Monday, June 04, 2012

In Fantasyland, September 1959

The "Alice in Wonderland" dark ride opened in Fantasyland in June 1958 (so it was only about a year old at this point), and a fine addition it was! I really love this ride, though I have occasionally read or heard from people who think it needs to be replaced. No way, José! As far as I know, it is the only Alice dark ride in any Disney park. The caterpillar ride vehicles are all the reason I need to keep the attraction around. The giant translucent leaves are super cool too.


And who doesn't love the Mad Tea Party? Even if you don't like riding it (because it gives you the barfs), it is fun to just look at. Especially these days, and at night, with the beautiful colored lanterns overhead.


14 comments:

Chiana_Chat said...

Walt sure had a frustrating relationship with Alice. No matter his disappointments, he kept coming back to her. Just a few years after the animated film for her that he was reputedly frustrated by and disappointed with, Alice became the only one behind not one but TWO attractions, the second more involved than the first...

Thank goodness they are both still there. May they remain there!

Nancy said...

I love the caterpillar cars on the Alice ride, and the cool mushroom that greets me as I get ready to join the adventure....would be too sad if they did but nothing is sacred anymore :(

K. Martinez said...

Alice in Wonderland is probably my favorite of the Fantasyland dark rides. The façade and loading area have that animated cartoon style about it, not striving for realism at all. I love it. Like the Columbia and Matterhorn, no other park has one.

I also like how they gave Alice here own little themed area by putting the dark ride, Mad Tea Party and Mad Hatter Shop next to each other when they created the New Fantasyland. I can’t imagine why anyone would think it needs replacing.

Orange Co Native said...

I vote to keep Alice In Wonderland. My daughter loves this ride. I like it as well.

Replace it ? They could expand the pirate thing into Fantasy land so Captain Hook wouldn't be alone. They don't need to take out Alice in Wonderland, just replace the Queen with a pirate and have the card soldiers replaced with pirates. Give Alice a peg leg and a patch over her eye. That should do it. Plus it.

fuzzhead said...

They can't get rid of Alice!
Where would I go for acid flashbacks?

JG said...

Alice is far, far better than the little mermaid darkride, which is about the closest in content that I can think of. Hands off Alice.

Agree about the sub-area, the teacups are an obvious tie-in, a great example of a classic amusement ride tweaked a bit for Disney. the new fantasyland look really did well by these stand-bys.

Also, the acid flashbacks...guess I'm not the only one who thinks that movie was chemically influenced, and not by Monsanto.

JG

Rich T. said...

No, the Alice movie was not influenced by drugs. Instead, the artists discovered an amazing quality in the human brain called imagination that allows for all kinds of chemical-free surreal flights of fancy, creation...and cool night dreams, too! Who'da thunk? :)

The Alice ride seems to get more popular line-wise every year, so I think it's in no danger. The caterpillars are my favorite vehicle, and I love the way the exterior is one big piece of kinetic art. Here's hoping the recent awful tarps and catwalks are replaced with something less intrusive soon.

Douglas McEwan said...

Isn't there an Alice ride in Orlando? I have never been to Florida, but I saw an Alice ride photo one time that was definitely not from Anaheim, and my memory is that it was the caption said it was from Orlando, however, my memory can be mistaken.

There is, of course, the wonderful "Alice's Curious Labyrinth" in EuroDisney. I have been through that, and it's a delightful walk through --- if you can find your way

Douglas McEwan said...

That last sentence in my comment was supposed to day "I have been through that, and it's a delightful walk through --- if you can find your way OUT! [Wild, Paul Frees/Vincnetnt Price maniacal laugh!]"

I have no idea what happened to the latter part of my posting.

K. Martinez said...

Douglas McEwan, Disneyland is the only park with an Alice dark ride, but every "Disneyland" style park does have the tea cup ride.

Rich T. said...

Douglas, the pre-1984 DL Alice dark ride had a very, very different interior featuring the Upside Down Room, a giant version of the Cheshire Cat, a "crash" effect room, a hall of screaming doors and different versions of the garden, Tulgey Wood and Tea Party scenes. The photo you saw may have been from this period in the ride's history.

Major Pepperidge said...

Chiana, it IS interesting how Alice goes back to the very earliest (pre-Mickey) days for Walt. But it took him many years to figure out how to make his feature, and even then it was flawed (though still amazing in many ways).

Nancy, I don't think we have to worry about Alice going anywhere, but I guess you never can be too sure.

K. Martinez, "Peter Pan" is still my favorite dark ride, but Alice is right up there. Maybe #2! You're right, it's almost like a mini "Alice land".

OC Native, it was only a fan discussion that I was listening to (about getting rid of Alice), but it still blew my mind! The host proposed a "Beauty and the Beast" attraction. Put it somewhere else and I'm sure I'd like it!

fuzzhead, see my comment to OC Native! Now that Adventure Thru Inner Space is gone, Alice is your only bet for acid flashbacks.

Rich T., I don't believe that the movie was influenced by drugs, but the drug culture adopted a lot of the imagery from Lewis Carrol and Disney too.

Doug, I don't think there's an Alice ride in Orlando, but don't know for 100% sure. I'm aware of the labyrinth, I should look it up because I know so little about it.

Rich T., (again!), I miss the upside-down room!

Douglas McEwan said...

"Rich T. said...
Douglas, the pre-1984 DL Alice dark ride had a very, very different interior featuring the Upside Down Room, a giant version of the Cheshire Cat, a 'crash' effect room, a hall of screaming doors and different versions of the garden, Tulgey Wood and Tea Party scenes. The photo you saw may have been from this period in the ride's history."


First off, the photo I saw was of the >OUTSIDE of the ride, not the interior. How on earth would I be able to tell what park it was in by the ride interior? Secondly. I grew up in Southern California, visiting Disneyland the first time on May 30, 1956. In 1963 I moved close enough to the park that I could see the fireworks from our upstairs windows and to be able to ride my bike there, which I did regularly, so I need no education on the pre-New Fantasyland Alice in Wonderland ride in Anaheim; I rode the original version roughly about a 1000 times.

Further, my conclusion that the ride in the photo I saw, which sadly, I no longer have to produce, was not the one in Anaheim was based on the surrounding background, which among other things, lacked a small, easily-missed item called The Matterhorn. Now it could still be the one in Anaheim. I was quite upfront that I could be mistaken. After all, the first time I rode the Alice in Wonderland ride, and hte second, third, fourth and fifth times, there was no Matterhorn in Anaheim. But it just did not match its Anaheim location.

Is it possible - because I do not know - that there once WAS an Alice in Wonderland ride in Orlando since removed, as so many rides tragically have been?

Douglas McEwan said...

Major, didn't I send you all my photos of the Curious Labyrinth? I thought I had. I photographed it quite extensively, since it was unique and I doubted I would ever get to visit a second time. If not, let me know and I will send them to you.