King Arthur Carrousel is an authentic antique carrousel featuring 68 prancing white horses. The ride recreates the great charge of the legendary Knights of the Round Table and their brave leader, King Arthur of Camelot.
King Arthur Carrousel is a handcrafted Dentzel carrousel built in Philadelphia in 1922. When Walt Disney first purchased the carrousel from Sunnyside Beach Park in Toronto, it featured horses, giraffes, deer and other animals. Walt wanted everyone to ride a galloping horse like King Arthur, so additional antique horses were located. Many of the other animals were relocated to Casey Jr. Circus Train.
The canopy is designed to evoke a royal crown. Trimmed with 3,328 sparkling lights and ornate filigree, 9 hand-painted vignettes from Sleeping Beauty were added to connect the carrousel to the nearby Sleeping Beauty Castle.
Disneyland Railroad and King Arthur Carrousel are key to the creation of Disneyland Park. Two of Walt Disney's original inspirations were his love of model trains and the merry-go-round at Griffith Park - which Walt would visit regularly with his 2 young daughters.
Touring Tips
- The wait is shortest early in the day, but generally the queue is not long and moves quickly.
- The ride is about 2 minutes long - the carrousel revolves 8 times.
- There is no height requirement, and although there are belts to help secure riders to their horses, smaller children should be held on by an adult.
- The Sword in the Stone Ceremony is held next to the carrousel, so Merlin makes frequent appearances.
Facts
- King Arthur Carrousel is the carousel in Fantasyland at Disneyland which was featured in the telecast of Disneyland's 1955 opening day.
- Because of the overwhelming popularity of the carousel's single white horse, since 1975 all horses have been painted white. Each horse on the carousel has a name; a complete list is available at City Hall on Main Street, U.S.A.
- Jingles is the lead horse, and Walt's favorite, named for its very ornate carvings which include beautiful straps of jingle bells hanging from her saddle and cantle. For Disneyland's 50th anniversary in 2005, Jingles was repainted gold from nose to tail, trimmed in 18k gold leaf and set apart as a photo opportunity near the Dumbo Flying Elephants queue.
- Inspired by the legend of Excalibur from The Sword in the Stone, Merlin hosts a ceremony nearby to determine which guest can pull the sword from the stone to become king for a day.
- There are 68 unique horses and four stationary "chariot" benches. All of the horses are unique, and are repainted every two years. Many of the horses have names. Jingles is often considered the lead horse (she was painted gold for Disneyland's 50th anniversary celebration) and has bells and flowers in her hair. There are also Avanti, Dante, Daisy, Flash, and King. The horses were originally of all different colors, but they were all repainted white in 1975.
History
Inspired by the Griffith Park carousel, Walt Disney wanted something similar for his new theme park: a carousel consisting of all jumpers. A park model Menagerie Carousel was purchased and moved to Disneyland in 1954. The carousel was built by William Dentzel in 1875 and had been operated at Sunnyside Beach Park in Toronto, Ontario, since 1922; it had three courses of horses and other animals on a platform 72 feet (22 m) in diameter.
The attraction was refurbished and significantly altered in preparation for opening day. It was widened to four courses to increase guest capacity. Of the carousel's 71 horses and one mule, most were carved in the Dentzel factory in the late 19th and early 20th century. To add the outermost course, several carved wooden horses were acquired from a Stein and Goldstein carousel, others from Coney Island's Looff carousel, and more carved horses from various other carousels from around North America. Many horses arrived with crude repairs, such as newspaper-stuffed papier-mâche legs. Standers on the original three rows were converted to jumpers by removing the legs and carving new ones. Custom-built crankshafts were installed overhead to operate each horse as a jumper in motion. The original, ornately hand-carved, wooden chariot benches were removed, and the chariot woodwork was repurposed to decorate the "calliope" tenders and passenger cars of Casey Jr. Circus Train. A Wurlitzer #157 Band Organ face decorates the carousel, but does not operate. Motifs from Sleeping Beauty were added to the carousel and the princess and the jester head motifs have been refinished in 18k gold leaf.
In preparation for Disneyland's 50th anniversary celebration, the Happiest Homecoming on Earth, King Arthur Carrousel was closed for extensive renovations and reopened in February 2003. These renovations included an entirely rebuilt turntable platform, a new computerized operating console and system which halts the carousel each time at the same spot, removal of a row of four horses to accommodate a four-course-wide bench and wheelchair clamps with an access ramp for ADA compliance, which reduced the count of horses to 68. In January 2010, the stirrups of each outer-course horse were replaced to include additional lower loops, increasing accessibility.
Hidden Mickeys
- Jingles carries three Hidden Mickeys, each made of jewels. This Hidden Mickey is placed on her chest.
- There are three Hidden Mickeys made of jewels on the carousel horse named Jingles. This Mickey can be found (next to Mary Poppins' umbrella) on Jingles' right hindquarter.
- On April 8, 2008, Jingles was rededicated in a ceremony honoring Julie Andrews' service as Ambassador for Disneyland's 50th Anniversary celebration, as well as her many contributions to Disney. The umbrella is just one of many symbols meant to honor Andrews.