Alice's Curious Labyrinth is a
hedge maze
A hedge maze is an outdoor garden maze or labyrinth in which the "walls" or dividers between passages are made of vertical hedges.
History
Hedge mazes evolved from the knot gardens of Renaissance Europe, and were first constructed during the mi ...
attraction at the
Disneyland Park
Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...
within
Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Chessy, France, east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, resort hotels, Disney Nature Resorts, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex, and a golf course. Disneyland Park is the origin ...
. It opened in 1992 with the Park, and belongs to the British part of
Fantasyland
Fantasyland is one of the "themed lands" at all of the Magic Kingdom-style parks run by The Walt Disney Company around the world. It is themed after Disney's animated fairy tale films. Each Fantasyland has a castle, as well as several gentle ri ...
. A similar maze attraction, based on both
the 1951 and
2010 Disney film adaptations of
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...
's ''
Alice in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
'', exists at
Shanghai Disneyland Park
Shanghai Disneyland (; Pinyin: ''Shànghǎi díshìní lèyuán'') is a theme park located in Chuansha New Town, Pudong, Shanghai, China, that is part of the Shanghai Disney Resort. The park is operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products ...
.
Disneyland Paris
The Labyrinth
The hedge maze is
themed around scenes and characters from the Disney 1951 feature ''
Alice in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
''. It comprises two sections: the first one with some of Alice's adventures prior to meeting the
Queen of Hearts
The queen of hearts is a playing card in the standard 52-card deck.
Queen of Hearts or The Queen of Hearts may refer to:
Books
* "The Queen of Hearts" (poem), anonymous nursery rhyme published 1782
* ''The Queen of Hearts'', an 1859 novel by ...
, and the second based on Alice's encounter with the Queen, who had a similar labyrinth in the film.
The goal of the maze is to reach the Queen of Hearts's Castle, where one can obtain an aerial view of the
Fantasyland
Fantasyland is one of the "themed lands" at all of the Magic Kingdom-style parks run by The Walt Disney Company around the world. It is themed after Disney's animated fairy tale films. Each Fantasyland has a castle, as well as several gentle ri ...
section of the park. One can exit the maze prior to entering the second area, and the maze's route is similar in shape to the body of the
Cheshire Cat
The Cheshire Cat ( or ) is a fictional cat popularised by Lewis Carroll in ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and known for its distinctive mischievous grin. While now most often used in ''Alice''-related contexts, the association of a "Ch ...
, with a semi-floral recreation of the character's face adjacent to the attraction.
Tulgey Wood
The first and easiest part of the Labyrinth focuses on Alice's journey through Wonderland. It starts with guests entering the White Rabbit's Hole, and arriving in a wood featuring strange animals, doors of various sizes (for instance some can only be opened by children), and several signs with conflicting directions. Guests then walk under fountains which spray streams of water over the guest's heads.
Then they discover the Caterpillar's Mushroom Lair, and see the Caterpillar smoking his hookah while it says quotes from the movie. Finally, guests enter the Caucus-Race, led by the Dodo Bird, as they circle him with animals (as the movie presents that scene).
The first part of the Labyrinth ends up here with a small "
Cheshire Cat
The Cheshire Cat ( or ) is a fictional cat popularised by Lewis Carroll in ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and known for its distinctive mischievous grin. While now most often used in ''Alice''-related contexts, the association of a "Ch ...
Walk" Maze and the scene of card soldiers painting the white roses red.
Queen of Hearts's Maze
This is the second and tougher part of the Labyrinth. It represents the Queen's Maze as long as Alice's encounter with her. As guests wander through it, the Queen or her card soldiers pop up from time to time, while she screams her famous ''"Off with their heads!"''
The Queen's Castle stands in the center of the maze. Guests reach it in the end, and can therefore go on top of it, where they are given a sight of Fantasyland. A slide used to be featured on the side of the Castle, for children to go down without the stairs, but it was removed due to safety reasons during the park's opening year.
March Hare Refreshments
Close to this maze is a recreation of the Tea Party of the March Hare and the Hatter. Known as March Hare Refreshments, guests can have drinks near the Hare's house. Like in
Walt Disney World
The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...
and in
Tokyo Disneyland
(local nickname ''TDL'') is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to be ...
, the Dormouse can be seen popping his head out of a large teapot and the March Hare, although absent, can be seen on the sign of the doorway. The attraction
Mad Hatter's Tea Cups is located close to this house as well. Back in April 1992 when the park opened, March Hare Refreshments sold Unbirthday Cakes (Gâteau de non-anniversaire) for 19,00 FF each.
In Epic Mickey
The video game
Epic Mickey
''Epic Mickey'' is a 2010 platform game for the Wii developed by Junction Point Studios and published by Disney Interactive Studios, except in Japan, where it was published by Nintendo. The game focuses on Mickey Mouse, who accidentally damag ...
features a Wonderland area that bears a resemblance to the Labyrinth, despite some differences. It can be seen in the beginning, and it disappears when there is a hole formed by the thinner while Mickey runs away. The real-world reason that the level didn't appear was that during 2010,
the 2010 film was running that year, and game designer
Warren Spector
Warren Evan Spector (born October 2, 1955) is an American role-playing and video game designer, director, writer, producer and production designer. He is known for creating immersive sim games, which give players a wide variety of choices in how ...
did not want gamers who didn't see the 1951 version to get confused.
See also
*
''Alice in Wonderland'' (1951 film)
*
''Alice in Wonderland'' (2010 film)
External links
Disneyland Park (Paris) - Alice's Curious LabyrinthShanghai Disneyland Park - Alice in Wonderland MazePhotos Magiques - Alice's Curious Labyrinth
March Hare RefreshmentsDLRP Magic - Alice's Curious Labyrinth
{{Disney rides
Amusement park attractions introduced in 1992
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions
Disneyland Park (Paris)
Shanghai Disneyland
Attractions based on Alice in Wonderland
Fantasyland
Alice in Wonderland (franchise)
Mazes
1992 establishments in France
2016 establishments in China