A new article in the “We We Call It Imagineering” web series will feature a global tour of the Disney theme park castles.
The “Building Castle” episode features the types of details that only Imagineers can drop, including information about future changes to Cinderella Castle in Magic Kingdom.
Available on YouTube, the 28-minute show delves into historic issues with former Imaginer Tom Morris and his future with imaginary strategist Zach Ridley.
Our home
Walt Disney World’s Cinderella Castle wins a lot of love in that episode. Its colour, less-than-secret suites, the challenges of the projection show, the frequently discussed forced perspective, and the tricks of the design that make the structure look higher than 189 feet.
“Ships zoster is even a forced perspective. So as it rises, the shingles become smaller. As the castle rises, it enhances its illusion with lighter colours.”
Myers shows the conversation back and forth.
“When I see the next version of the castle, I’m about to come back to evoke the classic castle. So it’s the castle on the first day of Walt Disney World,” she said.
“We see all the old photos, movies, light hitting the castle. We’re trying to put it all together and evoke emotion,” Myers said. “The castle started out as a rather cool gray. As the years went by, we placed warm tones on the castle and had the last sunshine.”
Ready to paint Cinderella Castle in Disney World’s Classic Color Scheme
The 2020 painting job for Cinderella Castle – the look that continues today – contained a rose gold shade and a reflective gold section that changed some projection techniques.
JP Perez, senior visual effects designer at Disney Live Entertainment, said:
It’s not easy to place flat moving characters on curved surfaces.
“There are inevitable bends and corners. After all, it’s a castle,” Perez said. “So we design it in a way that doesn’t interfere with the overall appearance of the characters and castle scenery.”
Finally, there’s a fun fact about Sophia Kosia, a video system designer with Disney Live Entertainment.
“We have a 500,000 lumen projector light that crashes into the castle, which is equivalent to a 750-watt light bulb,” she said.
snow white
Of course, Disney’s first castle was in Disneyland, and Walt Disney called on designers on film studio sets to create a sleepy beauty castle. The oldest plan lacked a castle, Morris said.
“The park was just going to become Americana,” he said. Icons have been added as a way to tie Disney characters together.
Host Ali Rubinstein, WDI Senior Vice President of Global Creative and Show Design, asked why Disneyland Castle was not named after Snow White, the company’s first big screen princess.
Disney: The cost to eat the whole menu at Epcot Food Fest
“They were actually thinking of Snow White first,” Morris said. “But Walt turns out to be a great way to promote the film “Sleeping Beauty,” which was actually in production, even four years away from Disneyland’s opening. ”
The first castle was a quick turnaround project, he pointed out.
“They didn’t begin construction drawings for this castle until January 1955. It gave them seven months to finish it,” he said.
François Mori/AP
Photos from 2018 include Mickey Mouse waves in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Paris. (Francois Mori/Applications)
Castle Land
Disneyland’s Paris Castle is pinkish “to give it a more fantastic flavour,” and stands out among many European castles, says Michel Den Arc, WDI Paris’ portfolio executive creative director.
But it benefits from the place and its artisans, he said.
“The same artisans who work on Notre Dame to bring it back to life are also those who work in our castles to restore finials and to restore beautiful stained glass,” he said. “We treat it as a monument that the French accepted and benefit from the great talents we have in this country.”
Dungeon: A 79-foot dragon. It was once the largest animatronic in the world. (Fun fact: Snoring.)
Around Asia
The castle at Hong Kong Disneyland was built as a homage to the California original. The planner used drawings from 1955. It was later renovated and enhanced to play natural, green mountain-like backgrounds.
The castle at Tokyo Disneyland is modeled after the centerpiece of Magic Kingdom, but is 22 feet shorter. There is also a walk-through attraction/photo opening called Fairy Tale Hall.
Picture Book Castle in Shanghai Disneyland is considered the company’s largest and most complicated castle. I’m on a boat ride in restaurants, retail, boat rides. Other details include the murals that connect the princess with the seasons, the background of Jade in Meet and Greet, the four swans representing the women of Walt Disney’s life, as well as the highest finial, a single peony, and the Chinese national flower.
Water is working
Next: Disneyland Abu Dhabi announced in May.
“We are committed to providing a range of services to global creative strategies,” said Zach Riddley, senior vice president of WDI’s Global Creative Strategy.
“Abu Dhabi is a water city, so I’m really excited to be able to incorporate water into one of the castle’s designs for the first time,” Ridley said. Details will be shared in the future, he said.
Birthday Take
Does not live in the series: look for an alternative castle, but you can get a glimpse of the infamous pink birthday cake castle, which marks the 25th anniversary of Disney World.
Still, I nodded near the beginning of the episode.
“Our castle has had several different looks over the years, but aren’t they? – they’ve always been synonymous with Disney Magic,” said Bruce Vaughn, president and chief creative officer at WDI.
Please email dbevil@orlandosentinel.com. Bluesky: @themeparksdb. Thread account: @dbevil. X Account: @themeparks. Subscribe to the Theme Park Rangers newsletter at orlandosentinel.com/newsletters.
Original issue: September 9, 2025, 1:04pm EDT
