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Cinderella Castle was completed
in July 1971, after about 18 months of construction, and
reaches to a height of 189 feet (57.6 m) tall -- nearly
twice the size of Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland in
Anaheim, California. An optical trick known as forced perspective
makes Cinderella Castle appear even larger than it actually
is. As it becomes taller, its proportions get smaller. For
example, using this method, the top spire of the Castle
is actually close to half of the size it "appears." Major
elements of the Castle were scaled and angled to give the
illusion of distance and height, a method frequently used
in Disney theme parks around the world.
View
Cinderella's
Castle Photo Gallery |
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Cinderella
Castle appears to be made of white and grey stone with
royal blue roofs on their turrets; the tops of several towers
and two of the tallest spires are made with real gold and
gold leaf. Despite appearances, no bricks were used in its
construction; the inner structure is constructed of six-hundred
tons of steel braced frame construction, and a ten inch
thick reinforced concrete wall encircles the structure to
the full height of the outermost "stone" walls. All of the
steel and concrete works are supported on a concrete drilled
caisson foundation. In spite of the fact that this is not
a genuine fortress, it is the next best thing structurally
speaking. Much less fiberglass is used than is popularly
supposed. Rather, most of the exterior is a thick, very
hard fiber-reinforced gypsum plaster that is supported by
light gauge metal studs. Most fiberglass work is reserved
for the exterior walls of more ornate upper towers. The
roofs are not fiberglass, either. They are shingled in the
same type of plastic that computer monitor shells are made
from, attached to a cone of light gauge steel sheeting over
the steel sub-frame. These towers were lifted by crane,
then welded and bolted permanently to the main structure.
Contrary to a popular legend, the Castle cannot be taken
apart in the event of a hurricane. It would take months
to disassemble, it would be too dangerous to operate the
300 foot (91.4 m) crane required in windy conditions, and
there would have to be a safer building to keep it in; it
was simpler to design it to handle a hurricane. It can easily
withstand the 110 mph (177 k/h) design wind speeds in Central
Florida with a great deal of strength in reserve.
Cinderella Castle is also surrounded by a moat,
which contains approximately 3.37 million gallons (12.76
megaliters) of water; however, unlike the drawbridge at
Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland, Cinderella Castle
can not raise its drawbridge. There are a total of 27 towers
on the castle, each numbered 1-29-- tower numbers 13 and
17 were deleted before construction when it was realized
that they could not really be seen from anywhere in the
park, due mainly to the other Fantasyland buildings. The
tower with the clock in front is 10, the tallest is 20.
23 is the other golden-roofed tower.
Originally,
a suite was built for Walt Disney and his family, but since
Disney died before the park opened, it was turned into an
office. There are three elevators inside the castle. One
is for guest use and goes between the lobby of Cinderella's
Royal table, and the second floor where the restaurant is.
The second is for restaurant staff use, and is located in
tower 2 to the left of the drawbridge. It has landings in
the Utilidors, the mezzanine level in a break room, and
on the second floor in the kitchen. The third elevator is
in tower 20, and services the Utilidors, the breezeway,
the kitchen of Cinderella's Royal Table, and the Cinderella
Castle Suite. The suite is about 30 feet below the level
where the cable is attached to tower 20. Access to the cable
is by ladder. Since January 2007 the suite has been used
as a prize for the Disney Dreams Giveaway at the Walt Disney
World Resort during the Year Of A Million Dreams Celebration.
Guests have an opportunity to spend a night in the castle
if they win the Giveaway. Guests could be approached by
a Disney cast member at any time in one of the four theme
parks and informed that they have won a prize. The chance
to stay in the Cinderella Castle Suite is just one of the
many prizes.
Cinderella Castle was designed so that
it was tall enough that it could be seen from the Seven
Seas Lagoon in front of the
Magic Kingdom, where
many guests took ferries from the parking lot to the gates
of the park. In theme park jargon, Cinderella Castle was
conceived as the primary visual magnet (known in Disney
parlance as a 'weenie') that draws new entering guests through
Main Street, U.S.A. towards the central hub, from where
all other areas can be reached. |
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