Why didn't Walt make the DL castle as big as WDW?

[Huff]

Did Sleeping Beauty live in a massive castle? Why is bigger considered better? I prefer DL's castle over MK's. It's prettier with better theming in my opinion. Bigger isn't better!

 

[S. S. Columbia]

Regarding the height of the Matterhorn... It is built to an exact 1/100-scale of the actual mountain. When the plans were submitted to the city or county (I forget which) for Disneyland, the Matterhorn was denied permitting because it was too tall and not allowed. However, there were other buildings of that height. Walt inquired what the difference was. He was told that a sporting arena was allowed height and that DL was not a sports arena. He got an exact definition of what constituted a sports arena.

Aha, so that's why there's a bball court up there!
Always wondered why; now I know!

The snopes article that's posted above says that the 'sports arena' story isn't true.

 

[Corpsebride]

They also are for two different princesses. Cinderella in MK and Sleeping Beauty in DL.

I've always read that the Matterhorn was the visual mark of DL, instead of the castle anyway, so there's no need for a big castle.

When I was little, when we would drive to DL from San Diego, I remember that when we saw the first sight of the Matterhorn, then WE KNEW!! Disneyland was right around the corner. My Mother would at one point say "Okay, start looking for the Matterhorn" and we would both shove ourselves over to one side of the car faces pressed up against the glass , like we were searching for Santa Claus. It was great. The butterflies in our stomachs would really start fluttering.
As far as the castle goes, I always always felt like a princess walking through the gateway listening to Jimminey Cricket singing "When you wish upon a star"
Walking through that part always seemed to slow my feet down.
As far as the size of the Castle, I am glad that it isnt visible from the freeway. I think it is a special jewel that we get to see when we are in the park. I think that Walt made the size that he did because a. like Bumbershoot said, it is forced perspective. and b. because he hadnt made a castle before so, there was no other point of reference but what was in the plans.
Plus and this is just IMHO ,isn't World (I have never been there) just a massive place? So the Castle there should be bigger.
Just as an aside, I love these silly emoticons. Especially that guy.

 

[Sherry E]

Just as an aside, I love these silly emoticons. Especially that guy.

I love that crazy dancing emoticon guy too! However, if I ever saw a real guy who was behaving and dancing that weird, creepy way in real life - oh, say, in the middle of the supermarket or at the ATM - I would probably run screaming into the night and call the police when I got home!

I used to have the same feeling about the Matterhorn as a child, Corpsebride! When we were driving from L.A and could get close enough to DL to see the Matterhorn from the freeway, I was soooooo excited! We had arrived! Then evenetually it became seeing the Matterhorn and the tip of Space Mountain from the freeway, but that was good too!

 

[Corpsebride]

I love that crazy dancing emoticon guy too! However, if I ever saw a real guy who was behaving and dancing that weird, creepy way in real life - oh, say, in the middle of the supermarket or at the ATM - I would probably run screaming into the night and call the police when I got home!

I used to have the same feeling about the Matterhorn as a child, Corpsebride! When we were driving from L.A and could get close enough to DL to see the Matterhorn from the freeway, I was soooooo escited! We had arrived! Then evenetually it became seeing the Matterhorn and the tip of Space Mountain from the freeway, but that was good too!

Sherry E you always make me laugh!!

 

[Sherry E]

Sherry E you always make me laugh!!

I am glad I can amuse someone every now and then!! I was chuckling at your ode-to-the-delights-of-BBQ thread, too, by the way. but just hadn't posted on it yet!!

 

[Corpsebride]

I am glad I can amuse someone every now and then!! I was chuckling at your ode-to-the-delights-of-BBQ thread, too, by the way. but just hadn't posted on it yet!!

Oh yeah I will not be wearing a white t-shirt that day! I am the kind of gal that wears her food well. April will go down in history is the BBQ month, watch n' see!

