Dumbo the Flying Elephant is a carousel-style ride located in Fantasyland at all five Disney theme parks around the world. The original opened at Disneyland in October 1955, three months after the park opened. The four other versions were opening day attractions at their respective parks.
Ride synopsis[]
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 counterclockwise at a constant rate.
History[]
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 original Piarate Ship Restaurant, and Skull Rock, were removed from this area and they closed forever. The riggings, lanterns, and other props from the restaurant were added to Peter Pan's Flight attraction. Dumbo the Flying Elephant retained its original configuration of ten ride vehicles. In 1990, the attraction was updated with the sixteen vehicles originally intended for installation at Disneyland Paris after an incident involving a bracket support breaking. 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 occasionally provides 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.
References[]
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