Beast's Castle - Does it "work"?

ChrisFL

ChrisFL

Premium Member
Original Poster
MissM said:
Yeah I could see it being a concern about not really being very high in the sky - especially if you're very tall. I'm 5' 6" so being overly tall isn't a problem for me. ;) It doesn't necessarily look like it's waaaaaay high up in the mountains in terms of being super high, but it does nestle in the rock work very well and it looks appropriate in it's surroundings.

I think if it had been kept behind tarps or something these past couple years so we all weren't used to seeing it, there might have been more impact. Since it was one of the first things visible from over the walls, in a lot of ways the problems we all have with it stem from familiarity I think.
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That's possible.

Even Everest doesn't always work, but there are certain places where its just PERFECT looking and really does seem to be gigantic.

I realize that when dealing with scale models on a movie is one thing, in a THEME PARK with viewpoints from everywhere is completely different. On that note, I'm not trying to be too harsh, just wondering if the scale was good enough in person. Its also difficult since you turn around have a real, full sized Cinderella Castle right behind you.
 
The Empress Lilly

The Empress Lilly

Well-Known Member
I haven't seen the castle from up close yet.

Last time I went, from behind the walls, I did remember thinking the forced perspective didn't really work. The castle looks nice enough, for a miniature ride (even a bit on the large side for that).

But as it is, the castle looks like what it is, a minature castle on the rocks directly above you. There is little feeling of distance, of a massive castle looming high in the mountains.
 
GoofGoof

GoofGoof

Premium Member
When I was there in June it worked for me from "original" fantasyland. It was behind a large construction area, but looked like a large castle, far away. I think if you got up close and looked up it may not work as well. From a distance it works really well. When we get to see all of the overhead shots (which by the way are awesome, thanks for keeping those up) it kinda ruins it since you can see its just a miniature on the roof of a building. I noticed this when looking from the top of BLT. Of course this was June so a lot of additional theming and landscaping has gone in.
 
RunnerEd

RunnerEd

Well-Known Member
For what it's worth, I have a friend who doesn't go to WDW very often and had no idea that there were Disney fan forums. He swore to me that they were building a huge, new castle and had the pictures to prove it. I had to show him the aerial shots from this sites for him to believe the size/scale of the entire thing and he was still a bit skeptical. It worked for one family anyway.
 
PeterMarcus

PeterMarcus

Active Member
I have to echo a lot of people here. It works really, really well from certain angles, and the pictures don't do it justice. I think you need a 3D view to really appreciate it. However, from some angles, like in the queue at Belle's when you're right up close, it loses the perspective. I think it still looks bigger than it really is, but it's not as realistic. The rockwork for Beast and for Mermaid look really great, however, and the water on both are really impressive.
 
Mad Stitch

Mad Stitch

Well-Known Member
My concern with Beast's Castle is that it dosen't look complete. It looks as if some of the turrets are missing.

Enchanted Places Figurine
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Disneyland Paris
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WDW
Beast-Castle.jpg
 
ChrisM

ChrisM

Well-Known Member
Yes, the Disney Paris castle looks about 100 times better. I never did understand why they didn't go with that style. It's simply way more detailed.

What really ruins the looks of the MK version, and makes it look "fake", is that the walls look like stucco instead of stone/masonry.
 
Magic Lamp

Magic Lamp

Member
ChrisM said:
Yes, the Disney Paris castle looks about 100 times better. I never did understand why they didn't go with that style. It's simply way more detailed.

What really ruins the looks of the MK version, and makes it look "fake", is that the walls look like stucco instead of stone/masonry.
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There are actually about two designs of the castle, one that is seen in the beginning and end of the film and another somewhere in the middle (there's a good vertical pan shot when Maurice arrives). The castle in Paris resembles the opening shot more, but with a heavily altered "east wing":

tumblr_mbuu5u5dmN1r3x190o1_500.gif


The MK model is the spitting image (sans a few details) of the coloring version, which is taken directly from the film:

0126.gif

I still think it should have been built a few feet higher. This shot makes it look like the mountain deflated:

beourguestentrance.jpg


There is still time to remove the castle, place a mesh and add more rock work and some trees and re-assemble the re-painted castle on top. That'll look a million times better.
 
Prototype82

Prototype82

Well-Known Member
I have absolutely no problem with the scale of it. For me my problems are architectural. I would have like a little more fleshing out when it comes to detail. Yes, I know it's supposed to look like its in the distance. And I don't mean more turrets. Universal simplified Hogwarts to include only the most iconic of the towers and it works just fine. Same goes with Beast's castle. Well laid out. If anything I'm glad they decided to make it gray stone instead of another white marble Cindy castle. It looks foreboding on perched up there, like it was supposed to during the its cursed state during the entirety of the film.
 
wdwmagic

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
RSoxNo1 said:
The Paris one is the "full scale" symbol of the park vs. a 20 foot forced perspective secondary icon. It's like comparing New Fantasyland to the model that's in One Man's Dream.
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That is the mini castle in Fantasyland in that photo from Paris.
 
TheDisneyMagic

TheDisneyMagic

Well-Known Member
Beast's castle in Paris is designed to be viewed from a few feet away where as in Florida it is designed to be viewed from a distance. Zoomed in photos don't do it justice.
 

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