Mad Tea Party – DISNEY WORLD – MAGIC KINGDOM

Facts at a Glance About Mad Tea Party:

Overview of Mad Tea Party ride

Based on the Unbirthday Party from the classic Disney film Alice In Wonderland, this is a children’s-style ride that spins as you sit in your teacup ride vehicle. Surprisingly, although this has the appearance of a child’s ride and kids seem to love it, we hear that this is also one of the top draws at Magic Kingdom for hardcore thrill seekers. Teens and adults love this ride for the spinning/disoriented/drunken feeling they get. The cups can spin quite fast and even rock on their bases if you have strong people spinning the wheel. So this ride can be as tame or as thrilling as you make it.

To reduce the risk of motion sickness you may wish to avoid eating just before riding.

Be careful getting off of the ride because the spinning can make guests unsteady on their feet.

Queue information for Mad Tea Party

The queue area is mostly shady. Lines can get long since it’s a slow-loading ride.

Ride car & boarding of Mad Tea Party ride

The ride cars look like giant tea saucers and cups with open tops. Guests sit in the tea cups. You must step up about 5 inches over the lip of the saucer, then step over to the cup, and up about 12 inches over the side of the cup to get in. The opening of the cup that you step through has a covering which is closed once you’re in the tea cup. The seats are benches and they are shallow, meaning they’re not very big from front to back. They have backs. Because guests are sitting in a teacup, the bench and the back are both curved.

Those who are tall may wish to ask to ride alone in a teacup, as one of our Facebook Group members suggested:

Handicapped info: Guests with wheelchairs who can walk or be carried by a member of their party will leave their wheelchairs at the entrance and walk or be carried to the teacup. If you need your wheelchair brought to the teacup to board, you can do so. If you’re using a regular teacup, it’s not an easy transfer. Due to the saucer, the wheelchair will be at least a foot or more away from the seat. You must transfer from your wheelchair into the ride cup vehicle over the saucer and through a fairly small opening on the side of the cup, as described above. There’s nothing to hold onto and the wheel in the center of the cup may make it difficult for a member of your party to assist you.

One of the Mad Tea Party cups opens up on the side to make a bigger opening. If using this, you still need to step over the saucer and over the side of the cup. There is also a transfer bench that can be used with the opening. That creates a bench from just outside the saucer to the ride seat. A wheelchair can be parked at the end of the bench and then the guest can ‘bump’ along the bench to the seat.

After you transfer, the wheelchair will be moved out of the ride area, away from the ride platform. The wheelchair may be brought back to the side of the saucer to transfer back at the end of the ride.

Tip: If you have any difficulty walking, you may want to send another member of your party ahead to ‘claim’ a teacup for you.

More details about the Mad Tea Party ride

The platform the teacups are on spins, and the teacups spin on the platform. You’re able to decide whether to spin wildly or to keep the ride gentle by how you turn the wheel in the center of the cup. The cups themselves can stay immobile or spin by using that center wheel. Even those with strong stomachs sometimes can end up queasy.

People who are weak or have difficulty maintaining an upright position should be aware that the spinning motion creates centrifugal force. This can make it more challenging to stay upright against the force of the spin.

keep in mind that you may be slightly dizzy or unsteady when getting off. This is especially important if you are assisting someone else.

There are no restraints on this attraction. Here are some thoughts from Nurse, Disney fan and contributor Sue Mickelson:

“When my daughter with spastic cerebral palsy was smaller and more ‘portable’, we used the Teacups as vestibular therapy when her muscles were particularly tight. A spin on the Teacups followed by some stretching helped to loosen her muscles and make her more comfortable. She does not have good side to side sitting balance, but had little problem with sitting in the teacup. The vestibular stimulation provided by the spinning can make this either the ‘best’ or ‘worst’ ride for people with autism, depending on whether they like that kind of spinning stimulation or not. Some people who use spinning as a calming or focusing activity really like the Teacups.”

When the ride stops your teacup may not be near the exit point, which means a longer walk. The cups can be uncomfortable for tall people because of the tight leg space. You’ll hear lots of screaming and noise from the guests enjoying the ride. Combined with the music accompanying the ride, it’s gets loud.

Take a look at Mad Tea Party: