

If you would like to listen to her talk about experiences flying, you can listen to her podcast interviews HERE.

To read more about Gina as Tinker Bell or get an autograph, visit her website.
www.FlyingTinkerBell.org

If you would like a Fantasy pin created to honor the flying Tinker Bells of Disneyland, click HERE.