Sleeping Beauty Castle is the fairy tale structure castle at the center of Disneyland Park and Hong Kong Disneyland. It is based on the late-19th century Neuschwanstein Castle,[1] with some French inspirations (Notre Dame de Paris and the Hospices de Beaune especially).
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| Sleeping Beauty Castle | |
| Disneyland Park | |
| Land | Fantasyland |
|---|---|
| Theme | Sleeping Beauty |
| Opening date | July 17, 1955 |
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Opened July 17, 1955, the castle is the oldest of all Disney castles. Though it reaches a height of only 77 feet, it was designed to appear taller through a process known as forced perspective; design elements are larger at the foundation and smaller at the turrets. Sometimes swans will swim in the moat, so the WDI workers lined the moat with junipers. Swans will not eat junipers. The castle initially featured an empty upper level that was never intended to house an attraction, but Walt Disney was not satisfied with what he viewed as wasted space, and challenged his Imagineers to find some use for the space.
Beginning April 29, 1957, visitors were able to walk through the castle and view several dioramas depicting the story of Sleeping Beauty. The original dioramas were designed in the style of Eyvind Earle, production designer for Disney's 1959 film Sleeping Beauty, and were then redone in 1977 to resemble the window displays on Main Street, U.S.A.. The walkthrough was closed for unspecified reasons in October 2001; popular belief claims the September 11th attacks and the potential danger that ensued played a major factor in the closing.
On July 17, 2008, Disney announced that the Sleeping Beauty Castle walkthrough would reopen in the style of the original Earle dioramas, enhanced with new technology not available in 1957. The walkthrough reopened on November 27, 2008 at 5:00 PM, drawing long lines going as far back as the Hub. Unlike previous incarnations, visitors who are unable to climb stairs or navigate the passageways of the Castle can still experience the walkthrough "virtually" in a special room on the Castle's ground floor.[2] This room is lavishly themed, and presents the closed-captioned CGI walkthrough recreation on a high-definition TV. This same virtual recreation is included on the Sleeping Beauty 50th Anniversary Platinum Edition DVD.
It is a common myth that the Disney family coat of arms hangs above the archway to the castle. The Disney family coat of arms [3] is composed of three fleur de lis whereas the coat of arms on the castle [4] is three lions passant in pale. The origins and meaning of the coat of arms on Sleeping Beauty Castle is unknown at this time.
It is known that the coat of arms was not originally on the castle but was placed there sometime between June 1965 [5] and July 1965.[6]
In celebration of Disneyland's 50th anniversary, the castle was repainted and five turrets were decorated with stylized crowns, each representing a decade in the park's history.[7]
| Sleeping Beauty Castle | |
| Hong Kong Disneyland | |
| Land | Fantasyland |
|---|---|
| Theme | Sleeping Beauty |
| Opening date | September 12, 2005 |
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Hong Kong's Sleeping Beauty Castle is a carbon copy of its sibling in the US. The rooftops of the Hong Kong's castle use a dark shade of blue while the US uses a lighter blue shade so the US rooftops can be seen more 'shiny' because it causes the reflection of sunlight, the same thing happens to the pink walls, in Hong Kong, the castle looks more medieval because Hong Kong Disneyland's castle uses more pink than the US, the accents and cornice of the Hong Kong castle is more' white and pink' while the US uses more golden accents, cornice and decorations so the US looks more fairytale while day time. The Hong Kong castle is surrounded by less trees than the US's so fireworks view from the plaza to the castle in Hong Kong is wider while the other view was blocked by tall trees.
In celebration of Hong Kong Disneyland's 5th Anniversary, Celebration in the Air, unlike Disneyland, the castle has been transformed into Tinker Bell’s Pixie Dusted Castle. The castle is decorated by golden pixie dust, which sparkles and shimmers in the sun, and illuminates by night.
As Sleeping Beauty Castle is a Disney icon, it and the Magic Kingdom's Cinderella Castle have become the basis for the logo of Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Television, Disney Music Group and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It was also heavily featured in advertisements for the Wonderful World of Disney, formerly shown on the Disney Channel.
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