Scaffolding up at the Magic Kingdom's 'Be Our Guest Restaurant' as exterior refurbishment gets underway
More of New Fantasyland is being refreshed as the Magic Kingdom prepares for its 50th anniversary.
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News Scaffolding up at the Magic Kingdom's 'Be Our Guest Restaurant' as exterior refurbishment gets underway
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Ricky Spanish
Well-Known Member
What is the proper size?Maybe they are going to make Beasts castle the proper size now? One can dream
Homer fan
Active Member
I'd say at least quadruple the size it is now
Ricky Spanish
Well-Known Member
“Disney uses Forced Perspective at all of their theme parks. Some of the most notable examples include, Cinderella’s Castle, Sleeping Beauty Castle, Pandora World of Avatar and Main Street USA.
Other ways Disney uses this technique are places like Beast’s Castle in Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom. The castle is actually quite small but it sits on top of a very large plot of land that is the Be Our Guest restaurant.
The restaurant itself houses three separate dining rooms and seats up to 550 guests. Imagineers don’t want guests thinking they are walking into a large square concrete building, they want guests to feel as though they are transported to Beast’s Castle in the Beauty and the Beast film.
Disney wants guests to feel as though they are walking up the walkway to the castle itself perched high atop the castle grounds. So Disney set the much smaller castle facade atop the large, plain building that houses the actual restaurant but hid that with forced perspective, paint and details so that all guests see is the magic.”
Other ways Disney uses this technique are places like Beast’s Castle in Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom. The castle is actually quite small but it sits on top of a very large plot of land that is the Be Our Guest restaurant.
The restaurant itself houses three separate dining rooms and seats up to 550 guests. Imagineers don’t want guests thinking they are walking into a large square concrete building, they want guests to feel as though they are transported to Beast’s Castle in the Beauty and the Beast film.
Disney wants guests to feel as though they are walking up the walkway to the castle itself perched high atop the castle grounds. So Disney set the much smaller castle facade atop the large, plain building that houses the actual restaurant but hid that with forced perspective, paint and details so that all guests see is the magic.”
Homer fan
Active Member
I understand what they were trying to do, but I just don't think it works. It looks like a tiny castle on top of a big building. I think they could've at least doubled the size of it, to make it more believable.
owlsandcoffee
Well-Known Member
If you want to see Beast's Castle with proper forced perspective...look at Tokyo. Not saying it needs to be like that but the model needed to be much more detailed, especially considering that the "cave entrance" that's so far away from the castle leads you...right into the castle.
jmuboy
Well-Known Member
To be fair they will be celebrating 50 until they are 52
James Alucobond
Well-Known Member
I agree that it doesn't quite work at certain points on approach, but I'm not sure it's entirely fixable either, because enlarging it might actually break the illusion even more by changing the scale relative to the surrounding "mountains". I actually think it's quite decent from pretty much everywhere on the other side of the bridge, which is where the majority of guests will view it.
owlsandcoffee
Well-Known Member
One trick would be to have less of the castle, like the top fifth, larger and set back.
Homer fan
Active Member
Understood...I think the issue for me is, it doesn't look as far away as it was intended when you are close (based on the size of the castle). So it's supposed to look like it's maybe a mile up the mountain, but it looks much closer and just looks like a tiny castle. I dunno, maybe because it's so high up, it was never going to work from all angles like Cinderella’s Castle or Main St.
JohnD
Well-Known Member
Homer fan
Active Member
That is amazing!
owlsandcoffee
Well-Known Member
That's what I was talking about! It's awesome right??? Now imagine that instead of the first tier at the ground level it was rock work and the castle looked like it was popping out of the rock from behind. Would be a lot more believable than what we got. I really love what Tokyo did.
JoeCamel
Well-Known Member
Remember the climate at the time. We got half a mine train, an uninspired mermaid with a good queue and a quick serve masquerading as fine dining. Everything in NFL was managed to fit the budget. Lots could have been done but after seeing the massive hole in the ground there I can see where the money went.
owlsandcoffee
Well-Known Member
The "good news" is these things could always be plussed: replace the castle, make an actual BatB ride (there is room), put a ride into Storybook Circus, etc.