Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant
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Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant (literally "the Castle of Sleeping Beauty") is a structure that stands at the centre of the Disneyland Park at Disneyland Resort Paris and is a continuation of a concept first seen at Disneyland in California.
The castle is home to an Audio-Animatronic dragon, which at 27 meters from head to tail was the largest Animatronic figure ever built when the park opened in April of 1992. The building also features a gallery of displays which illustrate the story of Sleeping Beauty in tapestries, stained glass windows and figures, a shop selling Christmas ornaments year-round and another shop specialising in handmade glass figures.
[edit] History
- "Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland was inspired by the Neuschwanstein Castle in Southern Germany. This European influence was fine for building a castle in Anaheim, but the fact that castles exist just down the road from Disneyland Paris challenged us to think twice about our design". —Tony Baxter, executive designer Walt Disney Imagineering
Since Europe is home to the castles that inspired the structures at Disney's first three parks, Imagineering reconsidered the edifice which would stand at the hub of its first European theme park. Many different concepts were created and considered, ranging from slightly modified versions of Disney's existing castles to radically new structures to stand instead in the castle's place. The team eventually settled on Imagineer Tom Morris' approach to the established Disney castle. Finished in 1992, Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant stands 45 meters.
[edit] Trivia
- Inspirations cited by Imagineering include illustrations from Book of Hours Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry and the Mont Saint Michel monastery in Normandy.
- As Charles Perrault had not detailed the castle in his 1697 fairy tale, Imagineering had few restrictions regarding its physical appearance. However, Walt Disney Pictures' own 1959 film Sleeping Beauty provided the inspiration for, among other things, Le Château's surrounding square trees.
- References to French architectural traditions include several fleurs-de-lis incorporated into goldleaf filigree.
[edit] References
- Imagineers (1998). Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind the Dreams Look At Making the Magic Real. Disney Editions. ISBN 0786883723.
- Alain Littaye, Didier Ghez, Yann Arthus-Bertrand (2002). Disneyland Paris, From Sketch to Reality. Nouveau Millénaire. ISBN 2951788304.
