If Disneyland has a soul it probably resides within the walls of Sleeping Beauty Castle even without seeing the castle in person people everywhere recognize it as an iconic symbol representing not only Disneyland, but the entire Walt Disney Company itself. Walt Disney recalled the European castles of old were often built to intimidate the peasants he believed a less imposing castle would appear friendlier and more inviting to Disneyland guests.Indeed the castle only stands 77 ft high making it half as tall as the Matterhorn. However, its position at the north end of the hub where it can be seen from Town Square makes the castle the parks ultimate visual enticement.
During the actual design phase 1954 architects briefly considered using the Snow White story as a castles theme, but they soon decided on the Disney movie Sleeping Beauty instead.Nobody knew at the time exactly what the finalized castle should look like since Sleeping Beauty was still early in production and wouldn't be released until 1959.Sleeping Beauty Castle is based largely on "Mad King" Ludwig's Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, but with one big difference: The top is on backward. Disney didn't want it to look too much like the real thing. In 1955, they were working on the 1959 animated classic Sleeping Beauty, so it was changed to promote the film in advance. The castle went through many different forms. There was Mad Ludwig's castle in Bavaria-very dramatic looking-which is the castle at the end of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It was designed for the park before it was designed for the picture
The Sleeping Beauty facade is broad yet intimate at moat level the majestic face presented to the hub spans about 35 feet across the first pair of cylindrical turrets with a second pair set about 15 ft back towards Fantasyland a 35 foot wide circular Courtyard in front of the castle offers paths to the Plaza Gardens and the Snow White Wishing Well and grotto plusa famous song lyric embedded in its pavers "When you wish upon a star your dreams come true".
Disney lore, is long here, there's 22 carat gold leaf on the spires for years one spire was colored differently from the rest.What's said to be the crest of the Disney Family adorns the entrance way. A time capsule was buried in the fore court on Disneyland 40th anniversaryThe drawbridge incidentally has officially been raised and lowered twice once on opening day and again for a re-dedication in late May 1983 of the new Fantasyland.
Ultimately, there has been no building more indispensable to Disneyland history and image then Sleeping Beauty's castle upon its completion artists and writers immediately championed. It is the building that best represent of the parks truest self. Guests also treat the castle differently. They don't usually linger at the entrance to any other land, but they do here if you ask anyone to think of Disneyland, there's a good chance that person will immediately think of Sleeping Beauty Castle.
The castle it is said was required as an inspiration to the parks construction crews to prove that dreams really could come true to show them what make-believe look like and to remind them finally where Disneyland soul was.
Though the castle 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. 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 Imaginers' to find some use for the space. The Disney family coat of arms hangs above the archway to the castle is composed of three lions passant in pale. The coat of arms was not originally on the castle but was placed there sometime between June 1965 and July 1965. At the rear of the castle, shaded by the archways and driven into the ground is a gold spike marking the geographical center of Disneyland as of the addition of Mickey's Toontown in 1993. Previous Disneyland centers were the directional star on the ground in front of the castle which was added with the expansion of Fantasyland and addition of "it's a small world" in 1966. The original geographical center of the park was at the hub which now hosts the "Partners" statue
Some of the magazine articles written before Disneyland opened seem to add items that Walt never had in mind like this article from July 1955 Westways Magazine: Fantasyland, the world of imagination, hopes and dreams, is entered through a shimmering pastel, fairylandcastle with towers rising 70 feet in the air. A stroll through the medieval castle's torture dungeon, the dining hall of knights and the ornate bedchamber where Sleeping Beauty slumbers through the long wait for her prince-and the sky beckons again.
Disneyland is home to feral cats nobody knows how many they come out at night, after visitors leave. Years ago, more than 100 were discovered living inside Sleeping Beauty Castle.
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: 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 Blue Fairy represents the debut of the Main Street Electrical Parade. The Indiana Jones Adventure is represented by the evil Eye of Mara, guarded by snakes. The 50th Anniversary of Disneyland is represented by fireworks and Tinker Bell. The gold railings were also added into the second floor of the castle.
As part of the 60th anniversary the castle was covered with diamonds and glitter with a large 60th logo in the center. Most of the decoration on the castle was removed shortly after the celebration although the decorative faux roofs remained until January 2018.
From Steve Birnbaum brings you the best of Disneyland 1982: Rising above the treetops at the end of Main Street, it seems like something you've just imagined, especially on nights the park is open late, when fireworks explode about the battlements like so much of Tinker Bell's pixie dust. Closer inspection, however, shows the building to be real enough. A composite of various medieval European castles, primarily in the French and Bavarian styles, Sleeping Beauty Castle is constructed of concrete with towers that rise to a height of some 77 feet above the moat. And the whole thing looks even larger because of the use of forced perspective. In a real castle, blocks of stone near the top appear smaller than those at the bottom simply because they really are further away. By artificially decreasing the dimensions of Sleeping Beauty Castle's uppermost blocks, the structure is made to appear much taller. The drawbridge functions just like a real one, too, although it has been in its present position ever since the park opened in 1955.Inside the castle, a rather sweet series of dioramas, not unlike the Emporium shop windows, tells the story of the beautiful princess Aurora; three bright-eyed fairies named Fauna, Flora, and Merryweather;
That is a picture of my sister, mother and I on our very first trip to Disneyland in 1966