Dumbo the Flying Elephant, known to Timothy Q. Mouse as the 8th wonder of the world, has been captivating the imaginations of both young and old since its opening in August 1955. With magic feather in hand, guests now climb inside one of the 16 grey Dumbo vehicles and prepare for launch. Once Dumbo takes flight, guests can control the height of their Dumbo by using the joy stick.

Even though Dumbo was not operating on the opening day of Disneyland, it was included in the original construction plans for Fantasyland. Originally, the attraction was built with 10 ride vehicles (instead of the current 16), which were intended to represent the alcohol-induced “pink elephants” scene from the film instead of the “one and only” Dumbo. At that time, the working title for the attraction was “10 Pink Elephants On Parade” and the elephants were actually painted pink. However, it didn’t stay that way for long. Walt Disney objected to what the pink elephants represented not wanting Disneyland patrons to ride vehicles themed to a hallucination. Thus, Walt ordered the Dumbo vehicles to be painted gray.

When Fantasyland was remodeled in 1983, a completely new version of the attraction was installed moving it from its original location to its current location. The new attraction, which was originally built for Disneyland Paris was installed at Disneyland instead and was then expanded to its present-day 16 vehicles.

Additional Trivia and Fun Facts

• Like other remaining 1955 attractions, one of the Dumbo vehicles were painted gold in honor of the park’s 50th anniversary celebration.
• A circa 1915 band organ occasionally provides background music. This powerful instrument is capable of being heard more than a mile away. Naturally it is operated at only a fraction of its potential.
• A figure of Timothy Q. Mouse rides atop the central hub. Originally he held a training whip, but then was replaced with the “magic feather”. Since then, it has again been changed back to the whip.
• During his 1957 visit to Disneyland, US President Harry S. Truman politely declined a ride on Dumbo. His reasoning was that elephants are the symbol of America’s Republican Party and Truman was a Democrat.
• At a Disneyland convention in 1992, one of the original ride vehicles sold for $16,000.