posted on August 16th, 2010 by Valarie Sukovaty, Disneyland Public Relations
Dumbo the Flying Elephant is like Sleeping Beauty Castle. It is so iconic that when you see it, you know you’re looking at some place inside Disneyland park. It’s one of our classics, dating back 55 years ago. In fact, it debuted almost exactly a month after opening day on August 16, 1955. The 16 happy, grey elephants — inspired by Walt Disney’s 1941 animated film — are “piloted” by guests. These baby pachyderms can fly as high as 17 feet! Did you know that the Dumbo attraction is also at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World (1971), Tokyo Disneyland (1983), Disneyland Paris (1992) and Hong Kong Disneyland (2005)? Here’s another fun fact: When President Harry S Truman (a staunch Democrat) visited the park in 1957, he playfully refused to ride Dumbo because of the Republican symbolism associated with the elephant-themed attraction. Enjoy this historical footage of our famous flying elephants.
