Mad Tea Party

Spin ‘round and ‘round in a giant pastel teacup during a madcap music-filled adventure.

“Let’s all congratulate us with another cup of tea…”

There’s nothing slippery or sneaky about the Mad Tea Party whatsoever. What you see is what you get. The attraction is made up of three sections that are able to spin clockwise nestled into a giant turntable that rotates counter-clockwise, just to make sure you can keep your latest meal inside your stomach. If that’s not enough, each teacup is outfitted with a wheel in the middle that allows guests to increase the spin of their teacup’s rotation. It’s a good idea to negotiate a limit on how fast your ride-mate can spin the wheel before you enter from the queue. Friendships have crumbled over this particular aspect of the attraction.

As you spin along your way, you are treated to a calliope version of the “Unbirthday Song,” which was featured in the 1951 animated classic, Alice in Wonderland. Also, be sure to keep your eyes on the large teapot in the center of the attraction, for once in a while, you may catch a glimpse of the sleepy Dormouse poking his head out of the pot to see what all the fuss is about.

Behind the Schemes:

There are 18 teacups spinning within the attraction, all safely sheltered by a large circular roof that keeps the sun and rain off the ride vehicles. This feature wasn’t a part of the initial attraction but was wisely added to the attraction two years after the Magic Kingdom opened to the gratitude of many guests.

The original books that formed the basis for the animated film, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Though the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There, were written by Oxford mathematician, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who used the pen name Lewis Carroll. These stories were originally created to share with three children, one of whom was named Alice, and went on to become wildly successful among readers of all ages due to its endless fascination with nonsense and magnificent prose.

Reality Check:

The now-common phrase of “going down the rabbit hole” was inspired by recurring circumstances in Carroll’s stories. 

The Dormouse is mentioned in the lyrics to the Jefferson Airplane song, “White Rabbit.”

Bill (the lizard with a ladder) was unceremoniously omitted from the Mad Tea Party attraction.