Comments on: Sleeping Beauty Castle – A Present for Disneyland on its Birthday

By: Neely

Neely — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 07:34:43 +0000

I don’t know what Disney was thinking when they decided to close down the castle. In my opinion Disney has been getting rid of too many attractions that have become a staple of the park! Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln, The People Mover, The Skyway, The Swiss Famiy Tree House..I’m relieved that the story of Sleeping Beauty will be returning.

Walt Disney said that “Disneyland will never be completed”, and I believe that it is important for the future of the park to expand and add new things in order to keep it fresh, but not at the expense of losing old guest favorites.

I’ve got an idea! If Disney wants too add a bunch of new attractions just knock down that dreadful California park. There is tons of space for the imagineers to build and create to their hearts content.

By: Cyndi

Cyndi — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:05:37 +0000

Yes, as stated above…

“On April 29, 1957, nearly two years before the premiere of Walt Disney’s animated feature “Sleeping Beauty,” the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough opened with an in-park ceremony featuring Walt Disney and actress Shirley Temple who, some 20 years earlier, had presented Disney with his special Academy Award – one Oscar and seven little ones – for “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

By: Ken Pellman

Ken Pellman — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:05:40 +0000

This will bring back one of those special little touches that I enjoyed about Disneyland. Now, if they’d just turn the Fantasyland Skyway station into the Dream Suite and bring back The Disney Gallery… …and if they’s stop getting rid of lap seating (Splash Mountain, Matterhorn…)… and if they would….

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:38:24 +0000

I’ve missed the walk through since it closed and I can’t wait until it opens again.

And it is timed to the new DVD, Blu-Ray release of Sleeping Beauty, too.

By: Chris Wade

Chris Wade — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:28:36 +0000

Actually, it would be easy to provide access on the subs. One one of the subs, remove one of the stairwells (and a couple of seats, replace it all with a lift, with cables. When the sub docks, those cables attach to a motorized mechanism that would raise and lower the lift when the wheelchair rolls on it, on the other end you would have to remove a couple of seats, so that both sides could load from the one end. You would only do this to one sub, to maintain a higher capacity.

I think this should still be done in addition to the viewing room, the viewing room is nice and should definitely remain, but there should be options where possible for everyone to enjoy every aspect of the attraction.

Now, with this system, that one sub could get quite busy, which is why I would recommend that if implemented, there be return time passes given to those in wheelchairs that want to use that sub, as it would be limited to one wheelchair at a time (two at most, if they can go back to back I suppose).

Now as for the Sleeping Beauty Castle, I think it is nice that they are providing this, but there would also be ways to provide access, but all of them would be fairly costly and not themed well at all, I think this may be a great compromise here.

I also wonder where they are going to put it though.

By: Greg

Greg — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:13:39 +0000

I’m liking Disney’s new trend of creating special viewing rooms for ADA compliance, as they did with the subs. It seems like a good compromise that preserves the integrity of the attraction. The subs would be nearly pointless if they had to adapt them to accommodate a wheelchair lift, and likewise the castle walk-through would never have happened if Disney had to install an elevator. There are a few members of my family who are very appreciative that they can enjoy the subs without having to clamor down into the claustrophobic boats.

So my question is, where is the viewing room? Will it replace the heraldry shop? I can’t imagine that shop turns a huge profit.

By: Tony

Tony — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:58:40 +0000

Is that child-star Shirley Temple (as an adult) in the photo?