Prince Charming Regal Carrousel

Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
Magic Kingdom
Land	Fantasyland
Attraction type	Carousel
Theme	Cinderella
Opening date	October 1, 1971

Castle Carrousel
Tokyo Disneyland
Land	Fantasyland
Attraction type	Carousel
Theme	Cinderella
Opening date	April 15, 1983

Cinderella Carousel
Hong Kong Disneyland
Land	Fantasyland
Attraction type	Carousel
Theme	Cinderella
Opening date	September 12, 2005

Prince Charming Regal Carrousel (formerly Cinderella's Golden Carrousel) is an authentic carousel ride at Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort. Similar attractions under varying names can be found at two other Disney Parks including Tokyo Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland. This 90-horse carousel plays organ-based Disney classics during the two-minute ride period. Hand painted scenes from Disney's Cinderella can be seen on the ride.

Magic Kingdom version

The carousel was originally built by The Philadelphia Toboggan Company, one of the most prestigious carousel companies, in 1917. In 1967, Walt Disney purchased the handmade carousel (and horses) from the Olympic Park^[1] in Maplewood, New Jersey. The original name of the carousel was Liberty, and the maidens can still be seen on the top of the carousel. Every horse is different.

Cinderella's Horse

There are conflicting stories regarding whether one of the horses on the carrousel is "Cinderella's Horse". The horse in question is in the second rank of horses, and is the only one that has a golden bow on its tail.

Cast Members refer to this horse as one that belongs to Cinderella and it has been referred to as such in various Disney publications.^[2][3] Cinderella has been depicted as riding a horse in various pieces of collectable sculpture and artwork, such as a 2001 Limited Edition lithograph.^[4]

However, in an interview with Isle Voght, a park employee responsible for restoring the ride along with John Hench,^[5] she gives her own reasons for doubting the veracity of the Cinderella's Horse story, namely that the princess would not have a horse on an inner row, and that her horse would be decorated much more elaborately than the others. Also, she states that Cinderella never rode a horse in her film.

The Disney Imagineers did not include the story of Cinderella's horse in the 2010 rewriting of the carrousel backstory.

Name change

On June 1, 2010 the name was changed from Cinderella's Golden Carrousel to Prince Charming Regal Carrousel.^[6] The name change helps tell the rest of the Cinderella story that inspired the carrousel. Here’s the official story behind it:

Following their fairy-tale romance and happily-ever-after wedding, Cinderella and Prince Charming took up residence in Cinderella’s Castle. With peace throughout the kingdom, Prince Charming had time to practice for jousting tournaments. In the countryside near the castle, he built a training device of carved horses, on which he could practice the art of ring-spearing, a tournament event in which a knight rides his horse full speed, lance in hand, toward a small ring hanging from a tree limb, with the object of spearing the ring. This event was known by various names throughout the lands, but generally came to be called “carrousel.” The carrousel device drew the attention of the villagers, who wanted to take a turn on this amazing spinning contraption. So Prince Charming had a second carrousel constructed closer to the Castle, where everyone could take a spin on this wondrous invention. Instead of a working knight’s training device, however, this new carrousel is more befitting its regal location in the Castle Courtyard – its rustic training horses replaced with ornately decorated prancing steeds adorned with golden helmets and shields, flower garlands, feathers and other festoons. Prince Charming invites one and all to test their horsemanship skills and to enjoy their own happy ending.

See also

• King Arthur Carrousel

External links

• Information about name change at AllEars.Net
• The carrousel was incorporated into an original painting and limited edition print offering by Randy Souders entitled "Cinderella's Golden Carrousel" created for the first Official Disneyana Convention held at Walt Disney World in 1992.

References

1. ^ http://165.230.98.36/acatalog/__Smile_1998.html
2. ^ Alex Wright/Imagineers, The Imagineering Field Guide to Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, Disney Editions, ISBN 978-1423124689 
3. ^ Magic Kingdom Park Guide, Disney Editions 
4. ^ "Cinderella's Golden Carrousel Lithograph". The Walt Disney Company. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://home.att.net/~peggysexton/DisneyWilliamsCinderellaLitho.jpg&imgrefurl=http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/Disney-CINDERELLAS-CAROUSEL-Litho-Print-LE250-/220335282962&usg=__DYmd8OIa0zU4BzzxuMMyYEwvdSE=&h=480&w=590&sz=41&hl=en&start=1&sig2=r-B_3Kdc67b_tvZ7Kbbj2w&zoom=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=qu7334YW4_k53M:&tbnh=110&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddon%2Bducky%2Bwilliams%2Blithograph%2Bcinderella%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26pwst%3D1%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-US%26rlz%3D1I7DMUS_en%26ndsp%3D20%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=eOFuTMe4K8O88gajt_TsCg. 
5. ^ Wade Sampson. "The Tale of Cinderella's Golden Carrousel". MousePlanet. http://www.mouseplanet.com/9271/The_Tale_of_Cinderellas_Golden_Carrousel. 
6. ^ "Magic Kingdom's Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel – New Name". 26 May 2010. http://land.allears.net/blogs/dnews/2010/05/magic_kingdoms_cinderellas_gol_1.html.