1997's Cinderella Cake Castle

[George Lucas on a Bench]

I liked the wand on Spaceship Earth, too. I like change and try to embrace it. I mean both props were temporary and meant as a celebration, why not love it, especially knowing it's only temporary?

Temporary for years in the case of the EPCOT wand.

 

[wiigirl]

This was such a stupid idea... Another idea that I can't believe made it through rounds of meetings and brainstorming sessions...

My thoughts exactly!

 

[I_heart_Tigger]

I was working there then and had to hear complaints every single day about it...and I didn't even work in MK. I had relatives who had their first visit that year and their little girls actually cried when they saw it because they wanted to see their very first castle - not a cake.

Brides were LIVID when they found out that they would not have castle photos. They ended up having to basically green screen photos so they could have the castle into their pics.

Seeing it day after day it got more annoying for me as time went on. At first I thought it was kind of neat but I know what the castle looked like so I completely understand that for people's first (and perhaps only) visit that it could have been a huge disappointment.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

The thing that kept the castle cake from being truly great was that the back side near CRT was never finished. 90% pink castle cake and 10% classic blue castle in the back. I have pictures somewhere on photobucket but I cannot locate them.

 

[luv]

Didn't like the cake. Didn't like the bling.

In fact, the only they ever did to the castle that I really loved was TPing it the day they officially opened the Stitch ride. THAT was hilarious. And I knew it would be gone soon. That was a good day in the MK.

 

[Dad 2 M & M]

Loved it. Very unique and we knew it was only temporary.

Knowing it was only temporary made it easier to live with and gave "unique" photo ops.

 

[Patricia Melton]

1997 was a year when not as many people had the Internet as we do today -- so I know there were lots of people whose vacations to Disney were ruined by this "Cinderella's Cake" monstrosity. My family goes to WDW every year so when we saw this horrible, horrible thing we knew it would just spoil pictures for that year, or maybe the year afterwards, and then it would be gone. So we just missed out on our usual family photos by the castle for 1997 and I think 1998. By the time we went in 1999, I believe this hideous thing was already gone (have to check on that).

I did however have a friend who took her one and only (thus far) trip to Disney that year and was horribly, horribly disappointed by not being able to see the castle that year...and instead got this hideous bounce house thing. She still talks about how she went the "bad year" to WDW when they "ruined the castle".

TDO should never do anything like this again to ruin people's pictures.

 

[Princess7]

Loved it!

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I did however have a friend who took her one and only (thus far) trip to Disney that year and was horribly, horribly disappointed by not being able to see the castle that year...and instead got this hideous bounce house thing. She still talks about how she went the "bad year" to WDW when they "ruined the castle".

TDO should never do anything like this again to ruin people's pictures.

I know the feeling.

I went to the Studio's during the 'bad decade', during which the view of my Hollywood castle was ruined by that stupid bounce house hat.

 

[Patricia Melton]

I know the feeling.

I went to the Studio's during the 'bad decade', during which the view of my Hollywood castle was ruined by that stupid bounce house hat.

Empress Lily --

It's a crying shame that the bounce house is still at DHS. That park was GORGEOUS before the bounce house. It was even better than the real thing in Hollywood, because the Chinese Theater there is in the middle of a block and is not set up so that it's this grand destination at the end of a boulevard, like it is at DHS. The bounce house ruins everything in that park. It's one of the biggest mistakes Disney ever made in my opinion.

I long for the day when that ugly thing is torn down for good.

 

[FettFan]

the 40th anniversary has been over for 10 months

Technically, yes. The Magic Kingdom opened in October of 1971.

But when it comes to major milestones and anniversaries (in part because of the late opening), WDW celebrations typically last well over a year. The Cake Castle overlay was constructed for October of 1996, but was not taken down until January 1998.

Same thing with the Gilded Castle overlay (still my favorite) for Disneyland's 50th Happiest Homecoming/Celebration on Earth. That one lasted from May 2005 until September 2006.

 

[FettFan]

Empress Lily --

It's a crying shame that the bounce house is still at DHS. That park was GORGEOUS before the bounce house. It was even better than the real thing in Hollywood, because the Chinese Theater there is in the middle of a block and is not set up so that it's this grand destination at the end of a boulevard, like it is at DHS. The bounce house ruins everything in that park. It's one of the biggest mistakes Disney ever made in my opinion.

I long for the day when that ugly thing is torn down for good.

Likewise....BUT....since the Great Movie Ride/Grauman's Chinese Theatre has always been the symbol for the park, I want the hat gone to exhibit a newly-refurbished GMR.

