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Formerly known as Sleeping Beauty Castle, a clone of Disneyland’s original castle, Hong Kong Disneyland’s version is currently under a massive renovation to become the Castle of Magical Dreams. Revealed in 2020, it features a mix of architectural styles inspired by multiple Disney princess stories similar in concept to Shanghai’s Enchanted Storybook Castle. Yes, yes, the repainting of Cinderella Castle is great and all but I’m all about the new Hong Kong Disneyland Castle.https://t.co/ZlDWnuz8If — Chris Explorer (@tdrexplorer) June 23, 2020 Be sure to take a look at the other iconic Disney Parks castles: Sleeping Beauty Castle (Disneyland Park) Sleeping Beauty Castle (Disneyland Paris) Enchanted Storybook Castle Cinderella Castle (Magic Kingdom) Cinderella Castle (Tokyo Disneyland) This location is mentioned in our blog post: A Photo Tour Of The BoardWalk’s Hidden Disney Castles Official Information: HongKongDisneyland.com

CBS Studio Center is a working television and film studio in Hollywood. A few Disney films and TV shows were shot here including The Muppets (2011) and ABC’s The Last Man Standing. The studio is not open to the public and does not offer tours. You can gain access by participating as a studio audience member through a service such as Audiences Unlimited. Address: 4024 Radford Ave, Studio City, CA 91604 Visitor Information (Not Open to the Public): CBS Studio Center

Atlanta’s Center For Puppetry Arts is the United States’ largest non-profit organization dedicated to the art of puppetry. Inside the building lives a museum, research library, and theater which screens films and performs fully-staged puppet shows. The museum houses a massive collection of puppet artifacts including items from The Lion King on Broadway as well as a Jim Henson collection where a number of Muppets (an entity of Henson’s creations that has been owned by Disney since 2004) are on permanent display. For more information about the museum here, including tons of photos, check out our blog post: Highlights from the “Worlds of Puppetry” Museum in Atlanta’s Center for Puppetry Arts Address: 1404 Spring St NW, Atlanta, GA 30309 Visitor Information: Center for Puppetry Arts

This minaret (a mosque’s tower used to announce the call to prayer) near the back of Epcot’s Morocco Pavilion is a replica of the one found in the Chellah Necropolis in Morocco’s capital city of Rabat. This location is mentioned in our blog post: Treasures of Morocco: Finding Epcot’s Real-Life Landmarks Official Information: WaltDisneyWorld.com

The Chellah Necropolis is a complex dating back to medieval times on the east side of Morocco’s capital city of Rabat. The area has gone from a Phoenician (thanks) trading site to a Roman colony, to a Muslim burying ground and mosque. Today, the area is considered a historic archaeological site and park, open to visitors for a fee. The mosque’s minaret (tower used to announce the call to prayer), which still stands, was replicated and can be found in Epcot’s Morocco Pavilion. Read about our visit to this location and other Moroccan points of interest in our blog post: Treasures of Morocco: Finding Epcot’s Real-Life Landmarks Address: Quartier Chellah, El Youssoufia, El Youssoufia 10190, Morocco Visitor Information: TripAdvisor

Chichén Itzá is an archeological complex on the grounds of a former Mayan city established between 750 and 900 AD. Today, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is a popular tourist destination. Among the site’s Mesoamerican pyramids is its most well known, El Castillo (also known as Temple of Kukulcan), which is the main inspiration for the pyramid found in Epcot’s Mexico Pavilion. Address: Tinum, Yucatan, Mexico Visitor Information: Zona Arqueologica de Chichen Itza (Available only in Spanish)

Chillon Castle is a medieval castle built on a limestone rock in Lake Geneva between Montreux and Villeneuve in Switzerland. It has survived since the Bronze Age and has been used as a fortress, prison, and residence for counts. Today, it houses a museum which showcases its history. While it isn’t a replica, this castle served as the architectural inspiration for Prince Eric’s shoreside castle in the 1989 animated feature, The Little Mermaid. You can find scale versions of Eric’s castle while riding the Storybook Land Canal Boats in both Disneyland and it’s Disneyland Paris counterpart, Le Pays des Contes de Fées. You can also find a version of it in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom as the facade for Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid attraction. Address: Avenue de Chillon 21, 1820 Veytaux, Switzerland Visitor Information: Château de Chillon

