Cinderella Castle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cinderella Castle |
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Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom
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| Manufacturer | The Walt Disney Company | ||||||||||
| Designer | Walt Disney Imagineering | ||||||||||
| Theme | Cinderella | ||||||||||
Cinderella Castle is a famous fairy tale castle. It stands at the heart of two Disney theme parks: Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, Florida, and Tokyo Disneyland in Japan. These castles are well-known symbols and the main attractions of their parks.
Contents
How the Castle Was Designed
Cinderella Castle was inspired by many real and make-believe palaces. The main designer, Herbert Ryman, looked at the castle from the Cinderella movie. He also used ideas from his own design for the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland in California.
Construction of Cinderella Castle finished in July 1971. It took about 18 months to build. The castle is 183 feet (56 m) tall. A special building trick called forced perspective makes the castle look even bigger. This means that things higher up, like windows and stones, are made smaller. This makes the castle seem taller than it really is. Cinderella Castle was the tallest Disney theme park castle for a long time. It was later topped by the Enchanted Storybook Castle in Shanghai Disneyland Park.
The castle's style is like the late-Gothic period from the 1400s. No real gold was used on the outside. All the gold colors come from a special type of aluminum. Even though it looks like stone, no bricks were used. The inside structure is made of 600 tons of steel.
There's a popular story that the castle can be taken apart for hurricanes. This is not true. It would take months to take it apart. Also, it would be too dangerous to use a large crane in strong winds. Like all buildings at Walt Disney World, it was built to handle hurricanes. It can easily stand strong winds up to 125 miles per hour (175 km/h).
Cinderella Castle has a moat around it with about 3.37 million US gallons (12,800 m3) of water. But unlike the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland, its drawbridge cannot be raised. The castle has 27 towers in total.
Originally, a special room was planned for the Disney family. But Walt Disney passed away before the park opened. So, the room was used for other things. Now, it's a fancy "Dream Suite" hotel room for special guests. There are three elevators inside the castle.
Cinderella Castle was made tall enough to be seen from the Seven Seas Lagoon. Many guests arrive at Magic Kingdom by ferry across this lagoon. The castle acts as a "weenie" (a term Walt Disney used). It draws new guests from Main Street, U.S.A. towards the center of the park. From there, guests can reach all other areas.
Tokyo Disneyland's Castle
The Cinderella Castle at Tokyo Disneyland is very similar to the one in Magic Kingdom. It is 168 feet (51 m) tall. From 1986 to 2006, there was a popular walk-through attraction inside called the "Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour." In June 2006, the Tokyo castle was repainted. This was done to make it look different from the Magic Kingdom's castle.
The Castle at Night
When the sun goes down, the castle lights up! It uses special LED lights placed all around it. These lights can create 16.7 million different colors. The castle is also a big part of Magic Kingdom's fireworks show, Wishes: A Magical Gathering of Disney Dreams. During the show, the castle changes colors to match the music.
At the end of the day, a "Kiss Goodnight" show happens. Roy O. Disney's speech about Magic Kingdom is played throughout the park. Classic Disney music plays, and the castle changes colors. This show happens before closing time and also at 11 PM. It's great for guests staying at Disney hotels near the Seven Seas Lagoon.
Since November 2007, the castle has been covered with "Castle Dream Lights" during the holiday season. Over 200,000 LED Christmas lights make the castle look like it's made of ice. This is very popular with guests during Christmas.
Inside the Castle
Beautiful Mosaics
Inside the castle's archway, you'll find five amazing mosaic murals. They tell the story of Cinderella. Imagineer Dorothea Redmond designed them. A team of six artists, led by Hanns-Joachim Scharff, created them.
These large panels are 15-by-10-foot (4.6 by 3.0 m) and shaped like a Gothic arch. They took 22 months to finish. They have over 300,000 pieces of Italian glass in more than 500 colors. Many tiny pieces are fused with real silver and 14-karat gold. If you look closely, you'll see Cinderella's stepsisters. One sister's face is "red with anger," and the other is "green with envy." This happens when they watch Cinderella try on the glass slipper.
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
Since September 10, 2007, the castle has been home to the "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique." Here, young guests can get a special "princess transformation." This includes Disney Princess make-up, a hairstyle, a manicure, a sash, and sometimes a gown, crown, wand, and shoes.
Cinderella's Royal Table Restaurant
Cinderella's Royal Table is a restaurant inside the castle. It used to be called King Stefan's Banquet Hall. It's on the second floor, and you can get there by stairs or elevator. At the restaurant, children are called princes and princesses. Adults are called lords and ladies.
Disney Imagineers wanted a royal name for the restaurant. Since no well-known characters from "Cinderella" fit, they chose King Stefan. He is Sleeping Beauty's father. The name was changed to Cinderella's Royal Table on April 28, 1997. This was done so tourists wouldn't get confused.
The restaurant is decorated with stained glass windows and medieval items. It also has over forty coats of arms. Each of these is a real family symbol. They represent many people who helped design and build Walt Disney World.
Cinderella's Royal Table is also where "Fairytale Dining" happens. At breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Cinderella greets all guests in the castle lobby. During the meal, other classic Disney princesses visit the tables.
Cinderella's Fairy Tale Hall (Tokyo Disneyland)
In Tokyo Disneyland, you can find Cinderella's Fairy Tale Hall inside the castle. This is where Cinderella lives with Prince Charming. Cinderella wants to share her magical story. So, she opened the castle to show artworks from her life.
In the lobby and hallway, there are eight murals. They show Cinderella's journey from a loved daughter to a servant girl, and then to a princess. You can also see a diorama of Cinderella's magical transformation into a beautiful ball gown. Other artworks are made from paper, wood, and glass. In the Grand Hall, you'll see a huge chandelier, the famous glass slipper, a throne, and special paintings. These paintings show a magical message when you take a picture of them with a flash.
Images for kids
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Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria (Germany). Walt Disney was inspired by this site in building Cinderella's castle.
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The old color scheme at Tokyo Disneyland
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Fireworks surround Cinderella Castle, dressed for Winter (December 2013)
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Cinderella Castle uses forced perspective to appear taller than its actual height of 183 ft (58 m).
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For Walt Disney World's 25th anniversary celebration, c.1996
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For the Happiest Celebration on Earth
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Cinderella Castle during Grad Nite
See also
In Spanish: Castillo de la Cenicienta para niños