 

[DizneyPryncess]

I never saw it in person, but I think the pictures are kind of cool. I'm glad it was temporary, and I'm glad I wasn't a bride paying to have my wedding in front of the castle!

 

[Patricia Melton]

Likewise....BUT....since the Great Movie Ride/Grauman's Chinese Theatre has always been the symbol for the park, I want the hat gone to exhibit a newly-refurbished GMR.

I really want the bounce house hat torn down. I wish there was something in that hat that was toxic...like paint or asbestos or something...so that federal regulations would require it be torn down and so that TDO could not avoid doing it. I just hate that hat.

Putting that in front of the Chinese Theater to me is like painting Groucho Marx eyebrows and glasses on the Mona Lisa. It should have never been done, and now the vandalism should be removed and prohibited from ever happening again.

 

[Patricia Melton]

I never saw it in person, but I think the pictures are kind of cool. I'm glad it was temporary, and I'm glad I wasn't a bride paying to have my wedding in front of the castle!

This is who I feel the worst for: wedding parties who came to Disney when that horrible cake was up. Their pictures are ruined.

Though, with digital imaging today, a talented Photoshop artist could go in and replace the ugly castle for the nice one using stock images. People who don't remember the ugly cake being up wold look at your wedding picture and ask "what the heck is that?".

I know this because when I show people my family's Disney pics sometimes people ask, "What the heck is that?" when they see pics from 1997-1998. They don't know that TDO did this to the castle and they think it's hideous. It's the worst thing that Disney ever deliberately did to the park in all its history.

 

[Patricia Melton]

I was working there then and had to hear complaints every single day about it...and I didn't even work in MK. I had relatives who had their first visit that year and their little girls actually cried when they saw it because they wanted to see their very first castle - not a cake.

Brides were LIVID when they found out that they would not have castle photos. They ended up having to basically green screen photos so they could have the castle into their pics.

Seeing it day after day it got more annoying for me as time went on. At first I thought it was kind of neat but I know what the castle looked like so I completely understand that for people's first (and perhaps only) visit that it could have been a huge disappointment.

I am curious if you know the answer to this: was TDO prepared for the bad reaction from people?

As in...did it ever occur to them that people who were making their one and only trip of a lifetime to see WDW would be FURIOUS that the castle was covered in what looked like Play-Doh during their stay?

How long was this "decoration" up anyway before it was returned to normal? I can't remember, but I do know that it was there right before our family's trip and then they took it down a little while after our second trip seeing it, so unfortunately the way our vacations timed out we had to see this thing TWICE.

 

[FettFan]

How long was this "decoration" up anyway before it was returned to normal? I can't remember, but I do know that it was there right before our family's trip and then they took it down a little while after our second trip seeing it, so unfortunately the way our vacations timed out we had to see this thing TWICE.

October 96-January 98.

 

[ariel90]

The first time I went to Disney I was a small child who thought everything should be my favorite color ( still not a fan of the blue castle, pink all the way!)I was disappointed when I saw a blue castle. However when I saw the pink castle I was really happy because it was my favorite color. I felt like my wish really did come true as it was also my birthday trip.I was so heartbroken when it went back to normal.The cake looked good enough to eat and well who hates cake? I also felt the that Disney went above and beyond when it celebrated things like you knew something special would happen whenever it was a significant year (how about that 40th lol). It just felt like whoever was in charge of things gave Orlando a lot of love. It was really creative and well thought out.

 

[I_heart_Tigger]

I am curious if you know the answer to this: was TDO prepared for the bad reaction from people?

As in...did it ever occur to them that people who were making their one and only trip of a lifetime to see WDW would be FURIOUS that the castle was covered in what looked like Play-Doh during their stay?

I don't really know the answer as I was but a small cog in a big machine but I doubt they were prepared for the "passion" some people felt about it. I suspect the thought was that people would be pleased that they were there for such a unique time in WDW history....and some people probably did feel that way.

When my mom and sister came to visit me while I was working there I prepared them by saying the castle was "decorated" but I didn't go into detail because I didn't want my opinion of it to effect theirs. My sister who normally gets teary eyed at her first sight of the castle (and who rarely swears) said, "What the ____k is that supposed to be?" and my mother asked if it was "decorated" by the local nursery school.

 

[Tomi-Rocket]

Temporary for years in the case of the EPCOT wand.

It's gone, so yes, temporary. It doesn't matter if it was a day, a month or years, since it's not there forever that makes it temporary.