Car in Dumbo Ride at Disneyland Loosens From Beam and Tips, Injuring Woman

A 22-year-old woman received minor injuries Thursday when a car in the Dumbo-the-Flying-Elephant ride at Disneyland apparently came loose from its supporting arm and abruptly tipped, scraping against the concrete sidewalk as it came to a stop, park officials said.

The woman, whose name was not disclosed, was treated at the park for arm scrapes. She was riding in the car with a man and a child when the accident occurred about 1 p.m., park spokesman John McClintock said.

The ride was immediately shut down for the afternoon as supervisors sought the cause of the accident, which McClintock said was undetermined.

A ride operator at the scene said that the car apparently came loose from the metal beam attaching it to the central axis. A safety cable prevented the car from breaking away, he said.

The ride, named for the cheerful elephant of Disney cartoon fame, is one of the Magic Kingdom’s original rides. Park-goers sit in the fiberglass elephant cars, restrained by a leather strap, and spin like a merry-go-round while operating a lever that allows them to climb or descend.

It is one of the simpler rides in an amusement park filled with sophisticated roller coasters and robotic figures. But the ride has had problems before.