Sleeping Beauty Castle

:This is an article about a castle at Disneyland, Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland. For the castle at the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland, see Cinderella Castle

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Disneyland - Disneyland Paris - Hong Kong Disneyland - Magic Kingdom - Tokyo Disneyland - Cinderella Castle

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Sleeping Beauty Castle is the fairy tale structure at the center of three theme parks owned by The Walt Disney Company. Two are based on classical German fortresses, and one is a Swiss-French-Bavarian hybrid in architecture.

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Fairy tale - The Walt Disney Company - German - Swiss - French - Bavarian

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The first is at the original Disneyland, the only Disney park to be worked on and walked through by Walt Disney. The castle is the smallest - and the oldest - of the Disney castles, but the smallness gives the castle a quaint charm. Walt Disney himself wanted a smaller castle because in medieval Europe the nobility and lords built large imposing castles to intimidate commoners, so Disney wanted a more accessible castle. The castle was completed in 1955. Formerly home to several dioramas depicting the story of Sleeping Beauty, the walk-through attraction was discontinued in 2001. It is widely speculated that this was in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11th, however another theory speculates that this is due to the fact that it cannot accommodate handicapped guests.

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Disneyland - Walt Disney - Handicapped

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The second Sleeping Beauty Castle is at the Disneyland Paris, although the official name is Le chateau de la belle au bois dormant, essentially Sleeping Beauty's Castle. The castle was built in a much more fairy tale-inspired style than the first Sleeping Beauty Castle to appeal to Europeans, for whom castles are a more regular sight. It is regarded as the most visually stunning of all the Disney castles. The castle was completed in 1992. It was decorated for the 5th anniversary of the park, and was turned into a giant jester's hat.

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The third Sleeping Beauty Castle is located at the Hong Kong Disneyland park. Its design is exactly the same as the original Disneyland castle, right down to the colours used when the original opened in 1955 - it now has different colours. The final turret was put in place on November 18, 2004, and opened on September 12, 2005.

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Hong Kong Disneyland - November 18 - 2004 - September 12 - 2005

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Additionally, the Disneyland castle is the symbol of many parts of The Walt Disney Company. It is the logo for Walt Disney Pictures, Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group, Buena Vista Music Group, Buena Vista International, and Buena Vista Television. It is also heavily featured in advertisements for the Wonderful World of Disney, on ABC and the Disney Channel.

Related Topics:
The Walt Disney Company - Walt Disney Pictures - Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group - Buena Vista Music Group - Buena Vista International - Buena Vista Television - Wonderful World of Disney - ABC - Disney Channel

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