What Lies Beneath

Artist: Frank Armitage

Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant at Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris, is one of the most unique and interesting of the Disney Castles.  Imagineering decided to take a new approach to the iconic castle that would be situated in the center of the park.  France is home to the castles that inspired the castles of the Disney theme parks and the Imagineers felt that they needed to make this one as magnificent as those that inspired it.  Some of the inspirations cited by Imagineering include illustrations from Book of Hours, Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry and the Mont Saint Michel monastery in Normandy.

Just like the other Disney castles, this one also features a walk-through attraction of the story of the princess that it houses.  However, below the castle lives an audio-animatronic dragon form of Maleficent, the evil queen from Sleeping Beauty.  Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant is the only one of the Disney theme park castles with an attraction like this.  The dragon is 89 feet from head to tail and was one of the largest audio-animatronics ever built at the park's opening in 1992.

 

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Chateau_de_la_Belle_au_Bois_Dormant

The Imagineers, Initials. (Ed.). (2010). Walt disney imagineering: a behind the dreams look at making more magic real. New York, NY: Disney Editions.