This past Friday, Disney California Adventure surprised visitors with a soft opening of their new nighttime dance party, the Alice-in-Wonderland-themed Mad T Party. 

Atmosphere

Knowing that the “Rabbit Hole” was opening at 7:00, we got there just before so we could see the whole grand opening first night extravaganza. You can see by the photo below, that the soft opening wasn’t too big of a secret; lots of people!

As far as seating goes, Disney really did it right. I am totally in love with the Linvin plastic furniture that they purchased to fill the area. If you want one of these in your home, though, it’s going to set you back about $895 (I did the research, I hope Disney got a bulk discount!). There are plenty of chairs, but you might have to fight me for a purple one….

And as the night wore on, the atmosphere got even more colorful…

While waiting for the Rabbit Hole to open, which basically meant walking though a long tunnel of mist, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum greeted guests and put on a little banter to entertain us while we waited. I wonder if these guys shaved their heads for the part? 

Also, check the tough guy neck tats on the backs of their heads. Pretty funny!

Drinks

As soon as we got past the Tweedles, we hung a right to the new “Drink Me” bar, where I noticed some very fun decor.

My absolute favorite item in the whole Mad T Party? The awesome upside down table chandelier displayed in the middle of the bar’s ceiling.

I was also digging the giant key that hangs as decor on the side of the bar.

The menu at the Drink Me bar features two different beers: Blue Moon & Fat Tire Amber Ale.  There are also three specialty drinks: the Croquet Tini, The Mad Hat-Ito, and a Mad Long Island Ice T Party. Adults 21 and over with ID can purchase 2 alcoholic beverages.

Not interested in an $11.50 drink? There are also some non-alcoholic beverages available at Drink Me. You can try the Cotton Candy Lemonade, Fuze Beverages, Coca Cola bottled products, or bottled water. The House of Cards bar located across the way serves the same drink menu.

We had the Mad Hat-Ito, which was quite good. Honestly, I’m a sucker for anything that glitters or glows. Since this had the signature Disney California Adventure glowing ice cube in it, I automatically loved it.

My boys both tried the Cotton Candy Lemonade, which was an instant hit. It’s very sweet, but it is pretty delicious. Not sure I could drink a whole cup of it, but my kids sucked it down immediately. And for the size of the cup, I didn’t think that $3.00 was too bad of a price.

We did not have a chance to try one, but I did see a man holding a Croquet Tini and had no problem asking him for a photo. They come in very cool light up plastic glasses and he said it was delish!

Another drink purchasing opportunity was the Fuze Truck, which is parked over near the Mad Arcade (which we’ll talk about a little later). All of the drinks available here are non-alcoholic.

The hot item over at the Fuze truck were the “Cool, Colorful, Frozen Concoctions.” I was still working on my Mad Hat-Ito, so I didn’t order any thing here. 

Although, I was lucky enough to sample several of these at the Mad T Party Annual Passholder Preview about a month ago and I quite enjoyed the cotton-candy/sour apple combo. 

I saw several people purchasing the souvenir Mad Hatter T Cup. But what I noticed was that no one was “mixing” their flavors! 

The title of the beverages is “Twisted Cheshire Concoctions,” but I don’t think it was clear that you should actually get two flavors in one cup — which is what I was told by super star Disney concept development for food operations, Karlos Siqueiros. 

So come on people, mix your “Jabberwocky Juice” and your “Tweedle Blue!” Frozen drink options are: Tweedle Blue (Cotton Candy), Hatter’s Mandarin Fury (Mandarin Orange), Jabberwocky Juice (Granny Smith Apple), and Cheshire Chiller (Desert Pear). In a plain ol’ plastic cup they are $4.19, or you can get them in souvenir cups for $7.19-$7.59.

Eats…or Should I Say, Mad Treats…

One thing I do feel would make Mad T Party much better would be to offer some themed food — not candy and snacks, but maybe an actual eatery? Back in the day, Glow Fest had some food trucks, which would be perfect for Mad T Party as well. 

I’d love to see the Grilled Cheese Truck roll in for a visit. Or how about a nacho truck? Yes please. Enough of my two cents, let me show you the line of cute candies and snacks entitled “Mad Treats” that are now available at Candy Palace, Pooh Corner, and other Disneyland Resort sweets shops.

Side note: If this is the same “World of Color” popcorn that was served during the show for a while, it’s nasty. Even my kids wouldn’t eat it. Too sweet and really messy.

I didn’t get a chance to try any of these yet. Really the only thing I am interested in checking out are the sour lollipops, and that is mostly because I am in love with the iridescent color of them!

Entertainment

And, just for fun, I figured I’d include a little bit of info on the entertainment at Mad T Party. My boys (and my husband) spent some time in the arcade, which they really enjoyed. 

Lots of adults and children were in there having a blast. Although the “classic” games of Flynn’s are gone, the classic price has stayed the same. Still just one token (a quarter) per game, which I think is a steal.

The games were was fun to look at but weren’t anything I’d never seen before — pretty much just regular arcade games converted into Mad T Party themes.

Right near the arcade and the House of Cards Bar was a stage that featured two different performers: A dance crew and then this rainbow human slinky thing. I really have no idea what the official name is, but I did get some video to share with you.

And when the performance ended, it was really bizarre to watch the “slinky” walk off stage!

The slinky alternated with a dance crew. I didn’t watch them long enough to form an opinion either way. I actually prefer watching the guests dance — there were some pretty serious dance circles happening.

On the main stage the Mad T Party house band alternated sets with DJ White Rabbit (aka @djmichaelpaul), whose glowing ears flashed with the music. 

The crowd seemed pretty pumped, and really the music and band were pretty good. It was a nice mix of older classics like Blondie’s “Call Me,” and modern one hit wonders like LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem.” There was even some No Doubt, Queen, & Stevie Wonde thrown in there. I guess you could say there was a little something for everyone.

I didn’t get any band photos, but did get some of DJ White Rabbit — both with and without the glowing ears (which, by the way, I think should be part of the merchandise line).

Overall

Overall, I wouldn’t say the Mad T Party is something you need to hit on a regular basis. The drinks were fun, the atmosphere is colorful, and it’s great people watching. I loved the look after dark. All the neon and lighting is fabulous. 

I’d say check it out once or twice and decide for yourself. You may or may not feel like this guy…

Can’t wait to hear YOUR reviews…

Have you been or are you a planning a trip down the Rabbit Hole? Favorite Drink? Favorite snack? Let us know your thoughts. 

Heather Sievers is the Disney Food Blog’s Dining in Disneyland columnist. See more of her columns here!