You know what I love? In a park teeming with classic, one-of-a-kind attractions, one of the most popular attractions is this, a simple tea cups style attraction. I mean how can such a simple concept that fractions of the cost of one of Disney’s more expensive, glorified attractions be more popular? I don’t know, but I am one that is mad for the Mad Tea Party. Located in Fantasyland, this typically has waits around 15-20 minutes or so due to the ride’s popularity among young kids. One other note, for a Disney attraction, this is a rarity as there is very little theming at all present, though all of the attractions tea cups do look nice and maintained well.
Once boarding one of the various tea cups, which can be very cramped by the way if multiple adults try squeezing into one cup, riders are able to easily control the spinning of their cup via the center wheel. The center wheel is incredibly easy to spin, leading to a dizzying ride experience that very few tea cups out there can match. Funny story- way back when I was 5 or 6 and I went on this with my father, he told me that the center wheel was nothing more than a handlebar to hold on, presumably due to his hatred of spinning. Back then I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Mad Tea Party, but boy did the added spinning really make this attraction stand out. Really the only major complaint is the somewhat short cycle which just pales in comparison to other tea cup style attractions out there.
I hope it’s apparent by my review that I am madly in love with the Mad Tea Party. While certainly is such a simple concept, Disney executes the design to pretty much perfection like very few parks can even come close to. Really the only chink in the armor is the aforementioned short cycle, but the overall quality of the ride experience is enough to overshadow its shortcoming. So do I recommend it? Yes, but only if time allows it after you’ve ridden Disney’s more classic, original attractions. Also, this does make a nice attraction to pass some time if waiting for a Pooh Fastpass due to their close proximity to each other.
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