An interesting change to Dumbo

[WonkaKid]

Apparently this was instituted sometime late last week. When you're given you're Magic Feather, it now has a number on it: 1 through 16. That's the number of the Dumbo in which you have to ride. You can no longer choose the one you want.

Incidentally, it seems that I've been asked to surrender to CMs a number of times ;-).

 

[figment_jii]

Interesting...I've seen the tags before (back in April, I think), but they were just using them to indicate which parties would be able to ride on the next round. The number wasn't assigned to a specific Dumbo, so we were still able to ride whichever Dumbo we wanted.

 

[mom2rtk]

I wonder what color Dumbo led to the fight that caused this change.

 

[WonkaKid]

I wonder what color Dumbo led to the fight that caused this change.

Right? That's precisely what occurred to me.

 

[figment_jii]

It's either that or a group that wanted to be in consecutive Dumbos so the first group could take photos of the second group, but couldn't find consecutive Dumbos and complained/made a fuss/tried to get someone to move/etc....

 

[WonkaKid]

It's either that or a group that wanted to be in consecutive Dumbos so the first group could take photos of the second group, but couldn't find consecutive Dumbos and complained/made a fuss/tried to get someone to move/etc....

Certainly that's another possibility. What's odd is that I almost always take the purple Dumbo (#7) that's closest to the exit near the carousel. That's the one that I was assigned yesterday, although a little girl and her mother had taken it before I got to it. Almost always I'll let a kid have my spot or cut in front of me if it seems like something they really want. So in this case, we simply exchanged feathers.

 

[tiffjoy]

Certainly that's another possibility. What's odd is that I almost always take the purple Dumbo (#7) that's closest to the exit near the carousel. That's the one that I was assigned yesterday, although a little girl and her mother had taken it before I got to it. Almost always I'll let a kid have my spot or cut in front of me if it seems like something they really want. So in this case, we simply exchanged feathers.

That's kind of you.

My DD5 is NOT going to be a fan of this. She loves picking her dumbo color. Sigh. I will explain to her about needing to follow rules and all, but it's such a small thing that brings her and so many other kiddos such joy.

 

[WonkaKid]

That's kind of you.

My DD5 is NOT going to be a fan of this. She loves picking her dumbo color. Sigh. I will explain to her about needing to follow rules and all, but it's such a small thing that brings her and so many other kiddos such joy.

Sounds like you're teaching her well . Here's a gentle suggestion: perhaps if there's a Dumbo that she wants badly enough, you can show her how to ask nicely to trade carts? Merely a thought .

 

[22Tink]

Very interesting! We didn’t have to ride the Dumbo associated with our number on our trip in August. In fact, I don’t think anyone in line even realized that’s what the numbers meant. Everyone just chose which one they wanted and the CM didn’t say anything.

 

[ExcitedMama]

No you are not assigned a specific dumbo. I believe it has something to do with their keeping track of how many dumbos are going to be used. My party of 3 was asked how many of us were going in how many dumbos so my DS got one and I got another one for DD and me. Perhaps they had problems with people or kids wanting a dumbo all to themselves after being let in. When we went through we still just got in to available dumbos and chose what we wanted. No one thought you were assigned to a specific one.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

My kids will probably not be thrilled when we go on Saturday, but what can you do? Honestly, it makes sense. It would be nice to ride within a few Dumbos of my family. There have been times when we're last in the group that we end up on opposite ends from each other. We never make a fuss, but it is a pain, so maybe this is a way to solve some of those issues.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I’m curious if they told you directly that the number corresponded to the Dumbo or if you just assumed this? They’ve used cards like these (if not these) instead of the feathers for awhile, but they’ve never said it corresponded to a Dumbo to us.

 

[lcp9]

We've always had cards before but it was to get the next round of riders ready/figure out who was riding with who and where to stop letting people through.

 

[mummabear]

Apparently this was instituted sometime late last week. When you're given you're Magic Feather, it now has a number on it: 1 through 16. That's the number of the Dumbo in which you have to ride. You can no longer choose the one you want.

Incidentally, it seems that I've been asked to surrender to CMs a number of times ;-).

View attachment 274198

These were there when we visited in Mid Sept and were looking really rough and unprofessional already.
It had nothing to do with which number or colour one we went to, it was just a ticket to ride as such.

 

[WonkaKid]

I’m curious if they told you directly that the number corresponded to the Dumbo or if you just assumed this? They’ve used cards like these (if not these) instead of the feathers for awhile, but they’ve never said it corresponded to a Dumbo to us.

Yes, we were told explicitly to go the the Dumbo indicated on our Magic Feather -- just as they opened the gates to let us in.

 

[Shelly S]

We were also told to go to the dumbo that matched the number. I didn't notice numbers on the Dumbos and thought the cast member was kidding. We just got settled in a dumbo and cast member told us we were in the wrong one. I apologized and started to move but the person assigned to ours switched so we didn't have to get out. The cast members didn't seem to like the new system and it seems it takes longer searching for the right dumbo. I wonder if this system will last.

 

[ItCallsMe]

I like the idea. On two separate occasions there were groups who RAN out wildly and decided to ride separately instead of combined, and we were left without a Dumbo and had to exit and wait for the next round. Picture me standing at the exit with a crying toddler because she thought it was our turn and wasn't. Not a huge deal, but it always felt chaotic and like we had to frantically run to a Dumbo to get it first.

 

[barbaraann]

I was recently at Disneyland at night, and this was not the procedure when I rode Dumbo. Must have happened since then, if indeed it is the new rule. Seems a bit unnecessary in my opinion.

 

[starshine514]

Where are the numbers on the Dumbos? My ten-year-old, three-year-old and I often ride together, but I see this causing us to separate into two elephants (so the three-year-old has a better chance of getting the color she wants).

 

[WonkaKid]

I didn't notice numbers on the Dumbos...

They're on the support arm (not Dumbo's arm) towards where it attaches to the main structure.