 

[DisGirl819]

I'm reading Walt Disney's Imagineering Legends right now and it talks about the person who designed the castles and Main Street in Disneyland.
1. it is not to 5/8 scale, that rumor got started b/c Walt was a huge fan of model trains and he built models on the 5/8 scale. The buildings on Main Street are actually full scale on the first floor and smaller and smaller on the upper floors. This is all part of the forced perspective to draw people toward the center of the park.
2. The park was never meant to have a central icon, but they couldn't find a better place for the castle that Walt wanted to they put it in the middle as an entryway to Fantasyland. THe Matterhorn was not meant as the icon of DL either since it was built after DL opened.
3. Herb Ryman worked on the design of both castles and they were designed for different princesses and different stories, hence their differences. Bill Martin collaberated with Ryman on both castles. He is quoted to say "The one in Disneyland is 82 feet tall and the one we did in Florida is 182 feet tall" Sleeping Beauty castle is actually 77 feet tall and Cinderella Castle is 189 feet tall. They didn't want to do the same castle then, but then reproduced Cinderella's castle in Japan.

 

[donkthemagicllama]

I think in the opening day broadcast of DL, Ronald Regan (or is it Art Linkletter... one of the two) states that the buildings are 5/8s...

However, I'd be more inclined to believe DisGirl's source than the opening day broadcast... There's a lot of confusion in it!

 

[lntsmom]

Because there was no precedent when he built DL. Remember, it was designed and built in the 50's. WDW wasn't opened until over 20 years later. Think of what went on in society between the late 40's...when he started blue skying DL...and the late 1960's when they started on WDW.

The world was a whole different place.

The Disney company was a whole different company. With DL there were those who thought the concept would never work. By the time they started planning WDW they knew just how popular the concept would be.

In addition, you're talking money. Disney had a lot more money and a much bigger line of credit to play with when they built WDW.

 

[Gisele]

OK, so I did mix up WDW with Dl. (That is kind of embarrassing!) but I did remember the forced perspective design correctly. So maybe I can receive a half point. he he!

 

[tonaly]

He was told that a sporting arena was allowed height and that DL was not a sports arena. He got an exact definition of what constituted a sports arena. He then sent his Imagineer team back to the drawing board with the challenge of meeting the requirements.

In the top of the Matterhorn (inaccessible to the public) there is a half-court basketball court with regulation height hoop. When the plans were re-submitted, Walt argued that the Matterhorn met the standards for a sporting arena. It was approved.

Funny, I was just reading about this on Snopes a couple days ago - it's actually not a true story - the Matterhorn was built in 1959, but the city of Anaheim didn't have building height restrictions until the 1970's. There IS a basketball court, but it was put in by CMs to pass the time when they weren't "climbing" the mountain due to poor weather.

http://www.snopes.com/disney/parks/matterhorn.asp

As for the size, I'd tend to agree with those that said because it was first. The forced perspective thing is really cool.

Alyson

 

[Inkmahm]

On the "Keys to the Kingdom" tour at WDW last year they told us that the reason the WDW castle is so much bigger is because they had the money to do it. The castle at DL was supposed to be bigger but got "flattened out" because of a lack of money in the building process by the time they got to the castle. So it was a money saving attempt.

My favorite castle is actually the one at Disneyland Paris. It's not only beautiful, it has a dragon in the dungeon that you reach by a dark staircase from one of the shops above it. Very very cool.

 

[Disney Dreams]

...The link also has the rest of the story... ...

Aha, so that's why there's a bball court up there! Always wondered why; now I know!

The snopes article that's posted above says that the 'sports arena' story isn't true.

Funny, I was just reading about this on Snopes a couple days ago - it's actually not a true story...

I have been told it is where climbers take their breaks, but as for why it was there in the first place...

I suppose it's a choice of believing what has been told by CMs to guests at Disneyland for more than 30 years, or what is posted by someone on snopes. I will continue to believe what I have been told at Disneyland. Each to their own on what we believe.

- Dreams

 

[fairycat]

One thing I read a looooooonngggg time ago and sadly can not seem to find Is that the CM's had a choice between a billard's table or a basketball hoop, they chose the latter.

The reason they had the stuff up there was because the mountain climbers and I think some of Tink's people (with their mattress ) spent a lot of break time up there and needed stuff to do, since they were still needed on the mountain, it was easier to give breaks up there instead of on the ground.

I need to re-ask one of my friends about the whole thing I know when he worked for Disney he actually went up to the basketball court, this was back in the 80's and 90's.