Theme Park Thursdays feature photos from one of our theme park adventures in the past.
Elephants Can Fly! (1979)
It's 1979 in the Magic Kingdom! Riding the spinning Dumbo is Amy's Gram (now 94 years old!), Amy (age 3½), and her brother Greg (age 7). In the background you can see the Pinocchio Village Haus restaurant. (Previous Theme Park Thursdays photos from this trip featured Greg & Amy enjoying sibling love and a ride on the carousel.)
Of interest is that in the coming few months, Walt Disney World's Dumbo ride will shut down… and be moved into a new location as part of the New Fantasyland Expansion. In the new "Storybook Circus" area, there will actually be two Dumbo rides, configured in a dueling format and integrated into a new interactive queue.
While viewing this photo, it's interesting to note just how barren the ride looks. Lots of concrete and carnival-like elements. Not a whole lot of theme. Then again, it's just a spinning ride with elephants!
Flat rides* are less expensive and can be moved around and they are usually the most popular with kids. Kids love to spin and spin, adults not so much.
*A flat ride is any ride like teacups, dumbos, ferris wheel etc. that are assembled anywhere as opposed to a coaster or water ride which is generally contoured to the land.