Alice In Wonderland: A Disney Parks Comparison
Did you know there are only two Disney intellectual properties that can be found as an attraction in every Magic Kingdom style park around the world. It’s not Star Wars or Marvel. It isn’t Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid or even Frozen. In fact, neither were blockbuster hits, and the one we’re studying in this post and podcast failed in the box office. One is Dumbo with it’s symbolic spinner style. But the other surprisingly is Alice in Wonderland. Five of the six parks have spinning cups but many of them have attractions that are beyond that. And some have multiple retail or food & beverage experiences. Parades, entertainment and other offerings showcase Alice, the Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit and more. We’ll get into the rabbit holes of all these places to understand this creative Disney property. We’ll go across the globe to see how this unique Disney film has been retold in parks near and far. In celebration of your Un-Birthday, join us as we share Alice in Wonderland: A Disney Park Comparison.
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Let’s Compare
As an overview, we’ve provided the following park comparison that accompanies our podcast discussion:
Let’s head down the rabbit hole of each of the Magic Kingdom-style parks to see where Alice could be found.
Disneyland
Disneyland has not one but two shops named The Mad Hatter. And one is on Main Street, U.S.A.
The Mad Tea Party here is the first park with the spinning cups. It was moved from behind the Carrousel in 1984 to this location near the Alice in Wonderland Dark Ride.
Arguably one of the best dark rides Disney Parks have ever created. Alice in Wonderland is a two story ride in a double seated caterpillar.
Off with your head!
Is it your un-birthday too?
Walt Disney World
The Mad Tea Part was the first to get a roof.
Topiaries grace this area.
Cheshire Cafe next to Mad Tea Party.
Alice in Wonderland is a big part of the Main Street Electrical Parade.
Imagineers at work creating the Alice in Wonderland scene in the Mickey Mouse Revue.
Tokyo Disneyland
Easter means Easter egg–Wonderland style.
The Royal Banquet Hall at Tokyo Disneyland
Alice appears in “it’s a small world”.
Main Street Electrical Parade: Dream Lights–only at Tokyo Disneyland.
Check out this room at the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel.
Disneyland Paris
Along with a beautifully created tea cup attraction, Disneyland Paris introduced a maze based on Alice in Wonderland. It is beautiful and beautifully themed.
Hong Kong Disneyland
The most disappointing of all the parks is Hong Kong which only has the Mad Hatter Tea Cups. No retail, no food & beverage, not even meet ‘n’ greets based on the characters.
Shanghai Disneyland
Shanghai Disney has no tea cup style attraction (the only park that is missing it!) but it does have a maze. Only this one is based on the Tim Burton film. It is spacious and beautifully themed.
The Wayfinder Society: A Patreon Site for Disney Fans
We are offering a new program where you have the opportunity to enjoy exclusive offerings from Disney at Play and Disney at Work. Join us as we introduce our new Patreon program, the Wayfinder Society, intended to give you new insights to all things Disney, whether its work or play. I am truly excited to share this new opportunity with you and look forward to creating new experiences that you will enjoy whether at home or at the Disney parks. There are a variety of options for joining, depending on your interests:
When you join, you will be given access to unique, interactive apps that explores the parks in new ways, offering stories, photos, videos and more.
Here are some of the interactive apps we share with members of our society:
- Pandora: World of Avatar: This is an expansive and detailed look at every aspect of this land. You can’t find any source that has covered this entire land with its attractions, retail and dining more in depth.
- Pirates of the Caribbean Across the Globe: We not only compare this attraction in parks world-wide, but we deep dive into what makes each unique. Currently we’ve covered Tokyo Disneyland and Magic Kingdom. More to come!
- Coming Soon! S.E.A. Assembled! The Society of Adventurers and Explorers are coming to the Wayfinder Society. We’ll document their whereabouts and showcase their imprint on Disney attractions world-wide.
- Disney at Work Interactive Tour: Disneyland. For our upper tiers, we have an interactive business tour of Disneyland to include more than fifty attractions spread throughout the park. These are best-in-business ideas you can apply to your own organization.
- Coming Soon! Disney at Work Interactive Tour: Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary. Looking at the heritage of Most Magical Place in the World, we draw best practices from over the years that you can again, apply to your organization.
As you see, we have so much to share. And when you donate, a portion of your contribution goes to Embrace Celebration, dedicated to helping Disney Cast Members and others in this area who are unemployed during this pandemic. To learn more, visit our site to discover our offerings and various tiers. Join us!
