In 1959 Barks made FC1025 Mastering the Matterhorn, in which Donald and the nephews want to climb the Matterhorn, but they are not welcome at the top because the Beagle Boys have hidden their loot there!
On several occasions (mostly as an invited guest) Barks visited California's Disneyland, and he may very well have dreamt up the location for this story - the Matterhorn in the European Alps - by seeing Disneyland's version that had been completed just a few months earlier.

This was not the only occasion in which Barks was inspired by Disneyland. In WDCS263 The Candy Kid from 1962 Barks used a popcorn stand. The idea was given to him from Joe Cowles who at the time was a popcorn vendor in the amusement park, and he asked Barks if his job could serve as material for a story. Barks saw the possibilities and made the story after having sent him a letter in March, 1961 (excerpts):
...I'll make a note to do a drawing of the ducks for you when we get back from town. A duck peanut vendor, okay? Are you still at Disneyland? Remember to keep a list of the grievances that beset a peanut vendor. There may be possibilities there for a Donald story. My error! That should have been a popcorn vendor...
...We hope to pay another visit to Disneyland before long. We have been there twice since it opened, and enjoyed ourselves a lot. I'd like to see that popcorn machine. Already scenes of Donald getting the kids' firecrackers mixed up in the popper are coming into focus...

We shall never know if Barks took notes and made sketches of objects in Disneyland, but it is more than likely that he did some sporadic research if something caught his eye or his imagination. It will be anybody's guess what Barks took for use in his stories, but it seems plausible that the Mississippian paddle wheelers from Frontierland were used in U$GTD 'The Fantastic River Boat Race' from 1957. At least, he drew the boats quite Disneylandish...

The Disney Legends Award

Barks on his way to the ceremony

Barks flanked by Disney and Eisner

The award

The Disney Legends Award was established in 1987. At an annual ceremony it honours men and women who have made an extraordinary contribution to the Walt Disney Company. The selection committee consists of Disney executives and historians.
The prize depicts a roll of film from the cartoon Steamboat Willie twisting up along the Disneyland Castle and with an upwards pointing arm of Mickey Mouse's holding a magic wand. The award has three distinct elements that characterize the contributions made by each talented recipient: The Spiral (stands for imagination, the power of an idea), The Hand (holds the gifts of skill, discipline and craftsmanship), and The Wand with The Star (represents magic: the spark that is ignited when imagination and skill combine to create a new dream).

On October 22, 1991, Carl Barks along with 8 other recipients (including actress Julie 'Mary Poppins' Andrews and actor Fess 'Davy Crockett' Parker) received the award from the heads of the Disney company at the time, Michael Eisner and Roy Disney, in front of the Animation Building at the Disney Studios. In his short acceptance speech Barks expressed his thanks for the great honour bestowed on him, and finished jokingly: I want to thank all the kids that bought my comic books for a dime and are now selling them for $2,000.

Later in the day each honoree was presented with a bronze plaque set in wet cement. Barks made a cast of his hand-prints and signed the wet cement for later installation in the Walk of Fame outside the Animation Building of the Disney Studios.