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.