Dumbo Costumes Through the Years

This is how the Dumbo costumes changed in the Disney parks.
Image	Year 	Description
 	1950-1959: 	Like many Disney characters, Dumbo was first seen in "live" form at the Ice Capades that performed in the early 1950s. The first Dumbo costume has a large round head, is on four legs (thus requiring two performers, one to operate the head and the other in the rear), wears a yellow cone on his head, and his eyes are far away from each other. His trunk could be operated by the front performer. In 1955, this particular Dumbo, like all the other Ice Capades Disney characters, were used by Walt Disney for the opening of Disneyland. For this, numerous vision holes for the performers to see through were added, making this Dumbo look unsightly.
 	1959-1979: 	The second Dumbo costume is on two legs and his trunk is stiffed up. His eyes pull close to each other, and he sports a cone hat with a pompom on top of it.
 	1979-2001: 	As part of a brand-new parade themed to the movie Dumbo, which debuted at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, a brand-new Dumbo costume was formally introduced. This Dumbo was made shorter, with the performer's head inside the elephant's hat and his arms in sleeves resembling the elephant's ears. This allowed the elephant to interact with others by flapping his ears, giving the illusion that he was trying to fly. His eyes were made smaller and more cartoon-like. Later, his trunk was modified and reduced, and his wardrobe changed color.
 	1990-Present:	The fourth and current Dumbo costume closely resembles his animated version and he has a black magic feather in his trunk. This particular Dumbo was used primarily at Disneyland for several years, while the 1979 Dumbo was used at Walt Disney World, until that costume's retirement in 2001.
Category:Costume variants
Category:Dumbo
Category:Characters in Disney parks