You're too young, but the sight of that castle on TV, on a Sunday night meant I had one more hour left of my weekend, watching the Sunday night Disney hour.

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

I had a similar experience, on Sunday nights, Michael Eisner would introduce himself on hehalf of the Walt Disney Company and tell me a little history and story behind the classic Disney movie or TV show he was about to show. It was an amazing experience of its own, and I knew as soon as the movie was over, so was my weekend.

@riparianlife97701

Жыл бұрын

@@AlextheHistorian In the seventies, the first thing you saw was Tinkerbell flying in front of the castle, while "When You Wish Upon a Star" played.

@chrislauterbach8856

Жыл бұрын

I’m with you on this!

@lcruz2783

Жыл бұрын

That time in front of the TV getting ready for A Diney movie was great, truly one of the best memories I have as a kid.

@DukeCityExplorer

Жыл бұрын

World of Color! 🌺🌸

Disneyland without Sleeping Beauty Castle is like asking, what would Paris look like without the Eiffel Tower, or London without Big Ben. There's so much history, charm, and heart to the castle, so much that it's one of the many landmarks that represent the entirety of Disneyland itself. It's a landmark that adds to the very definition of what Disneyland wants to present to you, a place where you can leave the "real" world for a day and enter one you've only dreamed of. Even though Disneyland has changed so much over the years (in good and bad ways), Sleeping Beauty Castle still looks the way she did when Walt was there. She's still here today, and she still retains the original style of the park with that timeless charm, and the fact Walt himself got to see it, isn't that all you need? I think so.

@marcoantoniogarcia8576

Жыл бұрын

The castle is not the only thing that retains the original style of the park, the Main Street train station and most of the exteriors on Main Street, the Mark Twain, the Golden Horseshoe, the Jungle Cruise for the most part... all of these things still do. New Orleans Square, even though is not an original from 1955, is still almost the same as Walt saw before he passed.

@Eric_Ramirez_Gaming_101

Жыл бұрын

@@marcoantoniogarcia8576 Those work just as well

Personally growing up at Disneyland and going from 1999 to now, I loved the updated 2019 vibrant castle version. I'm so happy it doesn't look sun bleached anymore and it now has a more standout quality to it. It looks so magical in person.

Although Cinderella Castle in Magic Kingdom is my “home” Castle, Sleeping Beauty Castle is my actual favorite. It just has a unique charm and magic among Disney castles around the world. And the fact that Walt himself walked through it makes it extra special. As a Christian, the fact that Sleeping Beauty Castle has a “chapel” makes it even more dear to me. I only get to Disneyland every 5 years or so and I love to sit in the hub and gaze at the Castle for a half hour or more. I wish Cinderella Castle had a walkthrough telling her story as Aurora’s is told at Disneyland. Thanks for a great clip!.

Alex, your narration is flawless, compelling and exciting. This is your finest achievement.

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

Thanks James!

@OscarLangleySoryu

Жыл бұрын

​@@AlextheHistorian truly beautiful. Thanks Alex!

@highalpine7321

Жыл бұрын

I think I liked his OG voice better

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

@@highalpine7321 I can't help it, after years of doing narrations, my voice got deeper.

@OscarLangleySoryu

Жыл бұрын

@@highalpine7321 he sounds great. Don't be so rude pls

It’s so cool how the castle has change over the 60 some years. I would like to say thank you Walt for doing what you did and of course thank you Alex for making this! I would have know none of the stuff you do your videos on so thank you!

WOW!!!! WHAT A TOTALLY AWSOME DOCUMENTARY ON THE DISNEYLAND CASTLE!!!! I LEARNED SO MUCH!!!!

It's funny that it is inspired by Schloss Neuschwanstein, since that castle itself was built by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a fantasy re-imagining of medieval castles. The vertically diminishing scale makes it look full-size from the ground, which is not trivial to do for a structure like that.

Another completely marvelous video with graceful writing and intense but friendly narration. Just wonderful! Thanks again!

You deserve tens of thousands more subscribers. You are a gifted maker of these videos. BRAVO.

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

EXCELLANT documentary. Great footage and background music

Hi Alex. Awesome documentary! Thank you for taking the time and energy to share the history of Sleeping Beauty Castle with us! Many blessing to you.

Wonderfully done! Long live Disney’s imagination!

Wow, that was awesome! Your narration was so interesting, heartfelt and compelling! Your closing lines with that music gave me goosebumps! Thanks so much for all the work you put in to that!

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Nancy! This was definitely among my favorite videos I've made

Taking off the "Climbing Vines" was long overdue as they covered up the Forced Perspective that was design into the castles stone block. Alex, again top-notch narration and lots of information to make for a outstanding watch, hats off......

