Sleeping Beauty Castle reopens at Disneyland park with new enhancements

Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland park has officially reopened after a lengthy refurbishment as part of Project Stardust, and now features bright new colors, a new roof, and just a bit of extra pixie dust.

sleeping beauty castle

Over the years at Disneyland, the castle has had its colors and finishes refreshed and updated since Disney Legend and Imagineering Artist Herb Ryman originally created the concept for it in the 1950s.

“What’s interesting about this time is that we used an ages-old painting technique called atmospheric perspective to visually heighten the castle,” said Kim Irvine, art director at Walt Disney Imagineering. “We warmed the pink hues on the lower towers and gradually added blue to lighten the colors on top.”

castle turrets

This same technique was used for the castle’s new roof, now draped in cobalt colors. Each of the 18 original turrets were digitally scanned to re-create the roofline, and sparkling gold pixie dust was added to the center roof.

“We focused the golden accents and pixie dust around the entrance to the castle, as though it has been magically enchanted,” said Irvine. 

sleeping beauty castle

New, colorful banners, pennants, and landscaping were also added, and the walkthrough attraction inside the castle got a refresh with new paint and lighting.

ryman tree

To commemorate the reopening of Sleeping Beauty Castle, the Disneyland Resort made a donation to Ryman Arts, a charity co-founded by Herb Ryman, and planted a dwarf tree in his honor. The new “Ryman Tree” is reminiscent of a Christmas tree that belongs to the artist the last year of his life, which was once planted near the castle after his passing.

To learn more about the Disneyland Resort, visit Disneyland.com.

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