Mad Tea Party, March 1961
Here's a fun pair of photos featuring two sisters riding in their teacups on the Mad Tea Party attraction. For color and kinetic movement, the MTP can't be beat! I told Walt that people would enjoy riding in jars of mayonnaise, but I guess he didn't hear me, so... teacups it is.
I'm assuming that the ride was in motion at this point, the little girl in the greenish cup is looking right at us, and it looks as if she is doing her best to turn the center wheel - it takes some arm strength to get them going! I've always loved the kooky abstract swirls and pictograms on the cups, somehow it evokes the artwork of the animated film, though I'm not sure why, exactly. Just above the girl's head, we can see the Casey Jr. ticket booth.
11 comments:
A friend of mine would take pictures of the rest of our group posed to look like we were wildly spinning … and it looked good. Except the guests behind us walking around exiting their teacups and gathering their belongings gave it away we were not moving at all .
"but I guess he didn't hear me". Woulda, coulda, shoulda. If only you had spoken a little louder we'd all be riding in mayonnaise jars! Of course, after exiting, the guests would have to be hosed down to get the mayo off. And then they'd have to be placed in air dryers to get dry again. Hmm, on second thought, it's probably a good thing that Walt didn't hear you.
The girl in the pink Teacup is wearing one of those woven 'coolie' souvenir hats. This is a good picture; lots of Cups, lots of color!
In the blurry distance we can see the Cinderella castle atop its columnar basalt mountain. At first I thought we could see the Pumpkin Coach. But it turned out to be the gold-ish ball atop the Teacups 'EXIT" sign.
Mike, that "wildly spinning" pose sounds like it would be a fun thing to do. And it wouldn't get you kicked out of the Park either! Maybe just a stern warning and a threat to put you all to work in the Churro Mines.
Thanks for the colorful pics, Major.
When working on Shanghai Disneyland we built a ALICE’s MAD TEA PARTY model… like the 50’s traditional Disney … then they had us replace it with a new design based on the modern live action.. to match better with the similar themed Alice’s Curious labyrinth …Then about a week later they wanted the 50’s Disney Alice Tea Party back …. ( we had it - it was just set aside) then one day on the workbench were drawings & plans to build Pooh’s Spinning Hunney Pots!! Tea Cups were out and Honey Pots in!! All of this was because Disney felt they wanted as much character exposure as possible - since the Chinese were not really familiar with any of these Disney films. That’s why there are few overall themed areas … and lots of single character attractions at Shanghai.
The teacups are always fun, and it looks like these kids are enjoying it.
I used to like to spin the center wheel as fast a I could, but now, I just relax and watch the world go by.
Thanks Major, I like these.
JG
Mike Cozart, I’ll bet professional Disney photographers did the same thing! Maybe they would even get a few teacups in the background to pretend.
JB, I’ve always wished I could experience what it would be like to be mayonnaise. I’m pretty sure many people have this same wish, and that’s why I suggested the brilliant idea to Walt. But… it was not to be. I wonder if those “coolie hats” would be considered inappropriate today? I didn’t know that Cinderella Castle was atop columnar basalt! The things you learn. I assume you’d have to act fast to do the Cozart Maneuver, after all they want to fill those teacups up as quickly as possible.
Mike Cozart, huh, you’d think that TEACUPS might work in China. Tea, y’know? But you can’t argue with the Power of Pooh. I’ve seen photos of Alice’s Curious Labyrinth in France, and can’t decide if I like it or not. There are good things there, but overall I don’t know if I would want to experience it more than once or twice. I suppose if you have kids that would make a difference.
JG, I like the Teacups, but have made at least one girlfriend angry that I spun the cup too fast. Your way of riding it is definitely very pleasant!
MAJOR : the DL PARIS hedge maze is based on the Disney 50’s film version … the Shanghai DL Alice maze is based on the Johnny depp live action .
There have been plans and concepts to bring the Alice hedge maze to Disneyland , Tokyo Disneyland and Great Britian World Showcase Epcot … but I think the idea has pretty much fizzled out.
