Sleeping Beauty Castle


 * This is an article about a structure at Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland. For the structure at Disneyland Resort Paris, see Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant.  For the structures at the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland, see Cinderella Castle

Sleeping Beauty Castle is the fairy tale structure at the center of Disneyland Park and Hong Kong Disneyland Park. It is based on Germany's Neuschwanstein Castle, with some french inspirations (Notre Dame de Paris and the Hospices de Beaune especially).

Disneyland
Opened July 17, 1955, the castle is the oldest of all the Disney castles. It reaches a height of 77 feet (23.5 meters).

Beginning April 29, 1957, visitors were able to walk through the castle and view several dioramas depicting the story of Sleeping Beauty. The walk-through experience was discontinued in 2001.

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 beautiful Blue Fairy represents the debut of the beloved Main Street Electrical Parade.
 * The Indiana Jones Adventure is represented by the evil Eye of Mara, guarded by mesmerizing snakes.
 * The 50th Anniversary of Disneyland is represented by fireworks and Tinker Bell.

Since May 2005, the castle has served as the focal point for the fireworks spectacular Remember... Dreams Come True.

Trivia

 * The drawbridge of the castle used to be functional but was rarely used. In fact, it has only been publicly lowered on two occasions:  when the park opened in 1955, and when Fantasyland was rededicated in 1983. The gears that control the drawbridge were removed during a refurbishment in 1996 & were never restored.


 * While being filmed Walt Disney accidentally refered to the castle as Snow White's Castle. This blooper sparked false speculation among fans that the castle was originally going to be called "Snow White's Castle" but was changed to coincide with the release of Sleeping Beauty. This is not true.


 * The coat of arms over the entry archway is that of the Disney family.


 * When the moat surrounding the castle is dredged, any money retrieved from it is given to charity.

Holidays at Disneyland

During the Holidays Sleeping Beauty Castle is transformed into a winter wonderland. At night a 80,000 LEDS glimmer around the castle

Hong Kong Disneyland
The Sleeping Beauty Castle located at Hong Kong Disneyland is of the same design as Disneyland's version. The paint scheme of Hong Kong Disneyland's structure is identical to that used when Disneyland's original opened in 1955. The final turret of Hong Kong Disneyland's castle was put in place on November 18, 2004, and the castle opened to the public on September 12, 2005. It is notably smaller than all of its other siblings (it is the same size as the original Californian one, but the mountains make it appear smaller), but Walt Disney was said that Disneyland castles should be kept small to be warmer and friendlier and not intimidate the guests. It is the focal point for the daily firework display: "Disney In The Stars."