These days (or at least for anyone born in the late 1950s and later) Disneyland seems a fait accompli that’s always been there. But for Walt Disney, the guy in this photo, the project was a huge gamble that could have easily have been an embarrassing and empire-toppling failure. So it makes me wonder what was going through his head as he stood there watching his Sleeping Beauty castle come to life amid the scaffolding and rubble. (Spoiler alert, Walt, everything worked out fine.) Disneyland opened to much fanfare on July 17, 1955, so I’m guessing this photo is circa early 1955.
The fairytale-like Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria. Walt Disney visited this castle, and it was Walt’s inspiration for the castle of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty in Disneyland. The original castle is in the village of Hohenschwangau in the hills of the green region Allgäu in Bavaria.
The castle was constructed in 1869 on behalf of the shy and eccentric King Ludwig II, who had it built to escape public life.
It would appear that Segnor Disney was there to see them put the finishing touches on, ala capping the towers. Notice the caps in image one have left the moat bridge in image 2 and one tower behind Walt now has its’ topper.