Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland
Disneyland
Land	Fantasyland
Designer	WED Enterprises
Attraction type	Dark Ride
Theme	Alice in Wonderland
Soft opening date	June 13, 1958
Opening date	June 14, 1958
Hosted by	Alice
Vehicle type	Flower beds
Duration	3:38 minutes
Height requirements	13 and under
Wheelchair accessible Single rider available

Alice in Wonderland is a dark ride in Fantasyland at Disneyland 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. In 1983, the ride was updated as part of an overall refurbishment of Fantasyland, as the Upside-Down and Oversized Rooms were eliminated and the Mad Hatter's unbirthday scene was moved to the very end of the ride. A new narration track by Kathryn Beaumont, the original voice of Alice, was recorded. To create more unified theming in Fantasyland, the Mad Tea Party attraction was relocated at the rear of Fantasyland to a spot adjacent to the Alice in Wonderland ride that same year. The Alice in Wonderland, however, did not reopen until 1984, one year after the rest of the new Fantasyland opened. 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.[1] The ride re-opened with the new safety rails on August 13, 2010.

Summary

Guests ride on giant caterpillar vehicles down the rabbit hole; through the Doorknob and then past Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum and the White Rabbit, worrying about the time as usual. Then the guests go through the Garden of Live Flowers. The flowers sing "All in The Golden Afternoon". Alice herself can be seen here, hidden behind a leaf to the visitors' right. Riders then pass the Caterpillar, who blows smoky letters and asks "Who are you?" and a Dandelion,who pops up, roaring. Next, we enter the Tulgey Wood, where we meet the Cheshire Cat, as well as an accordion owl, an eyeglasses bird, a horn-shaped duck with its ducklings, an umbrella bird, a cage bird, and a pair of hammer birds nailing a sign to a tree. They then go through the hedge maze and past some singing cards who are painting a white rose tree red as the White Rabbit announces the Queen of Hearts. She plays croquet, using a flamingo as a club and a hedgehog as a ball. The King tells the riders: "Rule 42: The Queen should always win" and a hedgehog crashes into a wall and rolls back. The guests then enter the Queen's courtroom and the Queen orders their execution. Riders escape by pushing 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 descend by people waiting in line on a winding giant lily pad, before heading to the climactic scene at the Mad Tea Party. The White Rabbit ducks as a giant birthday cake with a dynamite candle explodes and the ride vehicles escape back to where they began.

Voice Credits

• Alice - Kathryn Beaumont
• The White Rabbit/Cards- Corey Burton
• Ace of Clubs - Thurl Ravenscroft
• Cheshire Cat/King of Hearts- Tony Pope

References

Coordinates: 33°48′48″N 117°55′07″W / 33.8132°N 117.9185°W / 33.8132; -117.9185