In Defense of Disneyland's Castle

[Jeff N Orange County]

Dear Bawb,
I just got to ask: Why complain about the only castle Walt created? Look deeper into your Disney soul. …let’s explore together shall we:

In 1954 Walt really wanted to build a huge castle to be seen from the 5 freeway initially. But reason, the budget and Roy interceded. (See Herb Ryman's concept painting, which is gorgeous but unbuildable). For almost 16 years Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle stood alone as THE representative of what a Magic Kingdom could look like as Tinkerbell soared around it on TV sets every week. Those of us from the 1955-1972 era think it did very well for itself, thank you very much.

The Castle at Disneyland has been overshadowed in recent years by the very elegant Cinderella's castle at WDW and at Tokyo. As an Icon it truly is magnificent and, I feel stands as a testament to how much Roy (Sr.) loved his brother and the company that they built together. However as Michael Eisner’s last few years at the helm bear out, huge Icon's aren’t all there cracked up to be. (..Now if we all could just get that garish Birthday cake image out of our minds!!) To the hordes of east-coasters THE symbol of a Magic Kingdom has been WDW’s castle. The Weenie that draws the masses in. (shut up Pete). The success of WDW shows just how effective Cinderella’s castle has been in that job.

In my humble opinion, France has the most fetching castle. DLP's version has combined the charm of Disneyland's with the Majesty of WDW's and then delivered up its own renaissance glory that reminds me of the glory days of Disney's renaissance in the late 1980's. Thank you Frank Wells. It is truly stunning in person.

Finally, if Disneyland's SB castle was architecturally and emotionally disappointing why did they recreate Disneyland's castle in Hong Kong (..Besides the Bean counters.. lol) A life lesson you could take to heart is - Size isn’t everything.

Sometimes it’s the warmth, charm and simple elegance of the mature elegant beauty queen that knocks your socks off. I’m sure Diane'r would agree. (low blow ..but you should have seen it coming)

Always enjoying the podcasts,
Jeff in Orange County

 

[mjy]

To save us all time in looking them up, do you possibly have pictures of each of the castles that you can post so that we can see the comparisons you are making?

Thanks!

 

[Jeff N Orange County]

The nice folks at The Disney Frontier Blog have some photos

http://www.disneyfrontier.com/2006/09/01/disney-castles-from-around-the-parks/

click
but really there are only 3 designs..

 

[dpuck1998]

Finally, if Disneyland's SB castle was architecturally and emotionally disappointing why did they recreate Disneyland's castle in Hong Kong (..Besides the Bean counters.. lol) A life lesson you could take to heart is - Size isn’t everything.

Jeff in Orange County

In the infamous words of Kanye West "Bigger, faster, stronger"

 

[Sleeping Becca]

I've never been to DLP but I was shocked at how insignificant DL's Sleeping Beauty Castle was to my DL experience. Seeing Cinderella's Castle for the first time each trip is a very important moment for me. To me the Matterhorn was a more impressing symbol.

Walking under the railroad tracks into WDW is an awe inspiring moment, DL not so much, you can barely even see the castle, it looks like just another main street building.

Sorry to all the DL Sleeping Beauty Castle fans out there. If it is any comfort I absolutely LOVE DL and can't wait to go back.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of my family driving to DL and my mom and dad offering a penny to the first one of us that spotted the Matterhorn...of course we were young and stupid and didn't realize they started the search about an hour away!

What the castle lacks in size, it makes up for in spirit!!!

 

[Redcon1]

I've heard the reason Walt didn't make the DL castle bigger was that historically, castles have often been built by those with power and wealth, thus showing their "superiority" over the unwashed masses.
Walt didn't want his castle to suggest such an elitist idea, but he still enjoyed the grandeur and design of these types of buildings, along with the fairy tales they inspired. Thus, he built a smaller version, still highlighting the beauty of the architecture and importance to the stories, all the while steering away from the intimidation factor a larger castle may have projected to the crowds.
But then again, maybe it was just because of the budget.
It's like they say, tho:
It's not the size of the castle, but rather the length of the drawbridge and how often it's raised.....
Or something like that.

 

[Disneybridein2k3]

I don't have a real comment/opinion since the only one I've ever seen in person is Cinderella's castle, but I just had to mention the part in the show where Julie is defending Sleeping Beauty's castle saying Sleeping Beauty's not ostentatious like Cinderella and then Kevin replies with, "She's happy with her starter home" and Peter replies with "that's what poor people say". I was
Just thinking about it gives me the giggles...

 

[tinker&belle]

Interesting thread...I just had a question, if DL is Sleeping Beauty and DW is Cinderella, which princess resides in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Paris?

 

[DisneyKevin]

To quote Walt himself....

"Here in Florida, we have something special we never enjoyed at Disneyland...the blessing of size. There's enough land here to hold all the ideas and plans we can possibly imagine."

....and a bigger Castle.

 

[disneymom8589]

Since the 1st Disney park I visited was DL I have a fond, nostalgic feeling for Sleeping Beauty Castle. That's not to say Cinderella Castle isn't beautiful!