Major, my only disappointment with the Mad Tea Party was that I couldn't seem to get those cups to spin fast enough... ...and that was with both of my sisters helping out!
Mike, It's interesting to consider that interest in an attraction like the Alice hedge maze might have "fizzled out", not that I have been able to visit it personally. As a kid though, I remember loving the simple Alice in Wonderland walk-through at Oakland's Children's Fairyland. It was like we were walking down through the rabbit hole, with roots poking down through the ceiling. The Deck of Cards maze at end of it seemed like a huge accomplishment to master as a kid. Perhaps the Alice hedge maze doesn't engage kids in the same way?
There was also an Alice walk-through at Santa's Village in Scotts Valley. It seems it was more of a funhouse, with angled mirrors and "soft" floors in certain areas, (if I recall that correctly at all).
OMNISPACE : I think the interests was that management and operations didn’t want to deal with the logistics of operating and corralling the large amount of guests that would likely be expected to want to experience it.
It’s interesting as the Japanese LOVE the 1950’s Disney Alice in Wonderland … and over the years several “wonderland” themed areas or lands have been developed or proposed … yet other than the massive Queen of Hearts Restaurant, the Oriental Land Company has shied away from such Themes and attractions . A Wonderland theme section of Floridas New Fantasyland was developed .. but the space gave way to the Storybook Circus section. And several updated versions of Disneyland’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND have been developed but that attraction
Still remains exclusive to original Disneyland .
The Santa’s Village in Skyforest also had the Alice Thru the Looking Glass walk-thru fun house. There was a section of the mirror and glass maze that was visible to guests standing outside. Several
Sections of the attraction featured animated window scenes similar to the ones at Disneyland Emporium .. but the limited animation motors had been not working for decades . The window vignettes were mostly copied from the illustrations shown in the 1969 Disneyland records Alice in Wonderland album.
Omnispace, thanks to my rippling biceps, I was able to get my teacup to spin plenty fast!! But remember, at some point, the park put some sort of “governor” on the teacups? They could only spin at a very slow rate, it was super frustrating. I think somebody fell out of their cup, if I remember correctly they were screwing around. This is why we can’t have nice things! I don’t know if they’ve set them back to the way they should be. I don’t think I would like a Tim Burton “Alice” maze, but something themed to the original movie would at least have that appeal for me. Those other Alice attractions you mentioned sound like they were awesome!
Mike Cozart, it really is surprising that Tokyo Disneyland is moving away from Disney theming. My impression is that the Japanese love pop culture, and animation, and classic Disney animation, but perhaps that is not so true for the younger generation. I admit that I am very happy that Anaheim has the one and only original dark ride - more parks need unique rides! Ditto the Matterhorn, it makes it so much more special. I think the Enchanted Forest in Salem, Oregon has some “Alice” theming around the park, and some of it is even surprisingly Disney-ish, but I doubt Disney cares, since it’s such a small, charming place.
Major: totally the opposite : Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney seas has more traditional Disney than most current Disney parks … especially with the opening of Fantasy Springs ( Tokyo finally got their own Captain Hook Jolly Roger galleon!) i was commenting on how popular Disney’s Alice in Wonderland is with Japanese guests - especialy with merchandise … yet the owners of Tokyo Disneyland seem reluctant to do anything attraction wise other than the banquet hall and the tea party … but WDI has proposed many Alice in wonderland attractions over the years . By the way - when Disney USA tried to advise Tokyo Disneyland to switch their splash mountain to Tiana Oriental Land Company said NO WAY !! Splash mountain has become a Tokyo Disneyland favorite and the song zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah is number two in popularity, Disney song wise.
Taking splash mountain away from Tokyo Disneyland would be a dumb move … Akin to taking the Main Street Electrical Parade from Disneyland guests .. or 20,000 leagues from Florida guests : it just would NEVER HAPPEN !!!
Post a Comment