Why no Snow White Grotto?

[The Duck]

From what I've read, WDW is the only Disney resort that doesn't have a Snow White Grotto near the castle. It seems to me that the FLE could and should have a place for this Disney tradition, perhaps in the queue for the 7DMT. A few marble statues and some landscaping could be a simple,inexpensive extra touch that could go a long way in the theming.

 

[CountryBearFan]

From what I've read, WDW is the only Disney resort that doesn't have a Snow White Grotto near the castle. It seems to me that the FLE could and should have a place for this Disney tradition, perhaps in the queue for the 7DMT. A few marble statues and some landscaping could be a simple,inexpensive extra touch that could go a long way in the theming.

Disneyland Paris doesn't have a Snow White Grotto, either.

 

[TP2000]

Walt had Disneyland's Snow White Grotto installed in 1961, but they never built one for WDW. And I've never heard of one ever considered or planned for WDW's Castle either.


Snow White Grotto by andy castro, on Flickr

When Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1983, it had a Snow White Grotto that was almost an exact copy of Disneyland's, yet placed next to their much larger Cinderella Castle that is almost an exact copy of WDW's Castle. That tells me it's possible to create a Snow White Grotto near the much larger WDW Castle and still get it to work design-wise.

Hong Kong Disneyland opened in 2005 with their own Snow White Grotto, which was similar to the previous two yet slightly different in scale and placement.

Hong Kong Disneyland - Snow White Grotto

So it's just Disneyland Paris and WDW's Magic Kingdom that lack the Snow White Grotto portion of their Castle grounds. However, the Grotto traditionally appears nestled against the Castle walls on the Central Plaza side of the Castle, and all of the work on FLE is happening well behind the Castle itself and nowhere near the front of the Castle or near its walls.

 

[Lee]

I like the story about how the original grotto came to be.

Walt was given the statues as a gift and decided to put them in Disneyland. The grotto was constructed especially for them, with John Hench in charge of the project.
The positioning is important, with Snow White at the top to provide a bit of forced perspective, in order to minimize the fact the the dwarves were mistakenly made the same height as her.

 

[JustInTime]

I like the story about how the original grotto came to be.

Walt was given the statues as a gift and decided to put them in Disneyland. The grotto was constructed especially for them, with John Hench in charge of the project.
The positioning is important, with Snow White at the top to provide a bit of forced perspective, in order to minimize the fact the the dwarves were mistakenly made the same height as her.

Really?? That is awesome!

 

[lazyboy97o]

I think the reason they are not at the Magic Kingdom is because that park was supposed to be something different.

Tokyo Disneyland was supposed to be a copy of the American original(s).

Disneyland Paris was again, a park intended to be uniquely different.

Hong Kong Disneyland vacillated, but the DisneyPark® is a DisneyPark® mentally was having its foundations laid.

 

[Magenta Panther]

I like the story about how the original grotto came to be.

Walt was given the statues as a gift and decided to put them in Disneyland. The grotto was constructed especially for them, with John Hench in charge of the project.
The positioning is important, with Snow White at the top to provide a bit of forced perspective, in order to minimize the fact the the dwarves were mistakenly made the same height as her.

Great story, Lee. Thanks!

 

[TP2000]

I like the story about how the original grotto came to be.

Tell 'em the part about the mystery crates arriving one day in 1960 with Italian postmarks on them...

 

[ob1thx1138]

If you look at the concept art of the mine train, the cottage area has a nice wide open walk way area in front of it. I have to believe that this area would be utilized at some point as a meet and greet area having the cottage in the background.

 

[Random Vids Inc]

The grotto could be installed with the FLE. Would be a nice way to add a classic touch to a new area.

 

[ght]

I like the story about how the original grotto came to be.

Walt was given the statues as a gift and decided to put them in Disneyland. The grotto was constructed especially for them, with John Hench in charge of the project.
The positioning is important, with Snow White at the top to provide a bit of forced perspective, in order to minimize the fact the the dwarves were mistakenly made the same height as her.

I was about to mention this, to me the backstory is the thing that makes the grotto really special so not having a copy at MK doesn't really bother me.