Category: In the Parks

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DL vs DLP In the Parks

Anaheim vs. Paris: Alice in Wonderland

Although there is no direct equivalent to Anaheim’s Alice in Wonderland ride in Disneyland Paris, there is an attraction called “Alice’s Curious Labyrinth”.

The Labyrinth is a hedge maze consisting of two parts: Tulgey Wood (which is the more comical part) and the harder-to-navigate Queen of Heart’s Maze (which is mildly scarier, with characters and noises installed in such a way to make you jump). It is possible to leave the attraction before getting to Queen of Heart’s Maze, in case you are with someone finding the experience too intense.

In the centre of the maze is The Queen’s Castle, which one can climb up for a view of Fantasyland. This used to feature a slide which, although still visible, was closed off for safety reasons within a year of the park opening.

One of the most visible elements of the Labyrinth from outside is the head of the Cheshire Cat. Except for his eyes and teeth (which light up at night), his face is made up of various flowers, which are changed regularly, meaning the exact color of the visage alters depending on the time of year.

What Guests don’t often realize is that the section of Tulgey Wood known as Cheshire Cat Walk makes up the feline’s stripy body, when viewed from above.

Although they are different types of attraction, Alice’s Curious Labyrinth and Alice in Wonderland (the ride in California) are remarkably similar. Both start with a trip down the rabbit hole, have very similar soundscapes and feature identical figures, such as White Rabbit holding a clock, the Caterpillar smoking a hookah, the Cheshire Cat rolling his eyes, a family of Horns honking and the Queen of Hearts shaking her fists.

Both also feature misleading direction signs (with the same creatures on top, such as Hammer Birds and the owl with an accordion neck), a scene based on “Painting the Roses Red” and a slightly embarrassed looking King of Hearts figurine.

However, Alice’s Curious Labyrinth doesn’t feature an equivalent of the Tea Party scene, Tweedledum and Tweedledee or the Flower Garden – but instead has a Caucus Race, which can be entirely bypassed if necessary.

One more omission is that Alice herself does not appear in The Labyrinth (except for on the attraction’s logo above the entrance) whereas she does appear in the Anaheim ride. Seeing as the Guest is supposed to be “playing” Alice in each attraction, with the voiceover of the ride being her thoughts, her lack of appearance in France is the more sensible of the two.

 

Portions of this article first appeared in my musings for DLDHistory.com in April 2011.

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Disney History DL vs DLP Reviews

Anaheim vs. Paris: Fantasyland’s Rotating Rides

This week, I shall be comparing the “rotating” rides which appear in the Fantasylands in California and Paris.

 

DUMBO

The obvious place to start this article is with Dumbo The Flying Elephant. This ride exists, with the same name, in all five Magic Kingdoms but the California version was the only one not to be an opening day attraction.  Although it was supposed to have been, the opening was delayed due to the 700pound weight of the fibreglass pachyderms being too heavy for the initial mechanics to lift.

The attraction is practically identical in both Paris and California, down to the water features, the topiaries, the lengthy queues, the overhead storks, the chipmunks in the spokes and the statue of Timothy Q. Mouse on top of the central hot air balloon.

In France, Timothy has always held a feather. In California, although he had a whip when the ride first opened (and does again now), there was a period of time when he too had a feather.

Both versions feature a steam organ which originally played live music, but now plays pre-recorded tunes on a loop. The loop in Paris lasts 28 minutes, whereas the one in California lasts approximately two hours.

When the ride opened in California, it had ten carriages. After the 1983 Fantasyland refurb, when the location of the attraction was moved to the site of the former Skull Rock and the design was improved dramatically, there were still ten carriages. However, after “bruises and scrapes” were caused when an elephant separated from its support arm in 1989 (and after a similar incident the following year, in which an arm collapsed completely) the ride was temporarily closed. It was replaced in November 1990 by a version with sixteen carriages which had been originally built for Euro Disneyland (as it was then to be known). By the time the French park was opened, a sixteen carriage replica was built and installed therein.

Obviously, the Paris version doesn’t have the history of the West Coast one. This history includes, but is not limited to: Harry S. Truman’s 1957 refusal to ride due to the elephant being a Republican symbol, The Carpenter’s 1975 hit “Please Mr. Postman” being partially filmed thereon, the occasional carriage being sold for impressive sums, the original hinged flapping ears which never worked, the gold carriage to celebrate the park’s fiftieth birthday and the original intention to paint the elephants pink before Walt allegedly interjected about how this would make a mockery of the no-alcohol policy.

However, regardless of all the history behind the California attraction, I prefer the one in Paris, for a more ethical reason. Cast Members in Disneyland in Anaheim hand out feathers to those waiting in line. They then symbolically take these away before the Guests board. This is supposedly to demonstrate that (like in the film) you don’t need a feather to fly. However, the real reason for these props is to work out who will be riding which time. In Paris, occasionally anonymous bits of plastic are used for this purpose, but generally the Cast Members just count in their head. In this instance, I prefer the methodology of the latter. Although it gives people a greater chance of getting away with the Bubba Swap –which I won’t explain in case it encourages greater use- it means younger Guests are less likely to be disappointed when they discover their gift was only temporary.