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Mike!

Ever since my annual pass expired at the end of 2019 and then the pandemic happened, my focus on the Disney parks hasn't been the same. But videos like this spark back my love for Disneyland especially. To experience what the park must've been like in its early days, though, what a dream! I remember the 2019 refurbishment too well. First time seeing the park in years and years and I don't get to see the castle? What a payoff to see it so beautiful and vibrant. And what a sight at night!

Your Disneyland videos are extremely well done and take me back to a cherished time. Thank you Alex!

@AlextheHistorian

Ай бұрын

Thank you so much, Keith! I do my best.

Darn it! Now I want more. Great presentation.

Much Love and Respect to the WED Imagineers who keep this Magical Kingdom Special !! My first visit to DISNEYLAND was only a Year ago at the Young Age of 58 ! YES, I rode ALL the Rides !! INDEED, the Happiest Place on Earth and Greatful to have Finally visited this Wonderful Place !!

YES Thank you Alex

Alex this is a beautiful film. A real love letter to SBC and the a golden Age of Uncle Walt. Love your videos, please keep ‘em coming-Oakland Steve

Nicely done Alex! Really loved the fact Walt wanted a smaller castle to create charm and intimacy for Disneyland. When I finally went to the magic kingdom, it’s a difference you can totally feel and makes Disneyland feel more charming and magical. I think that was also something Rolly Crump had also mentioned when he was sharing his frustrations when Disney World opened. It seems parks and it’s fans nowadays are trying to go bigger and grander and it makes Disneyland increasingly more unique and one of a kind

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

I agree!

Your wonderful videos are my newest addiction! Thank you. Your monumental effort is appreciated.

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

As a child, before ever going to Disneyland I used to think the Castle was the entrance to the park. It wasn’t til my first trip there that I realized it was in the center, and that it’s placement made so much sense as the center or beginning of all adventures. Such an awesome structure.

I love all of the footage in this. Some of it was from the 1980’s as it looks, and I’ve always enjoyed that type of footage. Pictures, and presentation always make me know it’s you even with the volume on mute! Great video.

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Very nicely done. Working for Walt must've been frustrating for everyone at some point or another, haha. Looking forward to more Disneyland content as long as it's something you personally want to continue doing.

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

I'm gonna play it by ear. When I feel inspired to make Disneyland content, then that's when I'll work on it.

Alex there’s just something about the way you narrate these Disney historical stories with comparison, I can listen to you all day talk about my favorite place . Thank you so much. I listen to your vlogs at night so relaxing. You are truly good at this sir. Thank you .

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

Thanks! I'm glad to head that you enjoy them!

Always great, your love for Disneyland shows

I really appreciate your attitude towards the parks. They ARE a monument to imagination. Too many cynics mistake these places as a monument to capitalism. This is a place of PLAY, of WONDER, LOVE, EXCITEMENT and SERVICE. Play is deeply important for adults just as it is for children. And some only open up to it when they visit a Disney park. You may not be a fellow Cast Member but thank you for helping keep the magic alive.

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

Thank you. I was once a Cast Member, working at restaurants, and briefly a Guest Relations tour guide and private host.

@OscarLangleySoryu

Жыл бұрын

@@AlextheHistorian ohhhh sick!

Props to all the Imagineers past, present and future who take the magic of Disney and bring it to life for all who come to the happiest place on earth!

Such a good documentary, thank you for making it

Great video! So glad you are doing these again

I love the story of the Sleeping Beauty Castle, no matter how many times I've heard it before, nor whether or not I learn anything new about the castle. In this case, the descriptions of the changes in paint color, the various changes to the rooftops and the various subtle additions such as the projection towers, (which I didn't even give a second thought to being relatively new the last time I saw the castle. December 2022.) The first photo of me at Disneyland depicts my mom, who was pregnant with my (eventual) 1yr, 15day younger sister, thus establishing that I was less than a year old as I sat in a stroller in front of my mom, all of us on the walkway in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle in the mid 1970s. Thus, just one of the many reasons of why Sleeping Beauty Castle is my favorite of all the princess castles, not to mention the fact that Sleeping Beauty is my favorite Disney Princess and Disney princess movie. Great video on this icon of not only Disney, but also of historical significance period.

Alex, I am a boat nerd. I am here for the Queen Mary content, but I LOVE your Disneyland history documentaries. Your narration conveys both a reverence and a joy for the subject. Thank you for this!

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

Thanks! Next week should be a video about RMS Queen Elizabeth

@joshdominguez6324

Жыл бұрын

Your voice and narration style reminded me of LeVar Burton and my childhood when I’d watch 🌈 Reading Rainbow. Awesome video by the way. I’ve always lived under 20 minutes from Disneyland and I feel so lucky to live so close to such an iconic place.

