![]() The two similar photos above were taken by two different photographers from the Skyway ride. Truman didn’t want to be associated with a character related to the Republican party.”ĭumbo at its original location in DisneylandĪ similar, but somewhat later, view of Dumbo in Disneyland “When former President Harry Truman visited Disneyland Park in 1957, Dumbo was one of the few attractions he didn’t ride. The official Disneyland website used to include this bit of historic trivia about Dumbo the Flying Elephant: When the Dumbo ride first opened, it was located on the west side of Fantasyland. Model of Fantasyland of 1955 in The First 50 Magical Years exhibit So the pink elephants became gray and the one and only Dumbo became ten.” The book goes on to speculate, “Somewhere along the way, no doubt, Walt decided he’d rather have everyone riding the real Dumbo, not an alcohol-induced hallucination. The finest Disneyland history book, Disneyland: The Nickel Tour, by Bruce Gordon and David Mumford (Camphor Tree Publishers, 1995), provides an explanation: “Just as there is only one Mickey Mouse, there can be only one Dumbo, right?īecause this ride would have ten flying elephants, they would be the “Pink Elephants on Parade” from Dumbo’s intoxicated nightmare in the movie.“ ![]() The attraction was quickly reworked and managed to open August 16, 1955.Īrtwork in The First 50 Magical Years exhibit shows pink elephants.Įarly artwork showed pink elephants, not the familiar gray pachyderms. They weighed 700 pounds apiece-which is light for an elephant, but heavy for a flying elephant. The first batch of fiberglass elephants arrived about three weeks before the opening. Photo by Frank Taylor, courtesy of Chris TaylorĮach Dumbo wears a different color cap, but the elephants themselves are always gray, just like in the movie.ĭumbo Flying Elephants-also known as Dumbo the Flying Elephant or simply Dumbo-was supposed to be one of the attractions ready for Disneyland’s invitation-only opening on Jand for the public opening the next day. To be honest, the mechanisms never worked properly, so the ears on each Dumbo are stationary.īut that’s okay, because these elephants fly anyway.Īs you visit the park in different years, you’ll see different color schemes on the loading platform.Įventually, the ears became integral parts of the elephant, not inoperative hinged appendages.Įach elephant holds two guests-or three guests if some of them are small enough. The ears are supposed to move up and down. Hinged ears, close-up from the first photo It’s located in a dead-end corner of Yester-Fantasyland, right in front of the Fantasyland Theatre, near the Pirate Ship Restaurant. This ride is inspired by Walt Disney’s 1941 animated feature, Dumbo. ![]() Sure, you’ll still find a Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride at Disneyland-but the original Dumbo Flying Elephants ride is in Yesterland. Truman visited Disneyland, he refused to ride Dumbo because elephants are a symbol of the Republican party, and he was a Democrat.Photo by Charles R. He originally was holding a small whip, but this was later changed to a magic feather in order to remove connotations of animal cruelty. Timothy Mouse can be found in the center of each Dumbo attraction, conducting the elephants as they fly. This also explains why there are multiple Dumbos on the ride – in the original concept, those were all pink elephants, which aligned with the hallucination scene! 2. However, another imagineer pointed out that children may prefer flying with Dumbo himself, hence the attraction that we know now. The original concept for the Dumbo ride was based on Dumbo’s hallucinations of “Pink Elephants on Parade” and was therefore meant to feature those pink elephants.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |