page_title: Sleeping Beauty Castle
section_title: Disneyland Park (Paris)
hierarchical_section_title: Sleeping Beauty Castle / Disneyland Park (Paris)
context_page_description: Sleeping Beauty Castle is a fairy tale castle at the center of Disneyland, a redesigned and larger version at Disneyland Park and formerly at Hong Kong Disneyland. It is based on the late-19th century Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany. It appeared in the Walt Disney Pictures title card, and, along with Cinderella Castle, is an iconic symbol of The Walt Disney Company. The version at Disneyland is the only Disney castle whose construction was overseen by Walt Disney.
context_section_description: Completed in 1992, for the park's 12 April opening, Sleeping Beauty Castle stands 50 meters (160 ft) tall, the tallest of any Sleeping Beauty Castle and the third largest Disney castle after Cinderella Castle, Magic Kingdom and the Enchanted Storybook Castle at Shanghai Disneyland.
  Sleeping Beauty Castle (English for Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant) is at the centre of Disneyland Park and a continuation of Sleeping Beauty Castle first seen at Disneyland in California.
  The Castle features two parts, a dungeon area in the base featuring an Audio-Animatronic dragon and, above, a concrete balcony walkthrough area with Sleeping Beauty–themed stained glass windows and tapestries. There are also several shops selling glass figures, ornaments and gifts.
  "Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland was inspired by the Neuschwanstein Castle in Southern Germany. This European influence was fine for building a castle in Anaheim, but the fact that castles exist just down the road from Disneyland Paris challenged us to think twice about our design." —Tony Baxter, executive designer Walt Disney Imagineering
  The castle has received several overlays throughout the years. The first occurred during the park's first anniversary celebration in 1993, when the castle was dressed up as a cake complete with strawberries, icing and candles. This overlay was removed after the celebration ended. The cake overlay concept was later copied by Walt Disney World's Cinderella Castle in 1996 for the 25th Anniversary of the resort.
  During the fifth anniversary of Disneyland Paris in 1997, the castle was decorated in carnival masks, jester hats, frills and bells to promote the animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame. This overlay lasted until the beginning of 1998.
  During the tenth anniversary of Disneyland Paris in 2002, the front of the castle was fitted with a golden scroll displaying a large 10. The celebration also saw the opening of Walt Disney Studios next door. The scroll and other anniversary material in the park were removed in 2003.
  In 2007, the castle received another overlay, celebrating the park's fifteenth anniversary. It featured golden Disney characters displayed on the turrets and spires, each holding a candle, and Tinkerbell on the highest spire. The candles were illuminated each night during a special 'Candlebration' ceremony which took place on a raised temporary stage at Central Plaza, in front of the Castle. A huge illuminated gold plaque featuring a large '15' was hung on the front of the castle. This echoed the overlay from the tenth anniversary in 2002. The fifteenth anniversary and the 'Candlebration' ceremony ended on March 7, 2009.
  The fifteenth anniversary overlay quickly followed on April 4, 2009 by Mickey's Magical Party, a "theme year" celebration held at the park. The castle was again overlaid, this time with a Mickey and Friends plaque over the main window, and the spire heads were changed from being characters to being 3 circles "of ribbon" representing Mickey Mouse. A more permanent Central Plaza stage was built outside the castle to host the "It's dance time... with Mickey and Friends" show.
  The castle was repainted in a new colour-scheme, restored and fitted with multicolored LED lighting during 2011. For the Disney Dreams nighttime spectacular show its moat was fitted with water fountains, the upper window was replaced by doors that open to reveal a LED lighted star and Central Plaza stage was removed in order to increase the viewing area.
caption: Sleeping Beauty Castle in 2006.
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