Prince Charming Regal Carrousel

Who doesn't love a carousel?  The classic fairground ride which I'm sure everyone has ridden at some point in their life.  Painted horses rise up and down as the carousel spins elegantly around.  Street organ versions of familiar songs play as the carousel turns and turns.

Walt Disney World's version of the carousel is no different.  Formerly known as Cinderella's Golden Carrousel, it is now named after her husband - Prince Charming Regal Carrousel.

What is kind of sweet is that the ride hasn't just been renamed - the Imagineers have invented a whole new backstory for the attraction:

“Following their fairy-tale romance and happily-ever-after wedding, Cinderella and Prince Charming took up residence in Cinderella’s Castle. With peace throughout the kingdom, Prince Charming had time to practice for jousting tournaments. In the countryside near the castle, he built a training device of carved horses, on which he could practice the art of ring-spearing, a tournament event in which a knight rides his horse full speed, lance in hand, toward a small ring hanging from a tree limb, with the object of spearing the ring. This event was known by various names throughout the lands, but generally came to be called ‘carrousel.’
The carrousel device drew the attention of the villagers, who wanted to take a turn on this amazing spinning contraption. So Prince Charming had a second carrousel constructed closer to the Castle, where everyone could take a spin on this wondrous invention. Instead of a working knight’s training device, however, this new carrousel is more befitting its regal location in the Castle Courtyard – its rustic training horses replaced with ornately decorated prancing steeds adorned with golden helmets and shields, flower garlands, feathers and other festoons. Prince Charming invites one and all to test their horsemanship skills and to enjoy their own happy ending.”

The carousel is beautifully decorated.  The horses have a variety of colour schemes: reds, blues, yellows, oranges, greens.  The central column is decorated in a diamond pattern, with mirrors reflecting the guests astride their steeds.  Lights run along the edges of the carousel's roof.

Around the outside of the roof are painted scenes from the story of Cinderella.

The carousel itself is housed with a wider, medieval tent-like structure topped with flags and a large cone structure in the centre.

This carousel ride has existed at the park, in various forms, from pretty much the beginning making it one of the oldest attractions at Disney World.

In Tokyo Disneyland, Castle Carrousel is a very similar ride, including similar decoration and the Cinderella images around the top of the attraction.  At Hong Kong Disneyland there is yet another iteration of the ride named, rather bluntly, Cinderella Carousel.  The tent structure covering of this ride is slightly different to the other two - it lacks the cone structure at it's centre, but it also includes scenes from Cinderella around the roof and similar decorations on the ride. 

There's not a lot else to say about this classic ride apart from the fact that it will always be a ride we spend time on, as my daughter loves a carousel.  Simple and unthrilling it may be, but it's a classic and a mainstay of the parks - even those without a 'Cinderella' version still have carousels at the heart of Fantasyland.