I couldn’t take my eyes off of Cinderella Castle during my recent Magic Kingdom visit. Since our last project update, even more richer blue accents have been updated, and the last bit of pink from the top turret has been painted over. The entire castle looks clean, spruced up and ready for summer!
She once again walks the line between a mythical and real-life castle — this may be the best she’s looked in quite some time.
The cream and gold detailing around the castle’s clock really stands out against the grey “bricks” along the bottom half, and the blues are a deeper blue!
Up until recently, the only visible pink spot left was near the top of the tallest turret, where Tinker Bell flies out of with the nightly Happily Ever After fireworks show. It’s finally painted over, leaving us with the complete new look for Cinderella Castle!
Over the last few months, work centered on getting the castle back to its original color scheme, as crews covered the pink and rose gold accents originally introduced for the resort’s 50th anniversary in 2021. This includes repainting the castle’s lower and mid-sections, adding deeper royal blue rooftops, and gold detailing, including shields and crests adorning turrets and near windows:
To accommodate the project, the castle moat has been drained. High-reach cranes are positioned inside the moat during early morning hours and are cleared by midday to minimize disruption to guest photos in front of the park’s most photographed landmark.
While Disney has not announced a completion date, an update to the castle show’s schedule could give us a hint…
Mickey’s Magical Friendship Fare Adjustment
Starting May 10, Mickey’s Magical Friendship Faire will once again include a morning performance, with an 11:10 AM showtime added back to the schedule.
The show had been running afternoons only since late January, when Disney adjusted entertainment offerings to work around construction on the castle. Beginning May 10th, the lineup will include five performances throughout the day, beginning in the morning:
- 11:10 AM
- 12:30 PM
- 1:50 PM
- 4:00 PM
- 5:15 PM
For comparison, the previous schedule (in place since January 28) offered afternoon and evening performances only. Prior to the construction work, the show typically ran five times daily, including two morning performances. Since Disney is mindful in lowering the cranes by midday, and with morning entertainment returning to the stage beginning May 10th, it lines up with the idea that the castle’s repainting work is nearing completion.
There’s still no official end date for the project, but based on this update (and the progress visible around the castle) it’s reasonable to expect things to wrap up sometime in May.
Make it Pink! Make it BLUE!
Walt Disney World is currently selling through its pink-toned Cinderella Castle merchandise, with future releases expected to reflect the restored gray and cream color scheme:
The castle’s refreshed scheme more closely resembles the castle’s original 1971 opening day colors with cool grays, soft creams, and gold accents. It also aligns more closely with the castle’s appearance in Walt Disney’s Cinderella (1950), where the castle appears white, complementing Cinderella’s silvery blue gown and golden hair.
While the pink palette had its fans, the return to a more neutral and regal color scheme restores a look that defined the park for decades. Do you prefer the pink and gold tones or the new color scheme?
2021 vs today:
