I hope the title of this article didn’t get you excited about the thought that I actually got a tour of Cinderella’s Suite in the castle. I did, in fact, speak to Disney Guest Relations about the possibility of taking a tour of the castle suite and they told me they absolutely do not give tours and that the only way to stay in the suite is to win a night in a contest or sweepstakes. So, start filling out those entry forms.
What I am actually excited to share with you is the inside of Cinderella’s Castle that connects Main Street to Fantasyland. Each time I walk through it and look at the ornate artwork on the walls, I feel like I am in a beautiful museum. As you can see from the pictures, the artistry is just beautiful and I happen to know that there is real gold in the tiles on those walls.
This marvelously detailed mosaic mural contains a million pieces of glass in approximately 500 vivid colors. Some of the tiles are even made from 14-karat gold. There are many scenes represented from Cinderella . My clearest pictures show these 3 scenes:
The first shows Lady Tremaine reading the invitation to the ball, while her pesky daughters, Drizella and Anastasia, stand in the wings. Cinderella is slaving away, as usual, on the right side.
The second shows Cinderella trying on the glass slipper. I read that special care was given to the stepsisters’ faces in this scene, making the colors more vivid. Anastasia is colored red to signify anger and Drizella is green with envy.
The third picture here shows Prince Charming taking Cinderella away from her miserable existence to live happily ever after with him.
Each one tells the story beautifully and it is just delightful to behold. I did a little research on the mosaics and discovered a few interesting facts for you:
- The five mosaics were designed by Imagineer Dorothea Redmond and crafted and set in place by a team of six artists led by mosaicist Hanns-Joachim Scharff.
- The murals took 22 months to complete.
- Each mural is a gothic arch measuring 15 feet high and 10 feet wide.
- Many of the hand-cut tiles are fused with sterling silver and 14-karat (58 percent) gold, and some are as small as the head of a tack.
The next time you are in the Magic Kingdom, I hope you will take a few quiet moments to enjoy these lovely works of art. You will be glad you did!
Brenda is a native Texan born and raised on the Gulf Coast. She visited Disney World twice as a teenager and always dreamed of growing her family Disney. She took her first-timer husband and their three children to Disney World in 2000 and they now spend every Thanksgiving there. Brenda writes with a comedic twist on various Disney topics. She will be sharing tips she has learned during her travels and also hopes to enlighten people on little-known freebies that Disney has to offer. She wishes she could have met Walt Disney and considers herself to be a student of Walt. In parallel to his dream it is her wish that everyone would take at least one trip to Disney World in order to share in its magic with their families.
