Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough

[HotelNeptune]

Last night I was able to make my first trip through the newly refurbished / rehabbed / overhauled Sleeping Beauty Castle walkthrough, and was very surprised not to find too much about it here at MiceChat (granted, my search capabilities may just be lacking).

I was really blown away by it, as was the rest of the group I went with. The details were fantastic, the production top-notch, and it was a really wonderful way to tell a story. My girlfriend put it best: "It's like traveling through a pop-up book that has come to life!" Flat, 2D modeling combined with an expansive sense of scale and scope, bright illustration, lush lighting and seamless integration of computer enhanced animation overlays really created an immersive, one-of-a-kind experience with many "WOW!" moments, and we all walked away impressed. It seemed a very appropriate presentation for a classic Disney animated film, and I hope it gets the attention it deserves (the entrance is still tucked away and difficult to find unless you know where to look, and the park didn't seem to be making any real efforts to promote this hidden gem).

So yeah... great job, Imagineers! I for one was very charmed, and look forward to showing it off whenever I get the chance...

[WJNM]

I kind of like that there isn't a huge entrance or a good deal of promotion for it. It's one of those hidden gems that truly makes Disneyland great. It's also a great rebuttal to the normally oft-commented idea that Disney only builds attractions with huge marketing schemes and requires a gift shop at every attraction's entrance. I know the corresponding DVD came out again, but the extensive renovation of this attraction seems to have been purely done for the love of it!

[HotelNeptune]

You're probably right about it working better as a hidden gem, just one of the nice little nooks in the park that's able to retain its heart without having to be overcommercialized or overcrowded. Still... it's done so well and lavished with so much care attention to detail that I hope it gets a bit more recognition, even if it's just from people who accidentally stumble upon it. Personally, it will be nice to introduce it to friends of mine who may not have yet experienced it or even knew it was there...

[Uncle Bob]

I agree, it is very nice and I too like it partially because it is a little hidden gem, people will catch on to it being there. It's also pretty exciting that one day not too far off all of Fantasyland's dark rides might get a simmilar digital upgrade. It's been 25 years, they're about due for a little new technolgy, and these new projection effects they're doing now should really be able to add another layer of depth and motion to the old flats.

[Tool]

I agree It is pretty well "hidden". When I went through it the crowds of the park were pretty robust but there was no one walking through the castle. I really enjoyed it as it was empty and I just took my sweet time looking at everything.

[HotelNeptune]

True... maybe I shouldn't have posted anything about it in the first place. Hey, everyone else... it's really not worth visiting. Just stay away!

[LLCMC]

When it first re-opened there were certainly long lines and a lot of hoopla (including here on the boards... lots of in depth discussion!), but I'm glad to see it has died down to normal levels, and we can all take our time enjoying the attraction!

I've noticed the Nemo lines have gotten smaller now too, even on busy days. It used to be that even on a slow park day you'd still be looking at 45 minutes to an hour! Granted, that ride isn't exactly a line-eater, even now, but it's much better

Back to Sleeping Beauty, I agree it turned out QUITE nice, and it very impressive for that relatively small space. Two thumbs up from me!

[HotelNeptune]

I haven't been on the boards in a long, long time... so maybe I just missed said "hoopla". I went hunting for it but came up more or less empty-handed.

[Uncle Bob]

^True, I think Nemo is probably approaching pre-Nemo numbers already. It would be interesting to know the numbers now compared to then and if they're good enough to consider the refurb a success. I don't know, I like the subs being back from the outside for nostalgia, but a new attraction would have been a better choice probably.

[CinderelLaura]

That's something I definitely plan to do the next time I'm at Disneyland! Nice to hear it's worth it.

[WJNM]

When I went to the park a couple weeks ago we had a walk-on for nearly everything (the longest wait by far was 15 minutes for ToT at DCA), but the SBC walk-through was fairly packed! In the long run it may be prove to be more popular than Nemo!

[Uncle Bob]

It was crowded when I went about three weeks ago too. It certainly gets people even though it really isn't that visible.

[WJNM]

Of course we all know that this is probably due to DL being a "local's park" with a TON of AP'ers who are in the know and appreciate this kind of thing. It'd be interesting to see what a similar response would have been to a Cinderella Walk-Through at MK.

[The Disneylander]

I agree. The walkthrough was very well done-I was extremely impressed.

[pianoman13]

I went through it just yesterday...still pretty crowded, it's nice to see that it's still getting a healthy amount of guests. I especialy loved hearing everyones "wow"'s at the things i've already experienced. If Disney does the same kinds of neat updates in the fantasyland darkrides, people would be much more impressed with Fantasyland as a whole.