Anaheim’s Sleeping Beauty Castle hidden in plain sight at Disneyland Paris
Published: octubre 19, 2021 / Last Updated: octubre 19, 2021 / By: Arvid Bux
A few years ago we took a guided tour at Disneyland Paris. Together with a Cast Member, we walked through Disneyland Paris and she spoke about the history and the design of the park. While we knew most of the information that was shared with us, there was one little fact we didn’t know: The building of the Main Street Transportation Co. was supposed to resemble the Sleeping Beauty Castle from Disneyland in Anaheim.
In the years after the tour, I’ve been looking at the two, and while I see a resemblance, it wasn’t entirely clear. Neither was I able to find multiple sources to confirm this. So I did what most people do and I took it to Social Media. On Twitter several former Imagineers are active and I thought let’s just ask two Imagineers who I know who worked on Disneyland Paris when it was initially built. My tweet:
When we did a guided tour of Disneyland Paris, the CM told us that Main Street Transportation Co. was meant to look like Sleeping Beauty Castle in Anaheim. I see the resemblance, but can't find any more sources to confirm this. Anybody? @boss_angeles or @TomKMorris maybe? #DLP pic.twitter.com/NpaXSSZzO5
— Arvid – Travel to the Magic (@travelttmagic) October 18, 2021
And what do you know, Eddie Sotto, one of the Imagineers who worked on Disneyland Paris, replied, and shared an image of his EDL slide deck showing how the Main Street Transportation Co. building resembles Sleeping Beauty Castle from Disneyland in Anaheim. When you open the screenshot you will see that not only the Main Street Transportation Co. building is part of it, but also the adjacent buildings.
A screen grab from my EDL slide show. pic.twitter.com/Qe4eYe9RhN
— Eddie Sotto (@boss_angeles) October 18, 2021
True. I did that intentionally to abstractly recall the silhouette of the Disneyland Castle front view.
— Eddie Sotto (@boss_angeles) October 18, 2021
On the question of why this was done, Sotto had a great answer which I know for sure all Disney fans will love:
I always loved the composition of the castle since I was a kid and the design started subconsciously. Then I realized it, went further as a hidden homage for fans to discover.
— Eddie Sotto (@boss_angeles) October 19, 2021
And if you believe that only (most, some apparently did know this) fans didn’t know about this, Tom Morris, another former Disney Imagineer who worked on Disneyland Paris, also didn’t know about this:
Well I guess it took me nearly 30 years to find out!
— Tom K Morris (@TomKMorris) October 19, 2021