 

TEA CUPS

This attraction is officially known as Mad Tea Party (MTP) in California, and Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups (MHTC) in Paris. Both were opening day attractions, which have been in Fantasyland from day one, although the location of MTP altered in 1983 so as to fit King Arthur Carrousel directly behind Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Whereas MTP has to close down in inclement conditions both for health and safety reasons (e.g. a greater chance of excited children slipping) and because the motors under the platforms are not able to function properly when wet, MHTC is covered and thus can theoretically operate in any weather.

Both rides feature eighteen cups. MHTC seats four riders in each, compared to MTP which allows five. Both feature a pre-recorded spiel, which Cast Members can override, and are surrounded by themed topiaries.

Both versions are accompanied by an instrumental version of The Unbirthday Song, as composed by Mack David, Jerry Livingston and Al Hoffman. Both have Chinese Lanterns hanging overhead (which make the attractions especially pretty when lit at night), and both officially refer to the giant spinning platform as “the tea tray”. Extending this metaphor, each disc is referred to as a “plate”, and each cup is on its own “saucer”.

The operator’s booth for MTP is shaped like a house with a thatched roof (such as the one Alice bursts through in the film, after consuming the “eat me” cookie), whereas for MHTC it is shaped like a sugar bowl.

 

CARROUSEL

In California, this is called King Arthur Carrousel, whereas the Paris equivalent is called Le Carrousel de Lancelot.

The two attractions feature titles based on the legend of The Sword in the Stone, although the 1963 Disney film of that name does not feature the character of Lancelot. In fact, the California version was open to the public long before the completion of the film on which it is themed.

Both carrousels run at speeds of 4.4mph with flexible durations, although the horses always end their rotation at the same location (and height) as they started.  Both feature a soundtrack consisting of looped Disney music lasting two hours, and both have leaping horses as opposed to the more traditional funfair style without bent knees.

Differences include: the shape of the queue-line; the Paris ride having been built by Disney whereas the Anaheim one had been built by Dentzel in 1875; the nine hand-painted panels in California telling the story of Sleeping Beauty whilst those in France tell that of The Lady of the Lake; the number of horses operational at any one time (currently 68 in Anaheim; 86 in Paris); and the colors. In 1975, all the horses on King Arthur Carrousel were painted white, whereas Le Carrousel de Lancelot features horses of many different colors.

 

Portions of this article first appeared in my musings for DLDHistory.com in February 2011 (Dumbo), April 2011 (Teacups) and June 2011 (Carrousels).

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Disney History DL vs DLP In the Parks

Anaheim vs. Paris: Peter Pan’s Flight

This week I shall be comparing “Peter Pan’s Flight” in Disneyland (California) with its equivalent in Disneyland Paris.

When I mention the Anaheim attraction in this article, I am referring only to how it stands after the 1983 refurb, which added the interior section of the queue-line, a Peter Pan audio-animatronic, the pirate-ship deck scene and the “Return from Neverland” finalé.

Both versions (California and Paris) have been residing in Fantasyland, in some form, since their parks’ respective opening. They use the same overhanging mechanism to transport the rider above scenes from Peter Pan in chronological order and have very similar “hidden” details, such as the smoke coming out of the chimneys, the blocks in the nursery spelling out D15NEY and the mermaid resembling Ariel.

The Paris ride is slightly longer than California’s which in part is because the vehicles in Europe travel slightly slower. The slower speed does make the attraction somewhat jerky on occasion though.

The more relaxed pace of the ride is the best explanation I can give for preferring the one in Paris. I do have other reasons however: Paris has a greater number of interesting details (such as the picture of George Darling in the Nursery), a soundtrack which suits the visuals more and a FastPass option.

Geographically, I also prefer the position of the one in Paris. It is next to Adventureland’s Pirates of The Caribbean whereas in California, Peter Pan’s Flight is close to the Castle. Although the latter makes sense in terms of keeping it with other cartoon based dark rides, the former helps with the transition from Fantasyland to Adventureland both thematically and visually.

 

Portions of this article first appeared in my musings for DLDHistory.com in January 2011.

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Disney History DL vs DLP Gone But Not Forgotten In the Parks

Anaheim vs. Paris: Pinocchio’s Daring Journey

Paris’s version of the Anaheim attraction “Pinocchio’s Daring Journey” is known as “Les Voyages de Pinocchio”, which translates literally into The Journeys of Pinocchio. Although the French name has never changed, in the early days of the Park, the attraction was known as “Pinocchio’s Fantastic Journey” for the benefit of English speakers, although now (as with several other attractions in the park) one name, in one language, is used for all Guests, regardless of their mother tongue.

