Sleeping Beauty's Castle looks better...

[Sorcerer's Apprentice]

My wife and I were just discussing how much prettier the castle is at night, I wonder how lopsided the opinions would be of day and night visual preferences.

So what's your opinion, please?

Day or Night?

[BroncoBob]

Definitely during the night. Its nice during the day, but the lighting touches add a little extra magic.

[Datameister]

I can't vote on this--too difficult! I guess I'm inclined to say that the nighttime look is prettier. I would definitely vote for night if we were talking about the holiday display, but the plain old castle is pretty beautiful in the day, too.

Nighttime affords the ability to control lighting, which means selectively and carefully orchestrated beauty is possible. However, it's apparent that the beauty is selectively and carefully orchestrated, which makes it feel slightly more artificial.

[fo'c's'le swab]

Day. It's a more honest view. At night you see only what is showcased--and I like to take in the 'whole picture'.

[Witches of Morva]

ORWEN: This sure is a hard one to vote on. But I guess, after all is said and done, I like Sleeping Beauty's Castle better during the day because you miss out on a lot more detail at night than you do during the day. Still, the special magic you get from the night time lighting comes in for a very close second.

ORDDU: I've often been told that I look better in the evening light.

ORGOCH: I think ya misunderstood, sister!! What they meant was ya looked better in the dark when nobody had ta see how ugly ya was!!!

[aashee]

I prefer the day. Although I do like the snowy castle at night in the winter.

[Steve DeGaetano]

I preferred the day view before the castle was princessified.

[Goofy Daddy]

Regular Season: Day. The view of it as you walk down Main Street still affects me as an adult.

Holiday Overlay Time: Night. The "ice lights" this year were excellent.

[DisneyIPresume]

I thin the castle is a lot more dramatic during the day. It sticks out a lot more and appears bigger than it actually is.

The lighting effects at night are nice but I think during the evening it is dark and so it forces the castle to not appear as striking as it is during the day.

[fo'c's'le swab]

I thin the castle is a lot more dramatic during the day. It sticks out a lot more and appears bigger than it actually is.

The lighting effects at night are nice but I think during the evening it is dark and so it forces the castle to not appear as striking as it is during the day.

DallasIPresume brings up this point: the infringement of the night view upon the day view. Some impressive night effects are created AT THE EXPENSE of the daytime view.

If this recent holiday display is any indicator, I know what Disney management's favorite view of the castle is.

[Witches of Morva]

ORWEN: Well, Steve DeGaetano, duckling, I'm not sure what you mean by the castle being 'princessified'. But even so, since the castle at Disneyland IS the home of a Disney Princess and since it's SUPPOSED to be based on a fairytale, what's the problem? I mean, really! Lately it's as if some ducklings out there are pushing for everything at the Disney theme parks to be de-characteriezed in order to meet their peculiar expectations.

[Datameister]

The view of it as you walk down Main Street still affects me as an adult.

I know exactly what you mean.

I'm not sure what you mean by the castle being 'princessified'.

I'm assuming Steve is referring to the 2005 paint job that turned the castle Pepto-Bismol pink. Intellectually, I can relate to his sentiment, but...honestly, it just doesn't bother me. It's a rather pretty color, and as you three lovely dames have pointed out, it is a castle where a princess lives, after all.

[1FoolishMortal]

I think they tweaked the lighting after they removed the holiday stuff, because when I went a week ago it looked a lot less "Pepto-Bismol" intense. The color was balanced much better.

[Disneyphenom]

Daytime, hands down. I think the castle is overlit at night, ruining a part of the forced perspective.

And I didn't care for either version of the "snow covered" Castle.

[Steve DeGaetano]

ORWEN: Well, Steve DeGaetano, duckling, I'm not sure what you mean by the castle being 'princessified'. But even so, since the castle at Disneyland IS the home of a Disney Princess and since it's SUPPOSED to be based on a fairytale, what's the problem? I mean, really! Lately it's as if some ducklings out there are pushing for everything at the Disney theme parks to be de-characteriezed in order to meet their peculiar expectations.

Data has it mostly right. The colors definitely removed the castle from the semi-realistic and placed it in the fantasy (and I don't mean fantasy in the good sense). I also take issue with the oh-so-cutsie squirrel scuppers and the silly railing left in place from the 50th.

The castle once had a veneer of reality to it that made the fantasy better. That veneer has been removed, at the fantasy's expense.