Relive one of the most beloved Disney legends as you stroll through the iconic Sleeping Beauty Castle. Wander the winding passageways where the timeless tale of Princess Aurora and the evil Maleficent has been brought to life in 3-dimensional displays. Inspired by the original Eyvind Earle artwork used in the film, the classic attraction has been enhanced with fantastical features and stunning special effects.
With snow-capped turrets, sparkling icicles and shimmering lights, the original Disney theme park castle is a crystallized citadel to behold during Holidays at the Disneyland Resort. For generations families have gathered below the steeples of Sleeping Beauty's Winter Castle to bask in its Holiday wonder.
Sleeping Beauty Castle opened on July 17, 1955. The castle's design was based on the real Bavarian castle, Neuschwanstein. Guests could not actually walk through the castle until 1957. The famed drawbridge has only been used twice - once at the opening of the park in 1955 and again in 1983 at the rededication of Fantasyland.
The Castle Walkthrough attraction tells the story of Sleeping Beauty in a series of brightly illustrated storybook pages and animated 3-D window scenes inside the castle. Guests enter a doorway on the back side of the castle, and proceed up the stairs and through the passageways. Along the way there are windows that look into rooms where scenes from the the movie are portrayed. Most scenes contain some additional special effects.
Touring Tips
- The walkthough involves climbing up and down stairs in a rather enclosed space. There is a virtual experience available in a special room on the ground floor for those who are not able to participate in the walkthrough.
- Take time to look at all of the scenes - some of the special effects may not be visible right away.
- This attraction does not usually have a line, but there are often people lingering in front of the windows to see them, so it might take extra time to see/experience everything.
- There are three different ways through Sleeping Beauty Castle: over the drawbridge and through the main entrance; the narrow archway by the Heraldry Shop that leads toward Tomorrowland; and a small path next to the Once Upon a Time shop that ends at the Plaza Gardens.
- When passing through the castle's main entrance, take a look at the beautiful murals along the walls, which depict scenes from the Sleeping Beauty movie. Along the back wall of the castle is a drinking fountain surrounded by sculptures of Aurora, Philip, and the three fairies.
- Some kids might find the darkened corridors and the images of Maleficent and the dragon to be frightening. The special effects in the Corridor of Goons are mostly at kid's eye level, but they might be a little startling for some children.
- Disney characters are usually found in the mornings in front of the castle and along the path that leads back to Snow White's Grotto.
Facts
- It is based on the late-19th century Neuschwanstein Castle, with some French inspirations (Notre Dame de Paris and the Hospices de Beaune especially).
- 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.
- 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.
- During the holidays, patches of snow adorn the castle's turrets as it becomes Sleeping Beauty's Winter Castle. At night thousands of LED lights transform it into an ice palace covered with glistening snow and icicles. During several nightly light shows the ice shimmers and shines with additional lighting and color effects.
- The original Sleeping Beauty Castle walkthrough opened on April 29, 1957, and closed in 2001. It featured a series of animated dioramas which told the Sleeping Beauty story. The attraction was co-designed by Eyvind Earle, the animation art director for the movie Sleeping Beauty.
- The "reawakened" Sleeping Beauty Castle opened on November 26, 2008. The new attraction was also inspired by the Eyvind Earle style, but instead of animated dioramas, the updated attraction combines live animation with the static backdrop of each room, employing a number of special effects to animate the scene. Characters appear and disappear, the Good Fairies cast their magic spells, and a flaming dragon menaces from on high.
- The Corridor of Goons features Maleficent's henchmen, and various effects take place when guests place their hands in the windows.
- For Disneyland's 40th anniversary in 1995 a 40th Anniversary Time "Castle" was buried in the castle's courtyard, to be opened in 2035.
History
Opened July 17, 1955, the castle is the oldest of all Disney castles. Though it reaches a height of only 77 feet (23 m), 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. 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 is composed of three fleur de lis whereas the coat of arms on the castle 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 and July 1965.