The Disneyland Resort in Anaheim California gives us something to be thankful for this holiday season with the long awaited reopening of the Sleeping Beauty Castle walkthrough attraction at 5 PM this Wednesday.
The interior of Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland, long closed to guests, will “reawaken” in time for Thanksgiving. A vibrant new version of the classic walkthrough attraction features colorful scenes of Aurora, her gallant prince, the evil Maleficent and other characters from the beloved fairy tale film.
This revived Sleeping Beauty Castle “show” differs from the window-display dioramas which could be seen in the castle during the 1980s and ’90s. It takes its inspiration from the unique style of the original Disneyland castle walkthrough attraction of 1957, co-designed by animation art director and color stylist Eyvind Earle, who was credited with giving the motion picture “Sleeping Beauty” its distinctive and colorful look of storybook illustrations in medieval style.
Enhanced with new scenes and special-effects magic, the re-Imagineered attraction employs technology not available in the 1950s to tell the story of Sleeping Beauty, including the magic of good fairies Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, and the more sinister spells of the evil Maleficent.
For the first time, guests who are unable to climb stairs or navigate the passageways of the Castle will be able to experience the walkthrough “virtually” in a special room on the ground floor of the Castle
The Castle Walkthrough is an iconic attraction. While small, it is an important reminder of the special touches and unique magic that Walt Disney blessed his little park with. The Imagineers took this opportunity to not just bring the walkthrough back, but to restore it to the intent of its original incarnation.
Photos and information for this article provided by Disney
True loves kiss has awakened the Beloved Sleeping Beauty Castle. You can experience it for yourself beginning this Wednesday evening.
See you at Disneyland,
-Dusty
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33 Comments, Comment or Ping
MasterGracey
Amazing. I cannot wait for this to open! Thanks for the photos and information, Dusty.
Nov 25th, 2008
Baloo
great lighting. thanks for the article
Nov 25th, 2008
Micoofy Duck
How the heck did you get photos without people in them? You’d think the hallways would be crowded with folks wanting to walk through this.
Nov 25th, 2008
caesarboxfan
Publicity shots, Micoofy.
Can’t wait to finally walk up there tomorrow!
Nov 25th, 2008
Wendygirl
I am so going to try and be there at 5 PM.
Thank you Imagineers for bringing this treasure back!
Nov 25th, 2008
okerry
Love does bring things back to life, doesn’t it? Thanks so much for posting this.
Nov 25th, 2008
System Error
Wow! The lighting is absolutely perfect. It is so great to see such a high quality attraction so lovingly restored. Very classy.
Nov 25th, 2008
The International
Looks great.
Nov 25th, 2008
sir clinksalot
Awesome, can’t wait.
Nov 25th, 2008
Evil Step-Mom
Wow, I can’t wait to see this and take video for my daughter.
Nov 25th, 2008
xalesa
Beautiful, simply beautiful. Thanks Dusty for giving us the sneak preview Disney pics!
Nov 25th, 2008
mistyisjafo
Absolutely beautiful. I’m so glad they decided to bring back this classic piece. I always enjoyed the walk-thru and this just amps up the look.
Nov 25th, 2008
Goover
Having never stepped foot within the castle, you can only imagine how psyched i am for this to open! WOOOT! going in early December. CAN’T WAIT!
Nov 25th, 2008
Nekoni
I have fond memories attatched to that building, and am glad it’s opening again ^^
Nov 25th, 2008
KrItTeR
This is awesome!
Thanks so much!
Nov 25th, 2008
Nancy Carey
If I wasn’t already excited about our trip in late December I would be for the Castle Walk Through alone! This has always been one of my favorite Disney attractions. Kudos to the Imagineers for getting back to the heart of things, not just making it bigger and louder.
Thanks for the preview, Dusty.
Nov 25th, 2008
wdwnut4life
fabulous & beautiful, thanks 4 posting! happy holidays everyone!!
Nov 25th, 2008
disneylandfan95
AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!!!!!!!! Can’t wait to see it and thank you so mich for posting these great pics!!!
Nov 25th, 2008
disneygirl
Looks beautiful! Can’t wait to see more pics.
Nov 25th, 2008
disneyland255
WAHOO! The childhood memories are flourishing back!
Nov 25th, 2008
TifaOnACloud
Except for the off looking Maleficent, it’s looking great. Shame I can’t be there for the opening. Still, it’s about time!
Nov 26th, 2008
Lady Stardust
Looks amazing!
Nov 26th, 2008
Barbossa
Looks great! I hope the next attraction they bring back is the Tahitian Terrace.
Nov 26th, 2008
Pisces
Yes, but can you go out on the balcony ?
Nov 26th, 2008
twobluestripes
Looks gorgey. Is it done with cutouts? For some reason I thought the 50’s original was done with dolls, like the later one was. It looks very much like the movie and I can’t wait to see it all and witness the effects of the walkthrough in person.
Nov 26th, 2008
SplashMoun10
I’m liking the lighting in their….
Nov 26th, 2008
toemblem
Got to see it yesterday around 10:30PM. The line took abot half an hour and the walkthrough took about 20 minutes. Ovearall I thought it was a very nice mix of old and new. Not to give anything away but my group and I really enjoyed the interactive part in the hall of goons. Perhaps because of the relatively large number of people in a small space, the ventialltion system left a little to be desired but I wouldn’t let that keep me away in the future. Good show Disney!
Nov 27th, 2008
aurora1729
Such a tease! I can’t wait to see it on the 7th!!!!!!!!
Nov 27th, 2008
saphron37
Can’t wait to see it! Thanks for the pics!
Nov 28th, 2008
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