Alice in Wonderland

Through the looking glass... at Disneyland

I love Alice in Wonderland. I’m not kidding, this is a story that is so old and has gone through a lot of changes over the years, and even managed to inspire my first ever book that I published back in 2019. You have the classic Alice story, but also several other versions, including American McGee’s Alice, a dark twist on the formula where Alice ends up in a sanitarium after returning from Wonderland because no one believed her story. The overall atmosphere of Lewis Carroll’s 1865 book is amazing even now in 2024. There are so many awesome places and weird creatures in that book, and I love every single one of them, from the Mad Hatter to the Cheshire Cat.

So, what about the ride at Disneyland? It’s a classic dark ride that lasts for 4 minutes and reminds me a lot of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh at Magic Kingdom. It’s a good mix of animatronics and digital effects and does a great job of transporting guests to this crazy, beautiful, and sometimes scary world, even if only for a little while.

Don’t expect anything mind-blowing like the newer dark rides such as Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway or The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash. Alice in Wonderland is mostly a classic ride that everyone in the family can enjoy, but it doesn’t aim to be much more than that.

What we like about Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland ride entrance.webp

I love that Alice fits the idea of a dark ride rather well. Much like her adventures in the book and the 1951 movie, you enter this ride and go through different set pieces that have become true classics over the years. You enter the rabbit hole, listen to the Cheshire Cat, come face to face with the Queen of Hearts, and even attend a tea party with the Mad Hatter. Alice in Wonderland was all about fantasy and crazy scenarios, and that leads to some rather colorful and interesting environments for this ride.

This ride, by the way, debuted in 1958 but has undergone some significant updates over the last few decades. The most recent one took place in 2014. Nowadays, Alice offers a good mix of animatronics and visual effects displayed on cleverly hidden digital screens. The effects are quite impressive. For example, you can see the caterpillar smoking his pipe as an animatronic, with the smoke appearing above him on dimly lit digital screens that truly immerse you in the atmosphere.

The ride is also great for children, thanks to the abundance of quirky and colorful creatures. Thankfully, none of them are overly scary. I like to draw a parallel with the Dr. Seuss dark ride at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, which I think can be slightly more frightening for children than Alice. The visuals in Alice are designed to look cute - cartoonish, yes, but still endearing. You’ll find characters like the short Mad Hatter (not Johnny Depp’s version, thankfully), a not-so-intimidating Queen of Hearts, and a charming duo of Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

What we don’t like about Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland cards queen of hearts.webp

It’s Alice in Wonderland! C’mon, is there really anything not to love about this one? Okay, I’ll admit I’m a bit biased, but I can see that the ride could use some improvements. For example, much of Alice takes place in dark, somewhat claustrophobic spaces. Considering how vibrant and rich the world of Alice in Wonderland is, with so much to show, I’d love to see it reimagined as a larger, open-ended setting filled with dozens of characters at once. Something along the lines of Radiator Springs Racers or Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.

That said, I understand this is an older ride, and creating expansive environments would essentially mean rebuilding it from the ground up. I also wish the outdoor portion of the ride were a bit more engaging. Sure, Alice in Wonderland takes place mostly indoors, but there’s a brief section where your vehicle ventures outside, allowing you to wave at other guests. There’s just not much to see in this part, and I think it could benefit from the addition of animatronics, special effects, or even giant props in a magical garden to give the impression that you’ve been shrunk.

Still, this is a classic Disneyland attraction, and there’s nothing wrong with it remaining a simple dark ride with awesome effects. Not everything needs cutting-edge technology, and there’s something special about preserving the charm and DNA of older attractions. If you’re planning a visit to Disneyland, be sure to take a trip down the rabbit hole and pay Wonderland a visit!