Exclusive scene-by-scene tour of Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty castle walk-through

The Sleeping Beauty castle walk-through reopens at Disneyland in December 2008 after a seven-year hiatus.

Visitors will walk past a series of forced-perspective dioramas featuring deceptively simple special effects that tell the story of “Sleeping Beauty.”

Disney Imagineers redesigned the castle walk-through in 1977 to dismal results, installing costumed Barbie doll-like figurines under the misguided notion that the classic artwork from the 1959 animated movie had become dated. The 2008 re-redesign hews closely to the hand-painted concept art employed in the original 1957 walk-through. (Read a complete history of the Sleeping Beauty castle walk-through.)

A scene-by-scene breakdown of the re-created Sleeping Beauty castle walk-through:

* Entering from the castle courtyard, visitors encounter the first of seven illuminated manuscripts that tell the story of “Sleeping Beauty.” Naturally, the first book begins, “Once upon a time…”

* In the first scene at the top of a long staircase, the king and queen watch as a pyre of spinning wheels burn. Imagineers used the first of several Pepper’s Ghosts effects in the castle to achieve the flickering inferno — shining a light through a rotating wine bottle onto an unseen plate of angled glass, making the fire appear to burn in the middle of the scene.

* In the christening scene with baby Aurora, the fairies Flora, Fauna and Merryweather sprinkle sparkling pixie dust from their magic wands. To achieve the effect, a light shines through a revolving grocery store checkout conveyor belt poked with “pixie dust” pin spots as the fairies rock on hidden cams.

* Maleficent makes her first appearance in her dungeon. The tails of her cloak billow ominously (aided by hidden air jets) as her pet raven spreads its wings (an early animatronic). A cyclorama painted on the curved back wall gives the illusion of a long hallway. The original 1957 raven survived, thanks to a Disneyland maintenance worker who kept the black bird on his desk since 1977.

* Ascending to the top of the castle, visitors first come upon the sleeping spell scene. The fairies sprinkle pixie dust on the castle inhabitants in a repeat of an earlier sight gag. In the 1957 version, visitors were encouraged to add their own “snore” — which was recorded, looped and added to the scene.

* In the next scene, Sleeping Beauty makes her first appearance locked in eternal slumber. Rays of pixie dust filter across the room from a moonlit window, aided by a shimmering light shining through a series of pinholes onto an invisible piece of glass slopping at a severe angle from the canopy of her bed toward the viewer.

* In the first of a series of scenes not in the 1959 animated movie, Maleficent’s goons pop up to surprise visitors who peer into a barred prison cell. Back in 1957, visitors peeked through keyholes at Maleficent’s imprisoned goons in a simple yet elaborate mirror illusion that put the viewer’s eyes on the goons’ faces. The gag, which halted traffic in the cramped castle corridors in 1957, proved too problematic to replicate in 2008.

* Heading downstairs, visitors come upon Maleficent summoning her demons to help her destroy Phillip — a scene that never made the movie. Using another pepper’s ghost illusion, the ghouls ascend into the night sky as lightning bolts flash. A rear projector shines storm clouds against a scrim.

* In Maleficent’s dungeon scene, ghouls emerge from a fiery pit. Ghastly green smoke reflected off diffusion glass appears to billow from the pit. The original 1957 effect would be used later in the Haunted Mansion ballroom.

* In a new scene not in the 1957 castle walk-through, Prince Phillip battles Maleficent’s dragon. As viewed from the thorny brambles, the villainess transforms from a wicked witch into a fire-breathing fiend. Imagineers based the tableau on artwork developed for but never used in the original walk-through.

* The increasingly dark storyline moves onto another scene not in the movie — the Dance of the Spinning Wheels dream sequence. A single set of spinning wheels on a rotating platform reflects in the mirrors surrounding the room, creating a mesmerizing and hypnotic illusion. A flickering blue flame effect made of China silk strips painted with black-light colors and fluttered by a hidden fan would be used later in the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.

* In the final diorama, Prince Phillip awakens Sleeping Beauty with a kiss. Doves fly past overhead with the aid of a rotating wheel cocked at an odd angle. A bed of roses spreads to infinity with the help of an angled pane of glass. Imagineers are still working on the effect that transforms Aurora’s skin tones from cool to warm when kissed. Inexplicably, the kiss scene was not included in the 1957 castle walk-through on opening day.

* And just when all seems resolved, a shadowy silhouette of Maleficent appears on the wall — from a hidden projector. The 1957 scare frightened children so terribly that it had to be unplugged. How kids today react remains to be seen.

* Before exiting to the courtyard, visitors encounter the last illuminated manuscript, insisting that all ends “Happily ever after.”

Find the latest amusement and theme park news at the
Los Angeles Times Funland blog: www.latimes.com/funland

— Brady MacDonald, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Image credit: Disneyland

A scene-by-scene tour of Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty castle walkthrough

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This entry was posted on Thursday, October 16, 2008 at 8:10 am by Brady MacDonald and is filed under California, Disneyland, Family & Kids, Orange County, Theme Parks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.