Today begins a short series of some construction photos and behind-the-scenes photos of Disneyland, 1955. The two today show the huge clay models for the Jungle Cruise African Bull Elephants. Modeled by Chris Mueller, each elephant consisted of about 2.5 tons of clay and stood at 8'6" at the shoulder. Both of these photos were taken in January, 1955 in Burbank.
To see other vintage Disneyland photos, go to my regular website, davelandweb.com.
There are at least 2 elephants (maybe three?) standing on the shore of the Jungle Cruise...I assume that they used the same mold for both. Wonder if these molds were also used for the other versions of the Jungle Cruise?
ReplyDeleteWhoa! Alternate shots of the Mueller elephants! Nice!
ReplyDeleteMajor - I think this sculpt was only used in the 1955 verssion of the Jungle Cruise - all the ones you see today are newer sculpts...