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

@@joshdominguez6324 I used to watch the reading rainbow, maybe subconsciously I've made similarities to it.

Superb, just superb!!

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Great movie thanks !

Once again, another great job! Hope Disneyland gets back to what made it so magical, Walt's visions and those who shared it. Love all the great details you found and shared. Thank you!

Alex, i just found your channel a couple of weeks ago and have been binge watching your videos. Great information, delivered by great narration. I can feel the emotions you are trying to give out and it really helps me pay attention. Keep up the great work.

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

Thank you very much for making this beautiful tribute to one of the most iconic features of the Disneyland experience that has been cherished by the generations that have seen this fine structure.❤

I think I love his videos bc of the music. It makes me feel hopeful

These documentary videos of the "Happiest Place on Earth" are absolutely fascinating. Thank you for your time and effort.

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

You're welcome 😊

Well said and well done. Thank you for your time and effort to bring this story to us👏👏👍💖

Beautiful work as always, Alex!

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Nice video!

Excellent! ❤ Thank you.

Great job Alex.

Thanks Alex! I love seeing your Disney videos!

Alex... brov0. As usual. Drinking tea and getting Tillamook. Your the best!

Another awesome production by Alex! Great job!

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

Thanks! Is your username a line from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Secrets of the Ooze? lol

Another fantastic video Alex!! As many times as I’ve been there I’ve never noticed the spire, nor have I paid much attention to the changes over the years, but with years in between my visits it would be hard to remember what it looked like the last time I was there. What I do remember every time though is wishing the castle was a ride. That always bummed me out!

How interesting! Your videos never disappoint. Thank you for the work you put into your videos. Excellent production quality.

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

I hope everyone who grew up with the park finds this documentary.

Enjoyed the video. You have a great voice for this. The change up in voices was a nice touch (Walt said….).

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

Hello Alex my friend, it's been a while. Your work just keeps getting more & more amazing! I've always liked you narration, but here it seems you've taken it to a new level! Thank you for sharing your love & knowledge with us in such a polished & heartwarming way. BRAVO!!!

Oh this is so beautiful- I really love your Disneyland videos. Thank you so much!! I really like the new colors, I think they are pretty 🥰

Your work on these historical perspectives is usually outstanding.... I don't have the words to say just how good this one is!

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Very nice video Alex! U are very good at making Disney videos thank you for making a documentary about the castle.

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

You're welcome :)

Alex, you always put your soul into your work and narration. It’s always a joy to watch your videos.

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

Good series ALEX” thank you.

Thank you, Alex! Always appreciate your sharing; great artistry and info. Please keep them coming!

My favorite color scheme is the current one. I, too, love the vibrancy. It makes it more fantastical. Also, Sleeping Beauty Castle is still my favorite Disney castle exactly because of what Walt said about not wanting to have such a huge structure be too overpowering. Disneyland is so quaint and storybook-like because of its scale. I think Sleeping Beauty Castle is perfect for a fantasyland-style park. ❤ After, SBC, I love the other Sleeping Beauty Castle (in Paris) because it’s not just tall and big for the sake of being tall and big. It’s propped up on a hill but is still technically small in scale which still lends to the fantasy aspect. All the other castles, just seem like castles that were build by a capitalist. Kind of like they were designed by Las Vegas architects. 😂

Great stuff

Alex, I absolutely love your Disneyland videos so much! Thank you for this!!! 💗🏰✨

I. LOVE. THIS. VIDEO ❤❤❤

sleeping beauty castle looks great at 67 years old almost 68 years old in July 17th

Nicely done. That's Walt and Walter Lanz though (at 5:51), not Roy!

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

LOL no that definitely was not Walter Lantz, that was Walt's brother, Roy Oliver Disney.

@stevehoffman9735

Жыл бұрын

@@AlextheHistorian I’ll put my glasses on next time!

I remember walking through this attraction at Disneyland. I think this narrator should know that this walk through attraction shows people scenes from the movie Sleeping Beauty. But still, it's on Disney plus and it's a classic fairytale.

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

Thats odd, what made you think my video about Sleeping Beauty Castle and its walk through attraction wasn't about the movie Sleeping Beauty?

Thanks!

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the Super thanks!

you displayed the 70ies as a terrible time, I still fear those images coming back at night to haunt me.

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

I'll be honest, I'm kinda biased about disliking most things about 70s style, architecture, and design. I'm a huge fan of architecture and design from the Victorian, Edwardian and Art Deco ages, and the 70s came through like a plague, wiping out the previous designs wherever it could.

I NEED TO BUY A BOOK ON THE DISNELAND CASTLE.

