Castle

At the far end of the rugged Port Voyage, guests discover the enchanting Snow White Castle perched precariously on jagged seaside cliffs. The castle exudes the warmth & elegance of Snow White herself, while in its intertwined rockwork and darker colors it still evinces the dark influence of its onetime inhabitant the Evil Queen.

It is fitting that Walt Disney’s very first princess finally gets her own park castle! The castle design takes care to honor her legacy. A great many European castle influences mix together to form a fantastical final form that is unlike anyplace in our world.

Sited on a rocky peninsula with crashing sea waves, the castle’s base recalls France’s Mont Saint-Michel. Seen up close, the granite cliffs are shaped like the Seven Dwarfs. A tangle of waterfalls accents the shore. Fortress walls seem to grow organically from these stones. A grassy slope on the drawbridge’s opposite side teems with autumnal trees, their warm reds & golds echoing the color scheme of Harbortown U.S.A.

Beyond the exploitable outer defensive turrets, Wishing Well Courtyard (with its enchanted singing well) sits at the base of the castle towers. The tiered castle layers retain the basic form of Spain’s Alcazár de Segovia, which was the primary influence on Snow White’s cinematic castle. In architectural details and texture, however, Snow White Castle is more Germanic and Eastern European, with design elements taken from Disney’s beloved Neuschwanstein Castle along with Romania’s Peles Castle, among others. Medieval wood beams mix with warm red rooftops and golden accents. While the castle’s base is all martial might with its horizontal defensive structures, the upper tower spires use vertical lines to create a delicate, enchanted feel.

More details abound. As with all Disney palaces, Snow White Castle features a chapel complete with gothic golden spire. Newer additions overseen by Snow White herself - note the royal purple wings - include and observatory and a clock tower. The inner Great Hall, where Snow White’s glass coffin sits on display, is also a gallery space for ornate tapestries retelling her fairy tale. Quaint wooden furniture and fine diamonds are supplied by the Seven Dwarfs. Guests can expect to meet with Snow White & her Prince face-to-face in the tallest Florian Tower. And rumor has it that the Evil Queen’s dreadful alchemy laboratory remains hidden in the castle’s rocky dungeons, waiting to be explored.