Alice's New Wonderland

Over the weekend, Alice in Wonderland re-opened after a several-month refurbishment.  Gone were the unfortunately unsightly temporary safety railings on the outside track area over the loading zone.  But what was a surprise were actual improvements made inside the ride.  Vivid animated projections have been seamlessly integrated into the physical sets and animatronics, and the result is rather stunning.

It goes without saying that the photos below contain spoilers. In addition, I've posted a video at the end of the post with an entire on-ride POV for those who are curious and don't care about being spoiled.  That said, if you have a chance to visit the Disneyland Resort anytime soon, just skip the rest of this post and see things for yourself. You won't be disappointed!

Guests will notice a difference immediately upon going down the rabbit hole, as projections induce a psychedlic experience.

Upon the door opening, guests immediately see a projection integrated into the set.

Instead of a static sign to the White Rabbit's House, Alice chases after the rabbit ala the movie.

Many elements remain the same. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum misdirect riders as they cruise by.

The White Rabbit is still late for a very important date...

Can you tell what is physical and what is projected in this scene?

Well, there you go.  Compare the differences. It's tough to distinguish between real and projected until they move!

Whimsical creatures buzz around the background too, although this means the flying horse figure is now gone.

The Caterpillar smokes out letters. Who... Are... You...?

In addition to her appearance in the first projection, Alice is a physical figure here.

Onto the Royal Gardens of the Queen of Hearts.  This part is just touched up.

Guests still see the cards marching around and painting the roses red, but there are now red paint projections dripping down some of the plantlife!

Ah, so this was the very important date the White Rabbit was late for!

There's a new projection when the Queen of Hearts plays her game of croquet, but I couldn't photograph that clearly.  So here's the next scene, where she screams, "OFF WITH HER HEAD!!"

Projections of cards flying up and out towards the riders flip by in the background.

Before entering the outside, two cards jump down to try to stop the riders. Here's one of them.

After returning indoors, the old tunnel toward the head swinging Chesire Cat has now been replaced by a happy tea pot scene!

They poot and whistle to the music, and the animations and billowing smoke are quite adorable.

This adds a lot more liveliness to what used to be a relatively static scene.

Finally, the Mad Tea Party scene has been changed up a bit to include Alice in it!

I hope you enjoyed that.  The photos were taken on my 50mm f/1.4. I do wish I had the Nikkor 28mm f/1.8 that I used in yesterday's photos, but maybe next time.  Finally, here's a video of the whole ride. Apologies for the slight unfocus in the beginning and end of the video. I didn't catch it in camera and didn't have time for another pass through.