For the sake of this article, I shall be abbreviating the name of the Anaheim attraction to PDJ and the Paris version to LVP.

Both are dark rides, which can be found in Fantasyland. Both last just over two minutes, although the woodcutter’s cart in which you travel, supposedly carved by Geppetto himself, seats four riders in PDJ and six in LVP.

The queue area for LVP is the bigger of the two, and bizarrely features a half carved duck, but has fewer details, flags or lights.

The attractions themselves are pretty similar experiences, going through the same scenes in the same order. PDJ has more Hidden Mickeys, such as in the spilt popcorn and in the carvings of the end scene; LVP has more hidden “donkeys”, thematically implying the true nature of “Pleasure Island”.

PDJ has a lot more dialogue throughout the attraction. What little dialogue LVP has is in French (including the lyrics to “An Actor’s Life for Me” in the opening Marionette scene). Even when Geppetto yells the sole word “Pinocchio”, it is done in a French accent rather than re-using the original audio.

On the whole though, I prefer PDJ. This is because LVP doesn’t use a hologram for the Lampwick scene, and has a slower, and thus less scary, emergence of Monstro.

 

Portions of this article first appeared in my musings for DLDHistory.com in December 2010.

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DL vs DLP In the Parks

Anaheim vs. Paris: Snow White’s Scary Adventures

The Paris equivalent of California’s “Snow White’s Scary Adventures” is simply called “Blanche-Neige et les Sept Nains” which translates literally as “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, thus giving the attraction the same name as the film upon which it is based.

Both are Fantasyland dark rides, which have existed in some form since the opening of their respective park.

In each you travel around the show building in a Dwarf’s Mine Car. These vehicles have a dwarf’s name on the front, in the appropriate language, which has made some people believe that they are supposed to be beds.

The Mine Cars in France are bigger, having three rows of riders, compared to Anaheim’s two.

In many other ways such as ride length, the audio-less sections and the exterior curtains periodically opening to reveal the Queen, the two rides are generally carbon copies.

One “mistake” that links the two is that the outside of the attraction and the queue area including the “Secret Chamber”, implies that the ride will start inside the Queen’s castle whereas it actually starts inside the Dwarfs’ cottage.

Likewise, in terms of chronology, the “Secret Chamber” section of the queue area of both features lighting and sound effects which imply that the Queen has already transformed into the witch, whereas this does not actually occur until half way through the ride.

Both “Secret Chambers” feature a book of spells behind faux-iron bars. Although both mention the poison apple (in their respective language), the France version also references “L’antidote…premier baiser d’amore” which translates roughly as “The antidote…love’s first kiss”.

I should also mention that in France, this Chamber does not feature the griffins that appear stateside. Creatures of a similar design, however, can be found in the Séance scene of Disneyland Paris’ Phantom Manor.

The recent(ish) changes to the lighting of California’s transformation scene have not yet made it to Europe, making that section feel crude in comparison. Also, in this room, California features the raven sitting on a beautiful throne, whereas in France, the familiar is perched on a spell book.  However, a greater amount of real estate means that Paris’s ride has a better “reveal” of this section, taking Guests over a drawbridge, before the double doors part.

Towards the end of both rides is the “cottage door” scene, in which the Hag is seen to be offering an apple. Both versions have had this replaced by a hologram although in France, for about six months, the entire arm of the witch (including the apple effect) had fallen off and was lying on the floor, in full view of riders.

In the following scene, the order of the dwarfs is identical in both versions, from Dopey on the far left to Doc on the far right nearest the Hag as she tries to lever an object onto the rider’s Mine Car. In Paris, this object is some form of boulder, whereas in California there have been arguments put forward saying this object is an oversized emerald.

In France, the lighting seems all over the place in this section, making it less clear what has happened and to whom.  However, this is compensated for in the final scene, which proves our heroes survived. This features waving figures of Snow White (on a horse), her Prince and Dopey, ears-a-wriggling, standing amongst various woodland creatures on a bridge. This addition may be the reason for the aforementioned addition to the book of spells.

Although visually more interesting than Anaheim’s simplistic open book stating “And they all lived happily ever after”, these animatronics look out of place. They appear to pout rather than smile, and our eponymous heroine seems to have grown her hair by at least six inches since we saw her in the ride’s opening.

I will end by mentioning one of my favourite details. In the foliage outside the attraction, there is a pickaxe. This may refer to the chap who the Queen sends to kill Snow White, but -seeing as in the 1937 Disney movie this character is a Huntsman with a dagger, rather than a Woodman with an axe- I would like to think that this prop is supposed to belong to one of the dwarfs, dropped in their rush to rescue our heroine – although I always was an idealist.

 

Portions of this article first appeared in my musings for DLDHistory.com in November 2010.