Follow That Tree

Nothing captures my interest in something at Disneyland faster than somebody telling me it's been around since Opening Day and has been relocated to a new spot. This excerpt from the October 14, 1982 Disneyland Line is a classic example:

This beautiful ficus, located in front of the Pirate Ship since opening day, was temporarily removed. It will be relocated in the new Fantasyland.

Now, checking the available photographic evidence, it appears this ficus did not appear in front of the Pirate Ship until the Skull Rock improvement of 1960. I suppose it's possible that the tree was on property Opening Day, but Disneyland World of Flowers did not mention it at all. Still, if present in today's Disneyland, the tree would have been on site for over fifty years and that's impressive enough. I was unable to find good enough photos of the tree trunk online, so I made it today's mission at the Park to confirm that the tree still existed on site.

You can see the ficus off to the left of the Pirate Ship entrance:

Pay no attention to the destruction in the following shots; you're supposed to be focusing on the tree!:

Tranquility:

One last shot of the tree in situ at its original themed location:

The destruction around the ship has started and the ficus has been pruned:

Remember, your focus is the tree:

No more ship, but the tree stands!:

Most people avoided taking a picture of the tree; for these Skyway riders, that was one of the few things left to photograph:

But the demands of the future Dumbo the Flying Elephant required the tree to move. It was first removed from the ground (presumably for the first time in 22 years)...:

...and boxed...:

...so it could be moved...:

...out of the way by the Mad Hatter for a couple of months:

At least 24 people supervised its new permanent placement in the Mad Tea Party queue:

The wooden fence affords the ficus a small level of protection from the construction vehicles:

From the Skyway:

Pictured here as queue construction is beginning:

And here it is as the first New Fantasyland Guests saw it:

And while the fencing has changed, you can see it's still the same tree there today:

I don't ride the Mad Tea Party often, but I'm sure it's a great shade producer:

You can see I was not the only one admiring the tree today:

You need a wide angle lens with this tree now:

I hope this tree remains at Disneyland for at least another fifty years--and that each of you climb it on your next visit. Here's to arboreal adventures!