Five Things to Know About the Magic Carpets of Aladdin

Inspired by the Disney animated hit Aladdin, The Magic Carpets of Aladdin is a spinner attraction, similar to the famous Dumbo ride. The difference? Instead of an elephant, you’re on a magic carpet and a camel could spit on you! While the ride isn’t a “thrill” ride, it’s still a lot of fun – and one that the whole family can enjoy. Read on to learn more about this whole new world, but if you’d rather fly straight to the details, here’s your shortcut.

1. You’ll have a Bazaar view while you wait

The queue itself isn’t much to speak of. You line up around the perimeter of the ride underneath a “canopy” that provides some shade from the sun, while some fans circulate the air. But that’s not to say there’s no theming! The open-air nature of the queue means that the surrounding space is the theming of this queue … straight out of Agrabah.

As the first Aladdin-themed attraction, the Imagineers knew the ride couldn’t just be plopped down in Adventureland. So, they created the Agrabah Bazaar in the Arabian Village as a setting. Surrounding the ride you’ll find shops themed as those appearing in the film, as if you were in the streets of Agrabah itself. The walkway pavement is embedded with broken tiles, gems, jewelry, and ‘coins’ all around the area, lending to the bazaar atmosphere. All of this is intended to help you to feel as if you’ve been transported to Aladdin’s world.

Adding to the experience, once you’re done with the ride, Aladdin and Jasmine are often available to Meet & Greet in the area.

2. You’ll fly on a magic carpet

The Magic Carpets of Aladdin is a “hub-and-spoke” spinner ride, like Dumbo the Flying Elephant. Ride vehicles are decorated to evoke the magic carpet in the animated movie. As you ride, you spin around a giant genie bottle and magic lamp while Middle Eastern music and themes from the movie play. And to add to the excitement, you’ll find there is a gold camel that spits water on riders. (There is another camel by the ride’s entrance who spits on pedestrians!)

When the ride starts, your vehicle will rise in the air and spin. To avoid getting wet, riders need to maneuver their carpet accordingly and fly high, above the spit zone! Riders in the front seat can move the carpet up and down with a lever. Those in the back press a scarab to tip your carpet forward or backward. Together, these two options can help avoid “camel spit” on your ride…or maybe steer you right into it, if that’s your thing.

The entire ride from takeoff to landing lasts about a minute and a half. Once you’ve got the hang of dodging the camel, you’ll be able to spend a couple of turns enjoying the view of the Bazaar from the air. Often overlooked, the center of the attraction has a lot going on. The genie bottle is decorated with characters from the animated feature. In fact, the entire ride is quite ornate and filled with little details like the scarab in the rear seat that controls the carpet’s tilt.

3. It brought a whole new world to Adventureland

The Magic Carpets of Aladdin opened on May 23, 2001, nine years after the eponymous animated classic Aladdin debuted. It was the first new attraction in more than 25 years for Adventureland, preceded by Pirates of Caribbean in 1973!

Prior to the ride’s construction, the area was themed as a bazaar. But the individual shops were themed to different areas of the world such as Polynesia, the Orient, and the Caribbean. When the ride went in, the shops were either demolished to make way, or redecorated to appear as though they were part of a bazaar in a single location – Agrabah.

The camels had quite a journey too; they weren’t created especially for the Magic Carpets of Aladdin. They were originally featured in Aladdin’s Royal Caravan parade at Disney’s MGM Studios (now Hollywood Studios) from 1992 through 1995. When they retired from the parade, they lived outside the since defunct Soundstage Restaurant. Finally, they found their permanent home in Adventureland, spitting on guests hopefully for years to come.

After the Magic Kingdom’s ride opened, a second version – Flying Carpets Over Agrabah – opened at Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris in 2002. And a third version, Jasmine’s Flying Carpets, came to Tokyo DisneySea in Tokyo Disney Resort in 2011.

4. These secrets shouldn’t be swept under the carpet.

⭐ There is a small charm embedded in the cement near the Agrabah Bazaar shop that contains a tiny classic Mickey.

⭐ The Disneyland Paris version, Flying Carpets Over Agrabah, has a backdrop of the Arabian skyline to help riders feel more like they’re flying through the city of Agrabah.

⭐ The Tokyo DisneySea version,  Jasmine’s Flying Carpets, has actual fountains under the flying carpets.

⭐ The spitting camels aren’t tripped by a sensor or controlled automatically. There is a Disney Cast Member who controls the water jets in the camels’ mouths.

⭐ If you want to avoid the camel spit while riding (there’s just no delicate way to put that), take your carpet up as high as you can. It’s the mid-height riders who will get wet.

5. The Nuts and Bolts.

The Magic Carpets of Aladdin is located in Adventureland in front of Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, across from The Jungle Cruise. As an outdoor attraction, bad weather will affect whether or not the ride is operating, but part of the queue is covered to provide shade or protection from drizzle.

Ride vehicles – sorry, magic carpets – have two hard bench seats with a back, capable of holding 2 to 3 guests each. Two average-size adults or one adult plus two small children should fit comfortably in each row. Two adults and one child in a row can be a squeeze, depending on the size of the child. There’s a fabric lap belt for all guests in a row to share. Note that there is no “door closure” on the carpet, so the access area is open while the vehicle is in motion; smaller kids should be seated to the inside of the bench.

Guests must step up over a wall and then down to get into the vehicle. There is one wheelchair-capable vehicle; those in an ECV or wheelchair must transfer to a standard wheelchair in order to ride The Magic Carpets of Aladdin. There are no health or safety advisories for The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, nor any height requirement. But it’s worth knowing that guests prone to motion sickness or uncomfortable with heights may want to skip this carpet ride.

Magic Carpets of Aladdin is not open for Early Theme Park Entry but is open during Extended Evening Theme Park Hours. Lightning Lane Multi Pass is available, but rarely necessary. If you’re visiting during a crowded time, you may still want to visit very early or very late in the day because the ride is very slow loading.

The Bottom Line.

Even though this ride is essentially Dumbo but with carpets, we try to ride every time we visit the Magic Kingdom. You get “a new fantastic point of view” of the surrounding area, which is worth the trip if you have the time. On the other hand, if you need to pare down your list of rides because time is limited, this is definitely one that could be taken off.

Are you a fan of the Magic Carpets of Aladdin? Do you love the Agrabah Bazaar? Let us know in the comments.