Dispatch From Disneyland
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Alice in Wonderland will be known eternally as a classic story to be enjoyed by both children and adults. The famous book began as a series of stories read by the author to his co-worker's daughter. Storytelling, a practice Walt shared. While children found joy in the seemingly simple episodes, adults could find life lessons and hidden metaphors. So it made perfect sense for Walt Disney to adapt it first for some shorts in 1923, then in 1951 for the feature animation classic and later his unique idea of the themepark.

At Disneyland Walt wanted attractions that families could enjoy together. The Alice in Wonderland theme fit wonderfully in the Fantasyland area of the park and worked well for families. Soon after Disneyland opened in 1955 two attractions featured scenes from the movie.

The Mad Tea Party

Of course everyone knows and loves the Mad Tea Party attraction. By upgrading and themeing a simple carnival ride guests were transported to the madcap scene from the Alice in Wonderland movie. Riding in giant tea cups, guests were encouraged to spin around as fast as they could, attempting to retain the contents of any previous meals in their stomachs.

The Mad Tea Party enjoyed a feature spot near the physical center of Fantasyland. Not too far away were the Storybook Canal Boats, which had miniaturized versions of famous shorts and movies from the Disney repertoire. The Alice scene recreated Alice’s cottage and the famous rabbit hole she fell down while chasing the White Rabbit.

A third ‘Alice’ attraction would have been added, but Walt ran out of time, space, and money as the opening day for Disneyland neared.

As we know, Disneyland quickly exceeded everyone’s expectations (except perhaps Walt’s) and by the end of the first year attendance was way over estimates. One of the lands that was always crowded was Fantasyland. So it was decided to add in a third ‘Alice’ attraction.

It was to be a dark ride, like Peter Pan, Snow White, and Mr. Toad, but needed to fill an emotional space not covered by the original three attractions. The kookiness of Alice seemed the perfect fit. Imagineer Claude Coats was given the helm of the project and he pulled together a team that included Ken Anderson, Colin Campbell, and Blaine Gibson (all of whom had worked on the original film).

If you were a little blond girl at Disneyland on June 14th, 1958 you might have been lucky enough to ride ‘Alice in Wonderland’ on its opening day.

Alice in Wonderland

Standing outside the walls of Sleeping Beauty Castle you enjoyed the garden setting of the attraction while anticipation grew. While in queue you watched as the caterpillar cars slowly descended down the elevated garden path to drop off happy passengers and, a few steps away, load up anew.

Eventually it was your turn to hop in. Mom and Dad sat in the back while you had the front seat all to yourself. The caterpillar car started up a slight slope toward what looked to be a rabbit hole. Suddenly doors opened and you were inside in total darkness. Alice could be heard saying "All of a sudden I fell down, down, down..." then you passed through another set of doors into a world upside down, literally.

The first major room had you traveling on the ceiling. Tables, chairs, and even the White Rabbit, were all hanging from what was to you the ceiling, but really was the floor, assuming you were upside down. Bright colors abounded and heavy use of blacklight helped exaggerate everything.

Then suddenly you felt smaller. Of course that might be because all the furniture is suddenly oversized. It’s the same table and chair but you are now small enough to pass beneath a footstool, this time with a huge laughing Cheshire Cat resting on top of it.

Safely past the fading feline you now rode through the Garden of Live Flowers. The singing plants all swayed to the film’s ‘All In The Golden Afternoon’ number. Here you started climbing a bit to the second level of the attraction, passing many of the familiar flowers from the scene in the movie.

From the garden you passed into ‘Tulgey Wood’. This was the darkest and ominous section of the ride. Where before you found the flora, now you had all the fauna from the movie, including the Birdcage Bird and Accordion Owl. Looking for a way out of the woods, you see a sign pointing the way to the Mad Tea Party.

The Mad Hatter and March Hare hosted the Tea Party with their usual and wacky flair. With the ‘Unbirthday Song’ blaring you passed across the table dodging spinning tea cups and avoiding the hosts as they attempted to pour tea on and around you.

It looked like you might escape back to reality, if you could only follow the signs. "That way." ... "Down" ... "Turn back" ... none of them seemed to help. Finally you passed through a series of shrinking doors until, with a final loud yell (awfully reminiscent of Goofy) you burst through into the daylight to descend the garden pathway to the unloading zone.

The attraction may not have made you resolve never to wander off and fall asleep by a brook again. But it certainly made you vow to experience it again as soon as possible.

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-- Indigo

-- Posted July 5, 2001