While "Alice in Wonderland" is plum-packed with delirious delights aplenty, we readers never learn the exact temperature of the rabbit hole that our heroine gamely enters at the story's start, nor do we know if the caterpillar's mushroom cap is hot or cold.
And what is the exact humidity and dew point at the royal croquet game? Forever a mystery, as is the general weather of Wonderland.
But fans of the timeless classic might generally agree that the merry mood of the book dovetails nicely with wintertime and our real-world holidays.
Which means this: "Alice in Wonderland" has easily transformed into "Alice in Winterland" at CHILL, the Queen Mary's annual seasonal spectacular, an event that's very much built around the concepts of whimsy and wonder.
Update: Do note that CHILL's famous "ice" concept is found on the rink and not among the "Alice" elements, which are beautiful, over-sized, glow-cool lanterns.
However, there's quite a bit of ice at the Long Beach landmark from Wednesday, Nov. 23 through Sunday, Jan. 8, but none of it is offshore, in the form of frozen floating water. This is Southern California, after all, and ocean ice is a bit too whimsical.
Ice, though, is front-and-centered at CHILL via the massive ice rink, which keeps the iconic ocean-liner in view, and The Glacier Glide, the six-lane ice tubing area.
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As for the "Alice"-themed lanterns? Look for a glowing rabbit, and caterpillar, and other book-sweet touchstones inside the "interactive, immersive 14,000-square-foot experience." This imagination-rich space includes the Mad Hatter's Workshop, the Hedge Maze, and more rabbit-y destinations straight from the pages of the tail (er, tale, we do mean).
Special enchanting enticements continue to abound, from a lit-up carousel to a martini bar, so eye the extras before turning your own ship, or caterpillar, or preferred mode of transport, for Long Beach.
And there's a CHILL-related Queen Mary hotel package, too, should you want to curl up in one of the ship's historic rooms with your treasured copy of "Alice" following an evening of twirls on the rink and Chesire Cat sightings.
Keep in mind that if a December day turns out to be especially toasty, the ice'll still be frosty down by the fabled ocean-liner, so prepare to weather any summery weather at one of SoCal's brrr-iest spots.
