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
Avenue de Chillon 21, 1820 Veytaux, Switzerland
The Matterhorn is a unique looking mountain in the Swiss Alps at the edge of a small town called Zermatt, Switzerland. Its jagged profile may look familiar if you’ve ever eaten a Toblerone – it’s featured on the logo of the Swiss chocolate. It may also look familiar if you’ve ever been to Disneyland… #MatterhornMonday Walt’s fascination with the mighty mountain first grew during a set visit to the production of the 1959 live-action feature film Third Man on the Mountain. According to author Jim Denny (via Disney Avenue), Walt had always wanted a mountainside attraction in Disneyland to remind him of his childhood days sledding down the snowy hillsides of Marceline. While on location in Zermatt, Walt became obsessed with the site of the Matterhorn mountain so much that he couldn’t take his eyes off of it – he knew it had to be a part of Disneyland. Legend has it that he mailed a souvenir postcard back to Imagineering with a hand-written note: Build This. In the summer of 1959, Walt’s vision came to life and the Matterhorn Bobsleds attraction opened in Disneyland. The ride is still in operation today with only minor cosmetic and theming changes happening […]
Matterhorn, Switzerland
