| Alice in Wonderland | |
 | |
| Disneyland | |
| Land | Fantasyland |
| Designer | WED Enterprises |
| Attraction type | Dark Ride |
| Theme | Alice in Wonderland |
| Opening date | June 14, 1958 |
| Ride duration | 3:38 minutes |
Alice in Wonderland is a dark ride in Fantasyland at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom Park. Based on the animated Disney adaptation of the same name, the attraction resides next to a second ride, the Mad Tea Party, based on a scene in that same adaptation. The presence of two rides based on the film is unusual in that Walt Disney said he regretted making it because it lacked a connection to the audience's hearts.
Ride Through
The ride follows the path of the movie, as the riders (as Alice) follow the White Rabbit down the Rabbit Hole into Wonderland. They spin through scenes in a madcap fashion, dodging absurd creatures in the Tulgey Wood with some questionable guidance from the Cheshire Cat. When the Queen of Hearts loses to Alice at croquet, she threatens to chop off the innocent girl's head as she (and the ride vehicles) push their way through brigades of playing cards. The vehicles then leave the ride building's second floor (a rare occurrence in a non-thrill ride at a Disney park) and descends by people waiting in line on a winding giant vine, before heading through a Cheshire Cat "dream" scene and the climactic scene at the Mad Tea Party. The White Rabbit quivers as a giant unbirthday cake with a dynamite candle on top of it explodes and the ride vehicles escape back to where they began.
Alice was originally only seen in the singing flower garden, hidden behind a leaf to the visitors' right.
The attraction was refurbished and was reopened early 2014, with added projections and visual effects. The mystic swirling "dream" scene was moved to after the card chase scene and before the outdoor 2nd floor section. The mad tea party scene was extended, along with major outdoor changes to the vine, which is now larger and flatter, due to safety and complaints that the original safety refurbishment looked too ugly. Alice also physically appears more than once, including an extra appearence in the pathway to the White Rabbit's House, Tulgey Wood and the Unbirthday scene. The Alice who was hidden in "The Golden Afternoon" singing flower scene was removed during this refurbishment.
After the 2014 refurbishment, this attraction was the only dark ride in the Fantasyland area of Disneyland Park that uses multiple projection effects.
Summary
Guests board a magic Caterpillar and go down the rabbit hole, where the Doorknob swings his door open for the riders to pass through, entering Wonderland, watching Alice plea for the White Rabbit to stop for her to ask him what he is late for. After encountering the Tweedles and seeing the White Rabbit bounce up and down outside his house complaining about how late he is.
Next, the guests travel through the singing flower garden. The Flowers sing "All in the Golden Afternoon" while smoke appears on a black screen above the Caterpillar saying "Who are you?". Once finishing the climb to the ride's second floor, a Dand-e-lion pops up, roaring.
The guests then enter the Tulgey Wood, encountering the Cheshire Cat, a very lost Alice, an accordion-necked owl, an eyeglasses bird, an adult honking horn duck with its ducklings, an umbrella vulture, a birdcage bird, a pencil bird who writes the words "Which Way" on a sign and a pair of hammer birds nailing up a sign that reads "Watch Out."
From there, the guests enter the Queen of Hearts' garden and passing some singing and marching card soldiers as the White Rabbit announces the Queen. She plays croquet, using a flamingo as a club and a hedgehog as a ball. The King of Hearts, standing behind the Queen, says "Rule 42: The Queen should always win" as the guests go through a dark tunnel, where a hedgehog appears on the screen, then crashes and rolls back. The guests then enter the courtroom where the guests see an angry executioner card brandishing an axe and the Queen shouting "Off with their heads!". Various cards yell as the guests rush away from them. Guests enter a swirling, dream-like scene before emerging back out into daylight and beginning a trip back down to the ground level on a large "roof"-like platform.
The ride culminates at the Unbirthday Party, where the Mad Hatter and the March Hare sing "A Very Merry Unbirthday to You". The White Rabbit stands next to a giant unbirthday cake with a dynamite candle on top of it, shaking nervously. The cake explodes as the guests exit the scene and arrive at the unlod area to exit the caterpillar.
The ride was temporarily closed on July 15, 2010 after California's Department of Occupational Safety and Health pointed out that it needed handrails on the second floor outdoor portion of the ride. The ride re-opened with the new safety rails on August 13, 2010, and again eith more permanent rails in 2014.
Voice Credits
- Alice - Kathryn Beaumont
- White Rabbit - Corey Burton
- Ace of Clubs - Thurl Ravenscroft
- Cards - Corey Burton
- Cheshire Cat - Tony Pope
- Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum - Corey Burton
- Queen of Hearts - Tress MacNeille
- King of Hearts - Tony Pope
Changes
In 1983, the ride was updated as part of an overall refurbishment of Fantasyland, as the Upside-Down Room and Oversized Room were eliminated and the Mad Hatter's Tea Party was moved to the very end of the ride. A new narration track by Kathryn Beaumont, the actress who voiced Alice in the film, was recorded. To create more unified theming in Fantasyland, the Mad Tea Party attraction was moved from a location at the rear of Fantasyland to a location adjacent to the Alice in Wonderland ride that same year. The Alice in Wonderland ride, however, did not reopen until 1984, one year after the rest of the new Fantasyland opened.
In 2010, the exterior track was mostly covered up and given additional side supports as a result of safety concerns by the Orange County Safety Administration. The current coverings are temporary as Imagineers are working on a more permanent solution to the safety concern. As a side effect, the white rabbit statue decoration outside of the ride was removed, even though the watch in the rabbit's hand was used as a mirror for the ride operator to observe cars that he/she cannot observe from his/her position.
In 2014, the attraction was refurbished and was reopened early 2014, with added projections and visual effects. The mystic swirling "dream" scene was moved to after the card chase scene and before the outdoor 2nd floor section. The mad tea party scene was extended, along with major outdoor changes to the vine, which is now larger and flatter, due to safety and complaints that the original safety refurbishment looked too ugly. Alice also physically appears more than once, including an extra appearence in Tulgey Wood and the Unbirthday scene.
Facts
The Alice in Wonderland attraction is the only dark ride in any Fantasyland area that has an outdoor section that is elevated. Usually, dark rides do not exit the main building when the ride is not over.
Gallery
