Prince Charming Regal Carrousel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Prince Charming Regal Carrousel |
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Cinderella's Carousel at Hong Kong Disneyland
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| Ride statistics | |||||||||
| Attraction type | Carousel | ||||||||
| Model | Grand Carrousel (Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland) 50' Carousel (Hong Kong Disneyland) |
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| Theme | Cinderella | ||||||||
| Music | Disney tunes | ||||||||
| Vehicle type | Horses/chariot | ||||||||
| Rows | 5 (Magic Kingdom/Tokyo Disneyland) 4 (Hong Kong Disneyland) |
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| Riders per row | 1 | ||||||||
| Manufacturer | Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters in Magic Kingdom Chance Rides in Hong Kong Disneyland |
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The Prince Charming Regal Carousel is a fun carousel ride at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World Resort. It used to be called Cinderella's Golden Carousel.
You can find similar carousels at other Disney Parks. These include Tokyo Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland. While you ride, the carousel plays classic Disney songs. The top of the carousel has beautiful hand-painted scenes from the movie Cinderella.
Contents
The Magic Kingdom Carousel
This carousel has a long history! It was first built in 1917 by The Philadelphia Toboggan Company. Back then, it was known as "The Liberty Carousel" and was located in Detroit, Michigan. It was a very large carousel, with 72 wooden horses and four chariots.
In 1967, the Walt Disney Company bought the carousel. It was then sent to California to be restored. Each of the horses was given a special, unique design. Some fiberglass copies were made for a new carousel at Tokyo Disneyland.
Disney also added real 23-karat gold leaf, silver, and bronze to the horses. They also added scenes from Cinderella's story. The carousel was ready when the Magic Kingdom opened in Florida in 1971.
The carousel was completely updated and repainted in 1967. This was done to match the Cinderella theme. All 90 horses are painted white. White horses are often linked to heroes in stories. All the original horses were carved from maple wood. One chariot that was part of the original "Liberty" carousel was lost for a while. It was found again and put back on the carousel in 1997.
When the carousel was being set up at the Magic Kingdom, Roy E. Disney noticed something. It wasn't perfectly centered with the Cinderella Castle breezeway. So, it was moved eight inches to be exactly in the middle!
Is There a Cinderella's Horse?
There are different stories about whether one of the horses is "Cinderella's Horse." This special horse is in the second row. It's the only one that has a golden bow on its tail.
Some Disney employees and publications have said this horse belongs to Cinderella. Cinderella has even been shown riding a horse in some Disney art.
However, a park employee named Isle Voght helped restore the carousel. She has doubts about the Cinderella's Horse story. She thinks Cinderella's horse would be in an outer row. It would also be decorated much more fancy than the others. Plus, Cinderella never rode a horse in the movie.
The Disney Imagineers (the people who design the parks) did not include the Cinderella's horse story when they updated the carousel's background in 2010.
Why the Name Changed
On June 1, 2010, the carousel's name changed. It went from Cinderella's Golden Carousel to Prince Charming Regal Carousel. This new name helps tell more of the Cinderella story that inspired the ride.
The official story behind the name change goes like this:
After their fairy-tale romance and happy wedding, Cinderella and Prince Charming lived in Cinderella’s Castle. With peace in the kingdom, Prince Charming had time to practice for jousting tournaments. Near the castle, he built a training device with carved horses. He could practice "ring-spearing" on it. This was a tournament event where a knight rides fast, holding a lance, to spear a small ring hanging from a tree. This event was called "carrousel."
The carrousel caught the attention of the villagers. They wanted to try this amazing spinning machine. So, Prince Charming had a second carrousel built closer to the Castle. Everyone could take a spin on this wonderful invention. This new carrousel is more fitting for its royal spot in the Castle Courtyard. Its simple training horses were replaced with fancy, decorated horses. They have golden helmets, shields, flower garlands, and feathers. Prince Charming invites everyone to try their horsemanship skills and enjoy their own happy ending.
Hong Kong Disneyland Carousel
The carousel at Hong Kong Disneyland was built by Chance Rides. It has four rows of horses and chariots.
In Popular Culture
- In the Mickey Mouse cartoon episode "Potatoland," Mickey and Donald build a theme park. They do this to make Goofy's dream come true. One of the rides they made was a simple carousel. Mickey played the organ, and Donald turned the ride by hand.
