Dumbo the Flying Elephant is an original 1955 Fantasyland attraction at Disneyland. A second version may be found at Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland. The Disneyland attraction is located just north of King Arthur Carrousel while the Magic Kingdom attraction may be found across from Cinderella's Golden Carrousel.
Built in August 1955, one month after the park's opening and based on the character from the 1941 animated feature, the sixteen ride vehicles are each shaped like Dumbo and are mounted on articulated armatures connected to a rotating hub. The passengers ride in the "Dumbos" and can maneuver them up and down with a joystick which operates a hydraulic ram. The ride itself rotates at a constant rate.
The attraction was originally built with ten ride vehicles which were intended to represent not the "one and only" Dumbo but the alcohol-induced "pink elephants" scene from the film. In fact, the working title of the attraction was "10 Pink Elephants On Parade" and the elephants were actually painted pink on installation. Walt Disney objected, not wishing Disneyland's patrons to ride vehicles themed to a hallucination and thereby ordered them painted gray. When Disneyland's Fantasyland was remodeled in 1983, the attraction was expanded to its present-day sixteen vehicles. Like other remaining 1955 attractions, one of Disneyland's Dumbos was painted gold in honor of that park's fiftieth anniversary in 2005.
A circa 1915 band organ provides the background music. This powerful instrument is capable of being heard more than a mile away; it is quite naturally operated at only a fraction of its potential.
Trivia
- A figure of Timothy Mouse rides atop the central hub. The figure originally held a training whip, later replaced with the "magic feather." It has since been changed back to the whip.
- During his 1957 visit, US President Harry S Truman politely declined a ride on Dumbo Flying Elephants. Elephants are the symbol of America's Republican Party; Truman was a Democrat.
- At the 1992 Disneyana convention, one of the original ride vehicles sold for US$16,000.
Reference
- Trahan, Kendra D. (2004). Disneyland Detective: An INDEPENDENT Guide to Discovering Disney's Legend, Lore, and Magic! PermaGrin Publishing, Inc., Mission Viejo, California. ISBN 0-9717464-0-0