There's no need for a birthday cake, just cover the Castle in candles! One by one, they've climbed the soaring turrets and spires to hold their fifteen shining candles high into the sky!

From the cheeky grin of the Cheshire Cat to the fumbling balancing act of Goofy, the Space Ranger blastoff of Buzz Lightyear to the dazzling showmanship of Lumière, all the most famous Disney characters are helping to create a spectacular display of golden greats for fifteen glorious years of dreams!

Character Guide

Filling the castle with shimmering, golden statues, the characters come in all shapes and sizes from right across Disney's 90 years of filmmaking.

Holding candles filled with LEDs are 13 characters, of which 9 stand on spires decorated with golden, '15' encrusted crowns. Mickey & Minnie Mouse present the huge, LED-filled '15' icon, whilst Tinkerbell completes the makeover with a sprinkling of pixie dust from her glowing wand.

Mickey Mouse & Minnie Mouse

Above the Castle bridge, a traditional, "retro" Mickey and Minnie stand together under the glow of their huge '15' icon. Their ears and noses highlighted in black, Minnie's dress is tinted a classic shade of pink.

Lumière

At the centre of the entire makeover, French showman Lumière from Beauty and the Beast holds the first three candles - his very own - proudly into the air, his wax painted white.

Cheshire Cat

Fresh from Fantasyland, the Cheshire Cat climbs the hillside next to the Castle to hold his candle as high as his tubby body will allow, grinning a bright white smile shining amid his purple-tinted stripes.

Daisy Duck

With a pink-tinted dress, ribbon and shoes, Daisy - the 'youngest' Disney VIP - leans to one side with her candle for a picture-perfect pose.

Donald Duck

On the spire directly opposite Daisy, her feathered (and usually flustered) other half holds his candle toward her in a golden blue-tinted version of his classic sailor outfit.

Chip & Dale

Working together in their own scheming way, Chip and Dale aim to hold their candle right up into the sky, with black-nosed Chip giving red-nosed Dale a lift up - who holds their candle by its final few millimetres.

Jiminy Cricket

The Blue Fairy's medallion-winning apprentice proudly takes his spot on one of the Castle's tallest spires, holding his candle (and umbrella) with an elegance and grace totally lost on those either side of him.

Goofy

From the Castle's side balcony, Goofy takes an entirely different - and completely goofy - approach to the makeover, perilously leaning out over the wall to balance his candle on its crown.  Goofy's trousers are tinted blue, with his eyes, teeth, tongue, nose and ears all full-coloured in blacks, whites and pinks.

Buzz Lightyear

The newest character in the entire makeover by over 40 years, the infamous 1990s Space Ranger stands in launch position, with wings out but helmet open, on this 1990s Disney Castle, holding his candle as if it were about to pull him up into the Gamma Quadrant.

Hewey, Dewey & Lewey

Towering on top of each other, all trying to hold their candle as high as possible, Donald's nephews Hewey, Dewey and Lewey are totally indistinguishable in their classic matching blue shirts.

Pluto

Pluto sits obediently on his spire, long ears coloured in black, holding his candle with one paw.

Seven Dwarfs

The Seven Dwarfs rest along the main balcony of the Castle - Sleepy, Doc, Bashful, Happy, Sneezy and Grumpy, with Dopey lying across the middle in a pink-tinted shirt holding their candle.

Pinocchio & Figaro

In his marionette form, Pinocchio balances atop the third spire with "no strings" on just one wooden leg to hold his candle, as a fluffed-up Figaro clings onto his hat.

Dumbo

Dumbo wears his circus costume as his giant ears help him fly up high, holding the candle by his trunk.

Tinkerbell

Soaring high atop the Castle and crowning the character makeover with a spark of pixie dust is Tinkerbell. Wearing her short pixie dress in a complete golden overlay (except her eyes), she features wings laced with sparkling blue LEDs and a wand whose tip is equipped with ultra-bright white LEDs to be seen blinking at night from right across the park. During some Candleabration shows and on other rare occasions, a burst of golden confetti spurts from her wand to fill the sky and float down across the makeover.

History

The story begins many months before the celebration - on 4th July 2006.  A new marketing 'key visual' for the anniversary is released, showing Sleeping Beauty Castle covered in characters holding candles, with a giant '15' replacing the centrepiece window.  At first unsure, it was soon confirmed that these same characters would be climbing the castle for a grand 15th Anniversary overlay the following year.

On 12th October 2006, a new set of marketing visuals revealed some major changes to the decorations, such as new, golden candlestick holders for every character (rather than the earlier plain wax design). One of the original characters, Winnie the Pooh, was also lost - replaced by Pinocchio & Figaro.

An article on 3rd January 2007 in French newspaper Le Parisien presented an image of the man in charge of the decorations, Daniel Delcourt, with a golden Goofy head (larger than the final design) in front of concept art showing golden characters - rather than the full-colour versions expected since July.

Concept art shown at the February 2007 Euro Disney SCA Annual General Meeting revealed Buzz Lightyear to be the fifteenth character on the castle, occupying a previously empty turret.  It had previously been assumed Tinkerbell's glowing wand would provide the fifteenth candle.

Early March 2007 arrived and it became clear preparations for the character takeover were underway, with the golden tops of spires removed overnight, amongst other changes.  The makeover officially began on 12th March 2007 - exactly one month before the official anniversary date itself - with the addition of Donald, Daisy and Jiminy Cricket overnight.  The next day, 13th March, they were joined by Goofy, Pluto, Chip n Dale, Pinocchio & Figaro and Dumbo, followed by Buzz Lightyear and Lumière on the 14th and then by Cheshire Cat and Tinkerbell on the 15th.  17th March saw the arrivial of Hewey, Dewey & Lewey, with the Seven Dwarfs and Mickey & Minnie completing the characters on the 19th, just one week after the makeover began.  The entire Character Castle Makeover was completed the next day, 20th March 2007, with the addition of the LED-filled iconic '15' centrepiece.

The Character Castle Makeover was officially 'unveiled' during the press events of 31st March 2007, illuminated to spectacular effect during the evening's special performance of Candleabration.

Previous overlays of Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant have also commemorated important anniversaries in the park's history.  For the 1st Anniversary in 1993, the Castle was dressed up to resemble a giant, juicy, frosted birthday cake.  For the 5th Anniversary in 1997, the Castle joined the Hunchback of Notre Dame 'Festival of Fools' anniversary theme with a colourful Jester overlay.  Finally, the most recent change before 2007 took place on the day of the 10th Anniversary in 2002 - a simple scroll over the main window with the number '10'.