Surely the most magical part of Disney has to be Cinderella’s castle? How many of us, as children, dreamed of castles and princesses, princes and fairy godmothers, witches and dragons? I am sure that, like me, you cannot have failed to have been touched by the magic when you first saw Cinderella’s castle. Actually, I have to admit it was a bit of a shock to me, as I had always thought of it as being pink, but of course, that is the castle in Disneyland Paris, and Disneyworld’s magical castle is grey and blue, with gold spires. Set against the deep azure blue skies of Florida it is the perfect colour.

But did you know that it is supposedly the most photographed building in the world? I expect, like me, you have dozens of photos of the castle from every possible angle, and it is a firm favourite for a family portrait. I bet there is not one of us who does not have a photo of the family with the castle as a backdrop! It is certainly a great landmark as it can be seen from almost all parts of the park, so you need never get lost.

I wonder what is it about the castle that stirs the senses and takes us back to a mythical age when dragons roamed and knights in shining armour rescued princesses? Well, whatever it is, Disney seems to have found the perfect formula in Cinderella’s castle – from sunrise when it is suffused in a golden glow, through noon when it stands proud against an azure sky, and finally to dusk when it is lit up with  16.7 million colours. But of course it is night-time when the castle truly comes alive, bathed in a million exploding stars, as the dramatic firework display explodes around it and Tinkerbell flies across the sky. Like many others I have stood, entranced, the music and sounds engulfing me as I watch the castle changing colour - the perfect backdrop to the spectacular pyrotechnics of the evening.

Of course it is all an illusion – but one which we really don’t mind believing in. Said to be inspired by Neuschwanstein Castle in the Bavarian region of Germany, it stands only 189 ft tall but it appears larger because of forced perspective. The bricks and other details get smaller as the building gets taller, so it appears larger than it really is – it actually looks more like 300ft tall. In fact they are not really bricks at all, but the walls both inside and outside have been sculpted to resemble solid granite. The inside of the castle is made of reinforced gypsum plaster, supported by a huge steel frame weighing six hundred tons. The exterior facade is fibreglass.  The castle was completed in July 1971, and took 18 months to construct. In fact Walt Disney did not think the castle at Disneyland was prominent enough, so when the castle was built at Magic Kingdom at Disney World it was elevated. Walt Disney also wanted nothing to be taller than the castle, so he added a flag on it for good measure. It is said that one of the flagpoles has an artificial flag that is really a transmitting antenna for co-ordinating the Main St parade.

A well kept secret is the 650 sq ft hotel suite which was hidden inside the castle. It was designed to be used as a private apartment for Walt himself, but it was never finished. However, in 2006 it was decided to complete  the suite so that, as part of the ‘Year of a Million Dreams’ promotion, lucky guests could be chosen at random and given the opportunity to stay there overnight. Designers had to create a suite fit for Cinderella, herself a fictional princess, and that took some doing. After all, would she, for example, have a television? Well, they decided she would, so a plasma screen TV takes pride of place over the ornate fireplace. The lucky winners were escorted to the suite and then taken for a special meal at Cinderella’s ‘Royal Table Restaurant.’ A trip to the ‘Wishes’ show followed the meal, and from here they were taken in Cinderella’s carriage to their suite, where Cinderella herself gave them a wake-up call the following morning. They even had the services of a butler to take care of all their needs during the night. Now if that isn’t magical I don’t know what is! I have to admit that I would have been thrilled to have won a night in Cinderella’s suite.

One of my favourite parts of the castle is the stunning mosaic tile murals which adorn the walls of the corridor which runs through the middle of the palace. These huge 15ft by 10ft panels were designed by Dorothea Redmond, and then executed by a team of 6 mosaicists, led by Hanns-Joachim Scharff. They tell the story of Cinderella, and it is said that some of the tiles are real gold and silver. The mosaics took over two years to complete, and consist of hundreds of thousands of pieces of Italian glass, in over 500 colours. Don’t forget to look closely at these mosaics as if you take a peep at Cinderella’s wicked stepsisters as they watch Cinderella trying on the glass slipper, you will see that one sister has a red face, which is suffused with anger, whilst the other is green with envy.

Of course there are many myths which have grown up around this magical castle. It is said that a ghost can sometimes be seen walking around in the crowds. There is another myth that it can be dismantled during a hurricane, but this is absolutely false.

One thing is for sure – the prime icon of Disneyworld, Orlando will always be Cinderella’s Castle. Undoubtedly it will continue to bring a touch of magic to millions of people in the future, and it will certainly give me goose bumps whenever I see it for the first time, as I walk through the gates of Magic Kingdom.

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