 

[mrp4352]

After having only seen WDW's castle and the view it gives when you come under the train tracks - it was a shock to see Sleeping Beauty's Castle. It's lovely, but not a 'wow' moment...


UNTIL Remember: Dreams Come True starts - and that is when you know that Disneyland got the better end of the deal! If only WDW's Tinkerbell could fly like that! Watching the opening of the Wonderful World of Disney come to life in front of you - well, let's just say that Walt must be very, very proud of the crew that put that spectacle together!

 

[Jeff N Orange County]

I've heard the reason Walt didn't make the DL castle bigger was that historically, castles have often been built by those with power and wealth, thus showing their "superiority" over the unwashed masses.
Walt didn't want his castle to suggest such an elitist idea, but he still enjoyed the grandeur and design of these types of buildings, along with the fairy tales they inspired. Thus, he built a smaller version, still highlighting the beauty of the architecture and importance to the stories, all the while steering away from the intimidation factor a larger castle may have projected to the crowds.
But then again, maybe it was just because of the budget.
It's like they say, tho:
It's not the size of the castle, but rather the length of the drawbridge and how often it's raised.....
Or something like that.

that rang a bell but I couldn't recall it as elequenty as you did. "Nods" Thank You for putting it so well!

plus the girth of the moat..lol

 

[UrsulasShadow]

Sorry, boys...size really does matter. I go for Cinderella Castle.

 

[dwelty]

I am a former Disneyland Cast Member and grew up with Disneyland. I am an AP holder at both WDW and Disneyland Resort. I love both Resorts, but for different reasons. I voted for Cinderella castle, because both castles have a unique connection.

Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle was finished, along with the Mark Twain using money cashed out from Walt's personal life insurance policy. The size of the castle reflects the risk Walt took to build his theme park (He risked his personal finances on it!) Once Disneyland opened it was a tremendous sucess.

You WDW "only" people need to remember 1 thing. Disneyland is the reason you have the Magic Kingdom in the first place. The Florida property was purchased with revenue directly generated from Disneyland. Additionally, between 1967 and 1971 (the design and building stage of the Magic Kingdom), The film division of Walt Disney Productions was financially in the toilet, The American film going public stayed away in droves.
The Financial exception was Disneyland. 75% of the entire company revenue came directly from Disneyland. Enough in fact to build a Magnificent Castle and Theme park out of a Florida swamp.

Yes Cinderella castle is more impressive and I voted for it, but I do that without guilt because I know Disneyland paid for it.

 

[leahlovesdisney]

I've only seen Cindy's castle in person, but I think Paris looks beautiful!

 

[willis37862]

You WDW "only" people need to remember 1 thing. Disneyland is the reason you have the Magic Kingdom in the first place. The Florida property was purchased with revenue directly generated from Disneyland. Additionally, between 1967 and 1971 (the design and building stage of the Magic Kingdom), The film division of Walt Disney Productions was financially in the toilet, The American film going public stayed away in droves.
The Financial exception was Disneyland. 75% of the entire company revenue came directly from Disneyland. Enough in fact to build a Magnificent Castle and Theme park out of a Florida swamp.

Yes Cinderella castle is more impressive and I voted for it, but I do that without guilt because I know Disneyland paid for it.

I agree.

I also think all the castles are unique and very special. And it would take away from the magic if they all looked alike just like if each of the parks had the exact same rides and shows with no variations, there would be no need to visit them all.

 

[SnackyStacky]

I think all 3 castles are incomparable and work for their own respective park. There's no choice for that, so I didn't vote.

 

[Soccermom-Cheri]

It has to be the original. Yeah, it's smaller than Cindy's place, but it still gives me a little-girl "I'm at Disneyland" feeling whenever I stand in front of it. WDW is awesome, but Disneyland will always be the place I turn 5 the minute I walk through the turnstiles.

 

[DisneyKevin]

In actuality, we have friends that live in California and we've always poked fun at the Disneyland Castle (and Disneyland in general) because folks that love Disneyland feel the need to defend it for some reason.

It's Walt's vision. It's intimate. It's more atmospheric. It's got a legacy.

And my favorite....it's THE ORIGINAL.

To which we alwasy respond...but it's smaller.

If you have listened to other DIS unplugged podcasts, you will have heard each of us sing the praises of Disneyland. All of the accolades mentioned above are true.

Another thing that is seldom mentioned is the fact that there are many long term cast members in Disneyland that have been around for many years. I cant think of a better way to spend time then to listen to them tell stories of the early days. I've met a few and it was awesome.

WDW has a younger cast for the most part. They are great but dont have the history that a lot of the Disneyland cast does.

Please understand that none of us meant Princess Aurora, her Castle, Disneyland or Walt himself any ill feelings. we are all truly devoted fans.

But if ya keep telling me it's THE ORIGINAL....I'm gonna keep pointing out that Walt came to Florida for the "blessing of size" and that Disneyland fits in our parking lot.

That last part always makes the CA folks sputter.

Kevin