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, La Belle au Bois Dormant, is celebrated throughout this extraordinary piece of fairytale architecture.

La Galerie de la Belle au Bois Dormant

The story of Sleeping Beauty told through tapestries, stained glass windows and tableux, in the gallery of the castle.  Attraction Guide »

La Tanière du Dragon

Venture into the caves beneath the castle and discover the extraordinary dragon's lair! Attraction Guide »

Fun Facts

Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant at Disneyland Resort Paris stands 148 feet (45 metres) tall (the original Californian castle measures 77 feet (23 metres) tall).  The Imagineers exaggerated its height and distance from Main Street USA through the use of forced perspective in its architecture.  Central Plaza also lies in a small dip, and the raised moat bridge into Le Château 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 exaggerated the Castle's whimsy greatly.

From Time to Time, the 360° film from Discoveryland's Le Visionarium attraction (1992-2004) 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 added to the castle base on 2nd August 1991.  Imagineering legend tells that, since the pink colour was slightly wrong, the entire castle then had to be repainted in the cold, wet months of Winter. Source: Disneyland Paris: From Sketch to Reality.

History

Each Christmas Season since 2004, Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant is transformed into a stunning Ice Palace, with thousands of small "fairy" lights covering almost the entire castle.  These are illuminated each night during The Enchanted Fairytale Ceremony show, and can be lit in sections to produce a shimmering effect and allow the castle to be lit from the base upwards.  During the show, Tinkerbell appears on the highest balcony to sprinkle her pixie dust and begin the illumination.

For the 1st Anniversary of the park in 1993, Le Château was turned into a giant birthday cake.  Strawberries lined the base and turrets, with a heavy helping of frosting all over.  A giant number "1" was placed to the left of the castle, on the hill.

For the 5th Anniversary of the park in 1997, Le Château joined the Hunchback of Notre Dame "Festival of Fools" with jester hats and faces sitting on each spire and loud, colourful designs covering the turrets.  A large, gold number "5" was featured on a plaque at the front, with a smaller "5" on the highest turret - replacing the two centrepiece windows.  The castle was renamed "Château des Fous" for the duration of the yearlong event.

For the upcoming 15th Anniversary, from April 2007 to March 2008, Le Château will receive around fifteen character statues, featuring stars such as Mickey, Jiminy Cricket, Lumière and the Cheshire Cat.  Each character group will hold a candle, with Tinkerbell at the very top.  More information about this upcoming event can be found here.  This information is subject to change.