This overhead shot of the exterior of the Alice in Wonderland attraction at Disneyland was taken in August 1958.
Zooming in you can see that the cast members were dressed in Alice costumes. Surprisingly, Walt didn’t make them wear blonde wigs to complete the look. These are probably some of my very favorite attraction vehicles at the Park.
It’s amazing to see that they really haven’t changed at all over the years.
See more Disneyland Alice in Wonderland attraction photos at my main website.
5 comments:
Wigs probably would have been really too hot for a long shift (unlike the shorter character shifts). I'm sure they probably thought about it, though!
I thought the 1984 Alice attraction the best of the New Fantasyland revamps, but the 1958 original was wonderful. The settings and effects were mostly plywood cutouts, and they were terrific. That first version had a genuinely manic, loony aspect to it, and with black lights and hallucinatory scenery probably planted the seeds of psychedelia in nice 1950s children.
And three Alices running the ride: who needs mushrooms?
The 3D aspect of this ride is unusual, as is the exterior/interior route.
When I was a kid riding this, I hadn't seen the Disney version of the story, only the Tenniel illustrations in my book. The caterpillar was very odd to me since he is very different from Tenniel's version, but now, he is a beloved figure since they did such a great job with his mannerisms and voice, I can't imagine him any other way.
@Stefano, you will never convince me that drugs were not involved at some point in the film visualization, or the heffalump sequence in Winnie-The-Pooh.
JG
Always loved, loved, loved this ride at Disneyland; but hate, hate, hate the Disney movie. I agree with JG - drugs had to be involved with the visualization and the story line. Just my opinion.
Thanks, Dave - fun post!
Sue
Thanks all for the comments. Stu - good point about the wigs. You are probably correct. It would seem that the audience of the Disney movie should have been on hallucinatory drugs to fully enjoy it. At least the attraction is a blast!
Post a Comment