Magic Kingdom

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 […]

Fantasyland station is one of three stations along the Walt Disney World Railroad in the Magic Kingdom, along with Frontierland Station and Main Street station. It’s located in Storybook Circus, an extension of Fantasyland which is themed to Dumbo’s circus based on the animated classic Dumbo (1941). The Fantasyland Station building mentions the name of the area as Carolwood Park numerous times. This is meant as a tribute to the house Walt lived in on Carolwood Drive where he started his infamous Carolwood Pacific Railroad. The clock on the building even mimics the miniature train’s original logo and slogan. If you’re interested in seeing the original logo and one of the original Carolwood trains, grab a boat over to the Carolwood Room in the lobby of Wilderness Lodge’s Boulder Ridge Villas. A number of luggage and suitcase props line the outer walls and nearby areas of Carolwood Park as if a circus train had just unloaded its cargo. These are marked and labeled with designs which make reference to a variety of Disney related things: Red’s Amazing Juggling Unicycles: Red’s Dream, a 1987 Pixar short film about a unicycle who dreams of being in the circus. Manufactured by Eben’s Bikes: The bike […]

Main Street Station is the entrance to Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and one of three stations along the Walt Disney World Railroad in the Magic Kingdom, along with Frontierland Station and Fantasyland station. The station’s exterior is modeled after Saratoga Spring’s old railroad station, a site that no longer exists today. A tribute to Walt can be found on the window facing the entrance to the Magic Kingdom, declaring Walter E. Disney as the railroad’s Chief Engineer, Keeping Dreams on Track – a wordplay reference to Walt’s visionary leadership in the development of Disneyland, and subsequently Walt Disney World. Passing under the tracks and into the ground floor of the station, check out the memorabilia on the walls – the Stroller Rental area is lined with photos of Walt with his Carolwood Pacific Railroad, a 1/8-scale railroad system he built in the backyard of his Holmby Hills estate, the inspiration for Disneyland’s railroad and all other subsequent Magic Kingdom railroads. One particular photo of note depicts the caboose numbered 0-7734, a car which can be seen in-person by heading to the Carolwood Room in the lobby of Wilderness Lodge’s Boulder Ridge Villas as well as the number 711 cargo car, on display at […]

The Partners statue is an iconic statue of Walt and Mickey located in Magic Kingdom’s hub in front of Cinderella Castle. Designed by Disney Legend Blaine Gibson, it’s one of five identical statues located around the world. Discover all of them and learn more in our blog post: Partners: The History, Details, and Insight Into Walt & Mickey’s Most Famous Statue. Official Information: WaltDisneyWorld.com

Sleepy Hollow Refreshments is a quick-service dining location in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. The building, which serves waffles and other snacks, is named after the town in New York where The Legend of Sleepy Hollow took place. Written by Washington Irving in 1820, the story was adapted by Disney for the second half of the 1949 animated film, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. The unique brick architectural design and colonial elements of Sleepy Hollow Refreshments were inspired by Irving’s Sunnyside estate. Now a National Historic Landmark, the author called Sunnyside his home from 1835 until his death in 1859. Official Information: WaltDisneyWorld.com

Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid is a slow-moving dark ride in the Magic Kingdom based on the 1989 animated feature, The Little Mermaid. The facade entrance to the attraction is a replica of Prince Eric’s castle, as seen during the film. The castle’s architectural design is loosely based on Switzerland’s Chillon Castle, a medieval castle built on a limestone rock in Lake Geneva. This ride has a nearly identical counterpart in Disney California Adventure called The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure. Official Information: WaltDisneyWorld.com