Sleeping Beauty Castle
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| Sleeping Beauty Castle | |
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| Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle, adorned with 50th Anniversary decorations. | |
| Locations and openings | |
| Disneyland July 17, 1955 | |
| Hong Kong Disneyland | |
| September 12, 2005 |
- This is an article about a structure at Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland. For the structure at Disneyland Resort Paris, see Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant. For the structures at the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland, see Cinderella Castle
Sleeping Beauty Castle is the fairy tale structure at the center of Disneyland Park and Hong Kong Disneyland Park. It is based on Germany's Neuschwanstein castle.
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[edit] Disneyland version
Opened July 17, 1955, the castle is the oldest of all the Disney castles. It reaches a height of 77 feet (23.4696 meters) but to park visitors it seems taller because of the use of forced perspective.
Beginning April 29, 1957, visitors were able to walk through the castle and view several dioramas depicting the story of Sleeping Beauty. The walk-through experience was discontinued in 2001 and it is widely speculated that this was in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11th. Another theory, however, speculates that the closure was necessary because of the inability to accommodate handicapped guests.
In celebration of Disneyland's 50th anniversary, the castle was repainted and 5 turrets were decorated by having various crowns, each representing a decade in Disneyland history[1], placed upon them:
- The creation of Disneyland is represented by a pair of famous “Ears” peeking up over the horizon to see the wonders to come.
- “A World on the Move,” otherwise known as the “New Tomorrowland” of 1967, is represented by rocket ships and accented by opalescent planets.
- The beautiful Blue Fairy represents the debut of the beloved Main Street Electrical Parade.
- The Indiana Jones Adventure is represented by the evil Eye of Mara, guarded by mesmerizing snakes.
- The 50th Anniversary of Disneyland is represented by fireworks and Tinker Bell.
Since May 2005, the castle has served as the focal point for the fireworks spectacular Remember... Dreams Come True.
[edit] Trivia
The drawbridge of the castle is functional but very rarely used. In fact, it has only been publicly lowered on two occasions: when the park opened in 1955, and when Fantasyland was rededicated in 1983.
It was originally going to be "Snow White's Castle" but was changed to coincide with the release of Sleeping Beauty.
The coat of arms over the entry archway is that of the Disney family.
When the moat surrounding the castle is dredged, any money retrieved from it is given to charity.
A model of the castle had the top of the castle placed on backwards from its original plans. Walt Disney decided it looked better and had it built that way.
Many people mistakingly call it: Sleepy Beauty's Castle. There is even a picture with the mistaken title in EPCOT.
[edit] Hong Kong Disneyland version
The Sleeping Beauty Castle located at Hong Kong Disneyland is of the same design as Disneyland's version. The paint scheme of Hong Kong Disneyland's structure is identical to that used when Disneyland's original opened in 1955. The final turret of Hong Kong Disneyland's castle was put in place on November 18, 2004, and the castle opened to the public on September 12, 2005.
[edit] Logo usage
As Sleeping Beauty Castle is a Disney icon, it has become the basis for the logo of Walt Disney Pictures, Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group, Buena Vista Music Group and Buena Vista International. It is also heavily featured in advertisements for the Wonderful World of Disney, on ABC and the Disney Channel.
The new logo of Walt Disney Pictures, which premiered with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), is not entirely inspired by the Sleeping Beauty Castle, but mostly by the larger Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World Resort.
