Based on Cinderella's fairy tale castle from Disney's 1950 animated feature film, both serve as the symbol and flagship attraction for their respective theme parks.

It would take months to disassemble, it would be too dangerous to operate the 300-foot (91 m) crane required in windy conditions, and there would have to be a more structurally sound building to keep it in.

Originally, a suite was planned for the Disney family and executives,[8] but since Walt Disney died nearly five years before the park opened, it remained unfinished, and eventually was turned successively into a telephone call center, a dressing room, and is currently a hotel room.

The suite is about 30 feet (9.1 m) below the level where the zipline cable that Tinker Bell "flies" on for the fireworks show is attached to tower 20.

In theme park jargon, Cinderella Castle was conceived as the primary "weenie" (a term commonly used by Walt and his Imagineers) that draws new entering guests through Main Street, U.S.A. towards the central hub, from where all other areas can be reached.

The castle now has gold trimmings, the rooftops have been painted a different shade of blue, and the white stone of the turrets now has a tan/dirty-pink color.

[citation needed] In 2018, Tokyo Disneyland's Cinderella Castle received water fountains installed for a new nighttime presentation Celebrate!

[citation needed] The castle's projection mapping technology has been used in several night events, such as their current fireworks spectacular, Happily Ever After, and its predecessor, Disney Enchantment.

Even when the park closes before 11pm (23:00), the show is performed a second time at 11pm (23:00), providing entertainment for guests of Disney resort hotels bordering the Seven Seas Lagoon.

On January 18, 2011, a nighttime projection mapping show premiered at Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World.

[13] The Magic, the Memories and You show was presented before and after the nightly Wishes fireworks show at Magic Kingdom, as well as presented before and after Disneyland's regular nightly fireworks, and was part of Disney's "Let the Memories Begin" campaign for 2011 as well as Disney World's 40th Anniversary celebrations that same year.

Designed by Imagineer Dorothea Redmond and crafted and set in place by a team of six artists led by mosaicist Hanns-Joachim Scharff, the 15-by-10-foot (4.6 by 3.0 m) ornate panels are shaped in a Gothic arch.

The glass used contains many small, multi-faceted pieces, which slightly obscures the view of the park with fireworks show from inside the suite by added music.

Walt Disney Imagineers had originally wanted to give the restaurant a regal name, and since there are no well-known characters from "Cinderella" that met their criteria, they instead took a little dramatic license and chose the name of Sleeping Beauty's father, King Stefan.

The restaurant is decorated not only with a number of stained glass windows and medieval objects, but with more than forty coats of arms.

At breakfast, lunch and dinner Cinderella greets all guests in the castle foyer, and during the meal Disney princesses such as Ariel, Aurora, Jasmine, Snow White, and sometimes Rapunzel circulate among the tables.

At the lobby and corridor, guests will find eight murals showing how Cinderella changed from beloved daughter, to servant girl, and then to Princess.

They will also see a diorama of Cinderella magically transformed into wearing a beautiful ball gown, and other artworks made from various materials such as paper, wood and glass.

In the Grand Hall guests will find a magnificent chandelier, the renowned glass slipper, a throne, and special paintings that reveal a magical message when photographed using a flash.

[18] The two taller attractions at Walt Disney World, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Expedition Everest, top out at 199 and 199.5 feet, respectively, to avoid this requirement as well.

As a result of the September 11, 2001 attacks, amid concerns that general aviation could pose a threat to public safety, the FAA placed a permanent Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) over the entire Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.

The flight restriction extends outward from an island near the Contemporary Resort (28°24′45″N 81°34′20″W / 28.41250°N 81.57222°W / 28.41250; -81.57222) at a radius of 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) up to 3,000 feet (910 m) above the ground level surface.

It has been a common growing legend that Disney chose to prohibit aviation above the park in order to make visitors feel even further separate from the outside world, but the true reason was, in fact, in response to the September 11th attacks.