Magical Makeover Has Transformed Cinderella Castle to Accommodate ‘Suite Dreams’ of Lucky Disney Guests

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- For decades, Walt Disney World guests have dreamed of spending the night in Cinderella Castle -- a night when, as the clock strikes midnight, the magic doesn't end. The dream finally comes true for lucky guests during "The Year of a Million Dreams" celebration in 2007.

Unused space within the Magic Kingdom landmark originally envisioned as in-park accommodations for the Disney family has been magically transformed into Cinderella Castle Suite -- a place where lucky Walt Disney World guests can spend a dream-come-true night amid surroundings that hark back to the 17th century fairytale and the French chateaus that inspired the design of Cinderella Castle.

Eligible Walt Disney World guests will be selected randomly at a park or Downtown Disney by early afternoon most days now through the end of 2007 as part of the unique Disney Dreams Giveaway. (Because the Castle stay requires same-day use, mail-in winners will be awarded a prize of comparable value.)

The guest and up to five members of their party begin their dream-come-true night that evening at Cinderella's Royal Table, the popular restaurant located in Cinderella Castle. After the rest of the Magic Kingdom guests have headed home, these lucky guests can keep the castle lights burning brightly well into the night, wrapping themselves in the cozy comforts of their dream suite some four stories above the surrounding Magic Kingdom -- a salon, bedchamber and bathroom off of a private marble-floored foyer, all replete with rich details:

Fluffy feather comforters beneath the regal canopy draping of two queen beds ... A cut-stone bedchamber floor inspired by the mosaic art masterpiece that adorns the castle's breezeway entrance to Fantasyland ... A parlor sofa that invites kicking off the shoes and curling up to read a chapter beneath the richly detailed vaulted ceiling of the salon ... Familiar castle-gray stone walls, rich hardwood paneling and ornate stained-glass windows.

While the idea of having living quarters inside Cinderella Castle dates to the time when Walt Disney World Resort was being planned, until now the space had been a backstage area -- essentially a blank canvas for a creative team from Walt Disney Imagineering. In the fashion of a Disney attraction, Cinderella Castle Suite emerged regally from their meticulous research and design skills.

"The architecture of the castle, the Cinderella story and the suite are all interwoven," said Stephen Silvestri, the Walt Disney Imagineering show producer/director who led a team of designers and craftsmen in the dream makeover. "We want our guests to feel as though they are inside our castle but also immersed within the fantasy realm of the Cinderella story."

In the foyer of the suite, guests will discover a design of the fairytale pumpkin coach in the marble floor inlay. A memorable artifact from the story, the famous glass slipper, adorns a cove. And through the doorway, the bedchamber and salon are appointed with furnishings in the style of the era of "the Louies," as Silvestri refers to the French rulers of the period inspiring the castle and Cinderella story. Nooks showcase clocks, porcelain and accessories befitting the period. Doors are richly detailed; the walls are covered with wood panels and wall coverings. In the bathroom, hand-decorated copper basins sit atop the vanity, recalling a time when fresh water was carried to the bedchamber.

Despite all the careful attention to centuries-old details, the amenities of the Cinderella Castle Suite are definitely 21st century. There's a lavish garden tub plus a shower. There are also wheelchair accessible bathroom and bedroom facilities and elevator access to the suite. As for an ornately framed, 17th-century-style portrait of Cinderella above a regal fireplace in the bedchamber: it magically changes into a modern, 21st-century flat-screen television.

"We want to balance the practical realities within the fantasy place to make the experience truly a dream-come-true for our guests," Silvestri said.