View source for The Magic Carpets of Aladdin

{{Infobox attraction
| name = The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
| park = [[Magic Kingdom]]
| land = [[Adventureland (Magic Kingdom)|Adventureland]]
| type = Aerial carousel
| opened = May 24, 2001
| designer = [[Walt Disney Imagineering]]
| manufacturer = Zamperla
| height = None
| status = Operating
}}

'''The Magic Carpets of Aladdin''' is an aerial carousel attraction in [[Adventureland (Magic Kingdom)|Adventureland]] at [[Magic Kingdom]] at [[Walt Disney World]] in Florida. Based on the 1992 animated film ''Aladdin'', it carries guests on carpet-shaped vehicles around a central hub topped by a giant Genie lamp, with riders controlling the height and tilt of their own carpet as they fly. It is closely modelled on [[Dumbo the Flying Elephant]], adapted to hold more guests per vehicle, and it brought a permanent ''Aladdin'' presence to the park for the first time.<ref>https://www.parksavers.com/the-magic-carpets-of-aladdin-ride-review/</ref><ref>https://themickeywiki.com/index.php?title=The_Magic_Carpets_of_Aladdin&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile</ref>

== History ==

The attraction grew out of two pressures in the late 1990s. Disney wanted a park attraction built around ''Aladdin'', which had been a major animated hit earlier in the decade, and Magic Kingdom operations wanted another high-demand spinner to take some pressure off Dumbo, which remained one of the park's most popular rides for young children. Imagineer Jim Shull proposed answering both needs with a new hub-and-spoke ride for Adventureland, themed to the flying carpet sequence from the film.<ref>https://mickeyblog.com/2024/03/03/step-in-time-the-history-of-the-magic-carpets-of-aladdin/</ref>

Capacity shaped the design. Where a Dumbo elephant holds two riders, the carpets were made to hold four, seated in two rows. That change gave the back row a job of its own: the front row would control altitude, as on Dumbo, while the back row received a second control that tilts the carpet from side to side. The ride mechanism was built by the Italian manufacturer Zamperla, and the central column was decorated with different versions of the Genie, a design Shull traced to a jar he had seen in the Morocco pavilion at [[EPCOT]]. A full-size carpet vehicle was modelled during development so the team could test the seating and controls before the ride was built.<ref>https://themickeywiki.com/index.php?title=The_Magic_Carpets_of_Aladdin&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile</ref>

The Magic Carpets of Aladdin opened on May 24, 2001, as the centrepiece of Agrabah Bazaar, a small expansion of Adventureland that added Arabian marketplace theming and shops around the ride.<ref>https://www.themouseforless.com/walt-disney-world/parks/magic-kingdom/the-magic-carpets-of-aladdin/</ref><ref>https://www.parksavers.com/the-magic-carpets-of-aladdin-ride-review/</ref> It was the first permanent ''Aladdin''-themed attraction at Walt Disney World. Versions of the same basic ride followed elsewhere: Flying Carpets Over Agrabah opened at Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris on March 16, 2002, and Jasmine's Flying Carpets opened at Tokyo DisneySea on July 18, 2011.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Carpets_Over_Agrabah</ref>

== Experience ==

Guests board one of sixteen carpets, each seating four guests in two rows of two, beside [[Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room]] in the heart of Adventureland. There is no height requirement, so the ride is open to guests of all ages, including the park's youngest visitors.<ref>https://www.parksavers.com/the-magic-carpets-of-aladdin-ride-review/</ref>

Once the circuit begins, the carpets circle the central lamp for about ninety seconds while music from the film plays. A lever in the front row raises and lowers the carpet, and a control in the back row tilts it left and right, so a carpet's flight depends on both rows working — or arguing — together. The motion is gentle, with no drops or dark-ride scenes, and the height on offer gives riders a brief, open view across Adventureland's rooftops and trees before the carpets settle back to the loading platform.<ref>https://themickeywiki.com/index.php?title=The_Magic_Carpets_of_Aladdin&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile</ref>

The detail most guests remember is not on the ride at all. Two large golden camels stand by the attraction and periodically spit water — one aimed at the flying carpets, the other turned outward to catch passers-by on the Adventureland walkway. Flying at a middle height is the surest way to meet the first camel's aim. The camels had a park life before the carpets: they were originally created for Aladdin's Royal Caravan, a parade that ran at Disney-MGM Studios from December 21, 1992 to August 27, 1995, and after the parade ended they stood outside that park's Soundstage Restaurant before being moved to Magic Kingdom when the carpets were built in 2001.<ref>https://themickeywiki.com/index.php?title=The_Magic_Carpets_of_Aladdin&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile</ref><ref>https://mickeyblog.com/2024/03/03/step-in-time-the-history-of-the-magic-carpets-of-aladdin/</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Adventureland (Magic Kingdom)]]
* [[Dumbo the Flying Elephant]]
* [[Astro Orbiter]]
* [[Magic Kingdom]]
* [[Jungle Cruise]]

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Attractions]]
[[Category:Magic Kingdom]]
[[Category:Aerial carousels]]
[[Category:2001 establishments in Florida]]