Magic Kingdom‘s impressive castle was designed by Imagineer Herb Ryman, the same person who designed the original Disney castle: Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland Park. Ryman based the new design on the one seen in the 1950 animated classic film with additional influences from Neuschwanstein Castle and other real European castles. A representation of the Disney family coat of arms can be found on the center balcony on the castle’s Fantasyland facing side. The official Coat of Arms consists of three gold fleur-de-lis on a red fess (representing purity), a crest with a red lion passant-guardant (representing bravery or courage), and the motto Vincit qui patitur meaning: He conquers who endures. The emblem used on the castle is a custom design featuring the lion symbol. Similar emblems can be found on its clone castle in Tokyo Disneyland and on Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland. Inside you can find forty additional coats of arms displayed around Cinderella’s Royal Table, a restaurant on the second floor. These flags represent key people involved with the development and design of Walt Disney World including Imagineer Marc Davis, John Hench, and Marty Sklar among others. This castle also makes a brief easter-egg style cameo in Lilo & Stitch […]

This castle at Tokyo Disneyland is a near aesthetic clone of Cinderella Castle in Magic Kingdom Park, the main difference being a slightly different brick pattern and subtle color changes. Instead of a restaurant inside the castle, Tokyo’s version features Cinderella’s Fairy Tale Hall, a walk-through attraction telling the story of the 1950 animated classic film through dioramas and displays. A representation of the Disney family coat of arms can be found on the center balcony on the castle’s Fantasyland facing side. The official Coat of Arms consists of three gold fleur-de-lis on a red fess (representing purity), a crest with a red lion passant-guardant (representing bravery or courage), and the motto Vincit qui patitur meaning: He conquers who endures. The emblem used on the castle is a custom design featuring the lion symbol. A similar emblem can be found on its clone castle in Magic Kingdom Park and on Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland. Be sure to take a look at the other iconic Disney Parks castles: Sleeping Beauty Castle (Disneyland Park) Sleeping Beauty Castle (Disneyland Paris) Castle of Magical Dreams Cinderella Castle (Magic Kingdom) Enchanted Storybook Castle This location is mentioned in our blog post: A Photo Tour Of […]

Touted as the world’s largest film studio (by acreage), Morocco’s Cinema Studio Atlas is the reason why the region is considered the Hollywood of Africa. Founded in 1983, the studio has seen big-budget productions like the non-Disney Ridley Scott flick Gladiator (2000) and HBO’s Game of Thrones. A number of Disney and their subsidiaries have filmed here including Fox’s The Jewel of the Nile (1985), Kundun (1997), Fox’s Kingdom of Heaven (2005), and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010). Additional scenes for most of these films took place at the nearby ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou. While this place is still a working film studio, visitors are free to wander the grounds to check out a variety of props and abandoned film sets. Read about our visit to this location and other Moroccan points of interest in our blog post: Treasures of Morocco: Finding Epcot’s Real-Life Landmarks Address: Km 5, BP 28 Route de Marrakech, Ouarzazate 45000, Morocco Visitor Information: TripAdvisor

This public square in the heart of Cleveland’s downtown district was a filming location for the epic film, The Avengers (2012). The scene where Loki hypnotizes the crowd before being taken away by Captain America and Iron Man is meant to resemble Germany’s real-life Schlossplatz Stuttgart but was actually filmed just outside the square’s Terminal Tower building in 2011. Address: 50 Public Square, Cleveland, OH 44113 Visitor Information: Cleveland Public Square

Epcot’s Clock of the Abu Inania Medersa is a replica of what remains of the real clock hanging above the marketplace in Fez, Morocco. Found just to the left of the entrance to Restaurant Marrakesh, Epcot’s version is an idealized one: what the clock may have looked like when it was in working order, back in the heyday of water clocks. This location is mentioned in our blog post: Treasures of Morocco: Finding Epcot’s Real-Life Landmarks Official Information: WaltDisneyWorld.com