Cinderella Castle - Definition and Overview

This is an article about a castle at the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland. For the castle at Disneyland, Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland, see Sleeping Beauty Castle

Cinderella Castle is the castle at the center of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort. The name is also shared with the castle at the center of Tokyo Disneyland at Tokyo Disney Resort. Both castles appear to be made of white and grey stone with turquoise roofs on their turrets; the tallest spire on each appears to be gold-leafed. Its design was inspired by the Château d'Ussé in France [1] (http://period8mayer.tripod.com/Usse.html)[2] (http://www.dlp-guidebook.de/Lands/Fantasyland/Attractions/ChateauDeLaBelle.htm), whereas Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland was inspired by Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria.

Cinderella Castle was designed so that it was tall enough that it could be seen from the Seven Seas Lagoon in front of the Magic Kingdom, where many guests took ferries from the parking lot to the gates of the park. It hosts a character resturaunt in the mid-floors, and a small room in the upper floors which was planned as an apartment for Walt Disney, but is used now as a character dressing room.

Like Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland and Disneyland Paris, Cinderella Castle will be lavishly decorated by Disney Imagineers for the Happiest Homecoming on Earth, where all Disney parks around the world will honour the mother of them all, Disneyland, who turns 50 this year. The new castle is expected to be unveiled in May 2005.

Cinderella Castle at Tokyo Disneyland is expected to remain the same.

See also: Sleeping Beauty Castle