Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant

Hail to the princess Aurora!

Once upon a time is right before your eyes! The ornate detail of the park's centrepiece with its quant turrets, towering spires and colourful windows reawakens your childhood and makes dreams come true for princes and princesses of all ages.

The magic of the classic European fairytale, Sleeping Beauty, is celebrated throughout this extraordinary piece of fairytale architecture.

Iconic centrepiece of Disneyland and entrance to Fantasyland: lavish, exquisite, fantastical.

  • Opening Date

    12th April 1992

  • Attraction Type

    Walkthrough

  • Height

    46 metres

  • Suitablility
    • Children 3-7
    • Children 8-12
    • Young Adults
    • Adults
    • Seniors

Trivia

  • Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant stands an impressive 46 metres high, but the Imagineers exaggerated its height further and made it appear more distant from Main Street, U.S.A. through the use of forced perspective in its architecture and along the street. Central Plaza also lies in a small dip, and the raised moat bridge into the Castle further exaggerates its dominance.
  • The design of Le Château was inspired by Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Southern Germany - the same castle which reportedly inspired the original Disneyland California Sleeping Beauty Castle. The central tower of this castle features the same small "side turret" as Le Château's main tower, but, knowing how common fairytale castles are throughout Europe, the Imagineers greatly exaggerated the Castle's whimsy to produce something truly out of the ordinary.
  • From Time to Time, the 360° film shown in Discoveryland's Le Visionarium attraction from 1992 to 2004 featured a swooping glide over Neuschwanstein Castle as one of its many spectacular scenes, a hidden "thank you" from the Imagineers to the historic inspiration.
  • The tallest of Le Château's towers weighed 15 tons and measured 55 feet at construction. The towers were made in Italy before being hoisted up onto the castle base on 2nd August 1991. However, Imagineering legend tells that, since the pink colour was slightly wrong, the entire tower then had to be repainted in the cold, wet months of winter!

Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant stands exactly twice as tall as the 23-metre-high original Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland in California!

Tips

Advice

  • Fully accessible. A lift at the rear of the Merlin l'Enchanteur boutique provides access to the first-floor mezzanine level.