LOL the idea that the castle had to be small tickles the s outta me as a WDW guy. Most photographed building on the planet is the "grotesque monstrosity" of Cinderella castle

I storybook castle should be happy and bright. 💓💙💓

GREAT VIDEO AND EDUCATION ALEX!!!! PLEASE CONTUNUE TO SHARE YOUR TRUTH!!!

👍👍👍

Team Nineties Color Scheme, but I've learned to live with the current version. I was surprised you didn't mention the new fountains. It's hard to believe it took 67 years or so to make that addition. I always welcome these videos. Thanks so much.

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

The fountains are only temporary, weighted down as opposed to bolted in place. But I showed them in the concept art.

🏰🏰🏰

The castle finials weren’t solid gold, they were gilt with gold leaf. Which by itself is very expensive, but not solid gold 😂

Personally I think Kim Irvine's design is better. But I'm biased and like the color pink lol

More documentaries

2:59 "quaint intimacy" With all due respect to our friend in Florida, THIS is why I prefer Disneyland to WDW's Magic Kingdom

*3000 people of different nationalities Great video though. Brilliant in fact. 👏

Alex, what was that structure being assembled at the beginning of the video in the center of Main Street?

@AlextheHistorian

11 ай бұрын

You'll have to be more specific, or give me a timestamp

@LucasVigor

11 ай бұрын

@@AlextheHistorian 2:21 is that the structure that ended up on the other side of New Orleans square and now resides in some nursery in Irvine?

@LucasVigor

11 ай бұрын

@@AlextheHistorian I just looked it up. Yeah, the gazebo was first in main street , then Walt felt it blocked the view so it was moved off to the side of the castle , then moved to “ magnolia park “ near Adventureland , and now is at a nursery in corona Del Mar called “ roger’s gardens”

No mention the hidden room? Or way they use to randomly select guests to stay over night in the dream suite ?

@AlextheHistorian

9 ай бұрын

You are thinking of the castle in Florida, this video is about the one in California.

@ThatCarGuyEddie

9 ай бұрын

Omg your right the dream suite in Disneyland is in new oreleans square

I'm guessing that those finials were not solid gold, but overlaid with gold leaf? Do you happen to know?

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

Yes they are solid gold, not gold leaf. 24 karat.

@LeonardBottleman

Жыл бұрын

@@AlextheHistorian This is the first time I have heard that they were solid -- I have always read that they were burnished in gold leaf, and recent upgrades mention new gold leaf being applied. With a rough estimate of the material volume for each finial would put the cost with the 1955 gold price at around a million dollars (and the park's construction budget was 17 million).

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

They are solid gold, but they are hollow inside, the finials are the thickness of cardstock paper. They are basically decorative cones of thin gold that slide on over the tops of the roofs. They aren't solid bars of gold. Even the decorative pieces on them are made of thin, stamp-cut sheets of gold. Hence why it's easy for them to be misshapen when handled too roughly. The gold leaf you heard of is from the decorative "pixie dust" that is put on the center roof. Keep in mind, there is a lot more gold on the castle today, than there was back then. Since the 50th they have also added burnished gold leaf to more areas of rooftop, but the original finial caps themselves are solid gold.

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

I did a rough cost estimate based on the size of the original 11 (might be one more or one less of the originals). I heard an unconfirmed sum that Walt spent $10,000 (1955) in gold on the castle. Now, when I stood next to those finial caps, most were much smaller than they look, and quite thin and delicate. I'd estimate that if you combined the weight of the 11, you'd get an average weight of no more than two Troy pounds of gold per cap. Some gold estimates say prices in 1955 hovered around $34/$35 per Troy ounce. That means that the cost of about 22 Troy pounds of gold in 1955 set at $35 per Troy ounce, would have cost $9,240. Which kind of lends credence to the $10k sum I heard many years back. Even if I was wrong and there was 3 times as much gold up there, that's still $27,720 (1955). Solid gold (sheet) finial caps don't seem so impossible for Walt Disney.

@Video81501

Жыл бұрын

@@AlextheHistorian Awesome work, Alex! The idea of making them out of hammered sheets makes sense. I was thinking that making solid casts would be extremely wasteful and extravagant. If they were cast solid, they would be prime targets for theft.

Can you do Casey jr next

Does Disneyland still have Tinkerbell fly in the sky.

Thats was a hard cut from cute squirrels to 9/11

Returning back to Disney? Bye ships... well perhaps your doing both!

@AlextheHistorian

Жыл бұрын

I'm doing everything. Disneyland, Ships, Locomotives, and historic places.

Whos here from the Wonderful World of Color?

Excellent historical video Alex. Walt would be saddened of what his wonderful company has become today...