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Near the center of Disneyland, at the end of Main Street, sits Sleeping Beauty Castle. For nearly 50 years it has sat quietly as millions of visitors passed beneath the archway into Fantasyland. Disneyland, and in fact the entire world, has changed much since the castle first appeared in an orange grove in Anaheim, but still it remains as a silent sentinel of the dreams of one man.
Walt wanted a castle in his Disneyland. Sounds like a rather obvious thing to say, but it bears mentioning. The heart of Disneyland was Fantasyland, the place where the Disney animated films would come to three-dimensional life. Since most of them were European in origin, a castle provided a quick and powerful way to signify a European feel to this land, so the earliest 1953 sketch of Disneyland by Herb Ryman included just such a castle towering over a medieval village (which was to house the rides based on movies).
Opened July 17, 1955, the castle is the oldest of all the Disney castles. It reaches a height of 77 feet (23.4696 meters).
Beginning April 29, 1957, visitors were able to walk through the castle and view several dioramas depicting the story of Sleeping Beauty. The walk-through experience was discontinued in 2001 and it is widely speculated that this was in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11th. Another theory, however, speculates that the closure was necessary because of the inability to accommodate handicapped guests.
In celebration of Disneyland's 50th anniversary, the castle was repainted and 5 turrets were decorated by having various crowns, each representing a decade in Disneyland history[1], placed upon them:
The creation of Disneyland is represented by a pair of famous “Ears” peeking up over the horizon to see the wonders to come.
“A World on the Move,” otherwise known as the “New Tomorrow land” of 1967, is represented by rocket ships and accented by opalescent planets.
The beautiful Blue Fairy represents the debut of the beloved Main Street Electrical Parade.
