 From Sketch to Icon In 1953, veteran Imagineer Herb Ryman drew Walt Disney’s vision of a fairytale castle in just 48 hours. He captured the essence of Eyvind Earle’s future Sleeping Beauty masterpiece—visionary even before the movie’s release. Construction & the “Backwards Top” From ground-breaking to grand opening took less than a year (1954–1955). Walt, always pushing creative limits, secretly added 22-karat gold leaf to the turrets. Legendary bonus: during assembly, the main turret was placed backwards. Instead of redoing it, Walt left it—calling it charmingly quirky. Forced Perspective & Elevated Foundation Rising only 77 feet, the castle seems much taller thanks to forced perspective—smaller upper windows and bricks trick your eyes. Disney Imagineers also built up the base with extra fill dirt, aligning the approach from Main Street and enhancing its grandeur. Moat & Drawbridge—Real but Rarely Raised Its moat is real, and its real drawbridge has been lowered only twice: First on opening day (1955), and again during the 1983 Fantasyland re-dedication. Fun tidbit: coins tossed into the moat reportedly go to charity. The Exclusive Walk‑Through Experience Initially just empty, the upper floor was transformed into the classic Sleeping Beauty Walk‑Through on April 29, 1957, opened with Shirley Temple officiating. Beautifully designed by Eyvind Earle, the dioramas chronicle Aurora’s tale—from her birth to the dragon’s defeat—with special audio effects. Closed in 2001, it made a triumphant comeback in 2008, complete with digital booths for those unable to climb stairs. This feature is unique to Disneyland’s version—no other Disney castle offers it. Enchanted Evolution Over the years, dioramas were refreshed—1977’s Renaissance-style update, 2008’s blend of retro and digital, and 2021’s enhancements. Look carefully: hidden forest creatures and owl prints, nodding to the 1959 film's story line, have even been digitized in newer versions. Final Thoughts That iconic castle on Main Street—the heart of Disneyland—is woven with imagination and playful secrets. From its hurried design and gold‑leaf turrets to a rarely opened drawbridge and a one‑of‑a‑kind walk‑through, each detail continues to spark wonder. Next visit, pause in front of the moat, admire those shrinking bricks, and step into Sleeping Beauty’s world—you’re standing at the center of a real Disney legend.      The seemingly historically accurate Sleeping Beauty’s Castle in Disneyland contains a murder hole. The murder hole is used just beyond the entrance where a hole is placed to pour hot oil or other items down a shoot to stop intruders. Did you know about this unique feature in Sleeping Beauty’s Castle? If you look closely, you can find a second one.
 Sleeping Beauty Castle is the original Disney Park icon and symbol of Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom. Something else unique to the castle is it’s drawbridge. It actually works (or did) and has only been used twice.
On opening day, July 17, 1955, the drawbridge was lowered to let the children into the most magical land of Fantasyland. Then after a complete renovation of Fantasyland, the drawbridge was lowered again on May 26, 1983. In 2014, heavy wooden railings replaced chain lifts, virtually removing any chance of it opening again. The next time you visit, take a look as you walk through the gates to see the old gate mechanism used to move the gate. A fun piece of park history sitting there for everyone to see.  One of the original women on the Disneyland design team was Miss Harriet Burns, the creator of the Matterhorn model and sculpture. The history and design of Disney's first mountain, the Matterhorn and the world's first ever tubular steel roller coaster. Walt Disney's vision for what he wanted Disneyland to be was absolutely so unique and so special for the time. It's a template that still holds up today not only in Disney Parks but theme parks all around the world. And like everything with Disneyland it's a little jigsaw puzzle, an incredibly small theme park located in the city of Anaheim which wasn't a city when Disneyland opened. It was farm country but a city accidentally sprouted up all around it. Because it is a jigsaw puzzle every piece of the puzzle somehow has to fit into the one next to it.  Everyone knows how small Sleeping Beauty Castle is by comparison to Cinderella castle in Orlando. The idea was to make Walt's Castle, the original Disney Castle, feel as tall as possible. Therefore they took all the ground around to create a mound for it to set on. After All Disneyland was built inside of one year! In 1954 this Orange Grove would transform into Disneyland now visited by millions of people all around the world and it was done on an incredible budget.  If you dig out all of the earth to create the moat around the castle and also pad it up on a pedestal, there's a lot more dirt left over. Two stories of dirt which became Holiday Hill, place some benches a little bit of flowers and slight design decoration and now you have a lookout point.  Walt Disney absolutely hated Holiday Hill! It was just a pile of dirt in his park and not exactly what he envisioned. He knew he could do better as always held himself to a higher standard.
Along the way trying to figure out what to do with this parcel of land, he came up with some pretty crazy ideas. If you notice the monorail pedestals in front of the Matterhorn are extremely short compared to the ones that are on the back of the Matterhorn to make the peak of the mountain feel even taller. We'll discover Walt's design solution in part two.  It is a common myth that the Disney family coat of arms hangs above the archway to the castle. The Disney family coat of arms is composed of three fleur de lis whereas the coat of arms on the castle is three lions passant in pale. The origins and meaning of the coat of arms on Sleeping Beauty Castle is unknown at this time. It is known that the coat of arms was not originally on the castle but was placed there sometime between June 1965 and July 1965. 
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 not available in 1957. The walkthrough reopened on November 27, 2008 at 5:00 PM, drawing long lines going as far back as the Hub. Unlike previous incarnations, 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.       original photo by Renie Bardeau Sleeping Beauty's Castle is my favorite castle. Its the original and the backdrop of my childhood memories. This is one of my absolute favorite photos of Walt, as he walks through the castle into Fantasyland early one morning 1964.
Thank you uncle Walt! |
Welcome to a place where Disney nostalgia meets storytelling magic. I create uplifting, history-rich content celebrating Walt Disney’s original vision and the golden age of Disneyland. From forgotten dining spots to untold stories of Walt’s creative team, this blog is a tribute to imagination, innocence, and timeless joy.
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