Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough is a walk-through attraction which is located inside Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
Description[]
Explore winding passageways where the epic tale of Princess Aurora is told through spellbinding dioramas. Inspired by the film's original Eyvind Earle's artwork, this iconic attraction features 3-dimensional displays, sound and stunning special effects. Don't miss the climactic final scene, when Maleficent transforms into a fire-breathing dragon. Inspired by Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria, Sleeping Beauty Castle, along with Disneyland Park. Guests could not actually walk through the castle's interior until 1957. The drawbridge has only been lowered twice—once at the opening of the park in 1955 and again in 1983 at the rededication of Fantasyland. The castle walkthrough entrance is on the west side of the building inside Fantasyland. Guests first see a large medieval-themed story book open to a page that announces the birth of the princess Aurora. After climbing the stairs inside, a scene depicts Aurora as a baby, being blessed with magic gifts by her fairy godmothers. Behind a glass window, there is an animation of the castle courtyard, and the king and queen watching as a large fire burns all the spinning wheels in the kingdom. At the top of the stairs, as guests reach the center of the castle's top level, another window looks out on the castle's great hall, where everyone in the kingdom is asleep, including servants and the cat and dog. The second half of the walkthrough becomes darker, featuring appearances by Maleficent, her raven, the goons, and several gargoyles which fly out of her nearby castle. At the end, the prince fights against Maleficent's incarnation as a dragon, amid a forest of thorny brambles, and then a field of roses appears with doves flying above, as he kisses Aurora and breaks the spell. As guests exit the walkthrough at the bottom of the stairs on the east side of the castle, another medieval-themed oversized book depicts an image of the prince and princess dancing together, as her dress changes colors from pink to blue and back again.
History[]
Beginning April 29, 1957, the visitors were able to walk through the castle and view several dioramas depicting the story of Sleeping Beauty. The voice of Jiminy Cricket from Pinocchio (1940) singing "When You Wish Upon a Star" is piped into the castle. The original dioramas were designed in the style of Eyvind Earle, production designer for Disney's 1959 film Sleeping Beauty, and were then redone in 1977 to resemble the window displays on Main Street, U.S.A.. The walkthrough was closed for unspecified reasons on October 7, 2001; popular belief claims the September 11th attacks and the potential danger that ensued played a major factor in the closure.
On July 17, 2008, Disney announced that the Sleeping Beauty Castle walkthrough would reopen in the style of the original Earle dioramas, enhanced with new technology. The walkthrough reopened on November 27, 2008 at 5:00 p.m., drawing long lines going as far back as the Hub at the center of the park. Unlike previous incarnations, however, visitors who are unable to climb stairs or navigate the passageways of the Castle can still experience the walkthrough "virtually" in a special room on the Castle's ground floor. This room is lavishly themed, and presents the closed-captioned CGI walkthrough recreation on a high-definition TV. This same virtual recreation is included on the Sleeping Beauty 50th Anniversary Platinum Edition DVD.
Walkthrough[]
1957 version[]
Guests entered the walkthrough by reading a book that explained Princess Aurora's birth and that the evil fairy Maleficent had put a curse on her that she would prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die. After walking up some stairs, a diorama showed the king and queen burning all the spinning wheels in the kingdom out of safety for their daughter. Another diorama shows Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather looking over the young Aurora. The next diorama showed Maleficent cackling over a now sleeping Aurora, who had pricked her finger on a spinning wheel.
After walking another flight of stairs, the next dioramas showed the good fairies had put a sleeping spell on the entire kingdom, and a sleeping Aurora in her bed. The next scene was an entire room called "Meet Maleficent's Demons" and had three doors. While the inside of the first door is currently unknown, the second door featured a two headed green cyclops who would blink and stare at you, and the third door was an empty void filled with multiple sets of eyes staring and blinking at you (which was achieved by having sets of mirrors reflect the guest's eyes back at them).
The next diorama had Maleficent celebrating Aurora's supposed death and releasing all of her monsters and demons. After walking down some stairs, the next scene showed a bottomless pit filled with the screams of various people (which was actually the guests as they were encouraged to scream before entering the walkthrough). The next diorama showed Maleficent in her dungeon with a skeleton dangling down. The final diorama featured multiple spinning wheels spinning in circles while on fire (which was done via the Pepper's Ghost effect). While exiting the walkthrough, Maleficent's shadow suddenly popped out with a terrifying cackle and clap of lightning.
The walkthrough proved to be extremely popular upon opening day, but there were a few problems. Walt Disney felt that the walkthrough was too scary and lacked a happy ending, so within 6 weeks of the attraction's opening, a diorama of Prince Philip kissing Aurora was included. Guests spent so much time in the Dungeon room due to being mesmerized by the Goons' blinking eyes effect that it caused a significant amount of traffic and was covered up and abandoned a few years after the walkthroughs opening. Maleficent's shadow popping out near the end terrified kids so much that they refused to exit, believing Maleficent was actually there and was removed within a month of opening.
1970s version[]
This version was made to more closely match the original film and was heavily inspired by the Mainstreet window emporium displays which were popular at the time.
Upon entering, a diorama showing various guests walking towards the kingdoms castle for the christening of the king and queen's newborn daughter, Aurora. The next scene displayed Maleficent cursing the baby. The next one showed Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather taking the new baby while a set of spinning wheels are being set on fire in the distance. The next scene showed Aurora, now 16 years old leaving off to the forest while her aunts waved goodbye. Aurora is now seen having a dance with her animal friends dressed up as a prince. The next diorama had Maleficent in her dungeon with her minions concocting her plan.
The next scene had Maleficent luring Aurora into a hidden room within the castle to prick her finger on the spinning wheel. Prince Phillip was seen now fighting Maleficent as a dragon (which was based off of a scrapped concept for the original 1957 version). The final scene featured Prince Phillip kissing Aurora to break the spell and she wakes up. The final scene showed Phillip and Aurora dancing in the ballroom with Flora and Merryweather changing her dress from pink to blue.
This version of the walkthrough was not as popular as the original. While praised for following the original movie more faithfully, it was criticized for it's removal of unique scenes from the original and the use of the emporium like style and was often called the "Barbie Doll" version.
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