Cinderella's Castle
Visiting Walt Disney World as a child, I, like most little girls, was mesmerized by Cinderella’s Castle. I imagined what it would be like to live in a castle and I clearly remember walking through it/under it and being disappointed that you couldn’t go inside it. I wanted to walk through the rooms, see the forever-long dining room table, the throne that the king or queen would sit on… My mother broke the sad news- “You can’t actually go inside the castle. There’s nothing inside. It’s fake.”
If you ever want to break a little girl’s heart, telling her the amazing castle she has dreamed about from her favorite story ever, was not real is a really good way to do it. “That’s the whole reason people go to Disney World isn’t it?” That’s how I felt. Crushed would be a good way to describe my feelings.
Well, having learned to live with my bashed dream, I was astonished when I learned that you can go inside the castle. In fact, there is a restaurant inside. Formerly named King Stefan’s Banquet Hall, Cinderella’s Royal Table seats over 400 people and is the premiere place to meet and greet the Disney Princesses and Princes.
Now I learn that you can stay the night in Cinderella’s castle. It’s true. There is a small suite inside one of the towers where a family can stay the night. It was originally made as a place for the Disney family, but Roy Disney died before it was furnished. They turned it into the switchboard office and then eventually it became a changing room for cast members. In 2007, they turned it into an amazing castle suite where a lucky family can win a stay by entering into a Disney Dreams Giveaway or by being randomly selected from families visiting any Walt Disney World park. How exciting would that be?