Cinderella Castle and Wishing Well

I've written many posts about the various attractions in Disney theme parks based around the films I've been watching.  Some have been prominent rides such as Snow White's Scary Adventure or Pinocchio's Daring Journey.  Others have been obscure areas such as the Fantasia golfing attraction or ephemeral like Bambi's presence in the parks.  Some have merely been meet and greets.  

Cinderella, however, is a film whose impact on Disney theme parks is huge.  It forms, after all, the centre-piece of Disney World itself - Cinderella's Castle; a massive structure visible for miles around the Magic Kingdom and the hub of the theme park.  Cinderella's Castle is also the castle at the centre of Tokyo Disneyland.  Although Cinderella's Castle is replaced by other princess's abodes in the other parks, this central castle icon is key to Disney's image.

Cinderella's Castle is an impressive and emotional sight for many visiting Disney World.  It's iconic white and blue colouring stands out as guests walk down main street and dominates the Fantasyland area.  Because the front of the castle hosts the staging area for many of the high profile shows and because of its importance to the nightly fireworks show, it is possible for some guests to not actually walk through the castle on their way to Fantasyland.  If visitors do, they are greeted by a series of mosaics on the walls of the passageway through.  These depict the story of Cinderella.  Oddly, though, the style is reminiscent of Renaissance art and is much more like the style of Disney's Sleeping Beauty than it is Cinderella.  They are beautiful though.  The passageway also hosts the entrance to an exclusive area of Disney World, Cinderella's Castle Suite.  This is a luxurious suite that guests can stay in, themed around Cinderella.  The detailing is exquisite but it isn't somewhere that many guests get to visit, let alone stay in.  A stay in the suite is by invitation only.

Near Cinderella Castle is Cinderella's Wishing Well.  The Wishing Well reflects the theming seen in Cinderella's Castle Suite with a large C and the metalwork and carvings depicting the birds and mice familiar from the film.  It is situated in a small, secluded patio area with a bench for resting your feet and soaking in a view of the castle towering above.  It's a beautiful spot.

The Tokyo Disneyland version of Cinderella's Castle is a near replica of its Florida counterpart, right down to the mosaics.  However, it also hosts the entrance to a walkthrough attraction - Cinderella's Fairy Tale Hall.  Prior to that, it hosted a similar attraction: Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour - both of which I'll examine more in separate posts.

Through the years, Cinderella's Castle has been redressed for various events including as a giant birthday cake and covered in toilet paper, ostensibly at the hand of Stitch.  But whatever it looks like, whether as the sun rises in the morning as guests enter the park or lit up by fireworks, with Disney characters projected across it's surface at the nightly shows, the Cinderella Castle will remain one of Disney World's most iconic attractions.