August 31, 2025, 5:26 PM ·
Walt Disney World will return its Cinderella Castle to its classic color scheme.Disney announced that news today at the Destination D23 event at the Walt Disney World Resort. The castle will return to its blue and white color palette, replacing the pink and blue palette that Walt Disney World installed in advance of the Magic Kingdom’s 50th anniversary.The pink and blue scheme matched Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland. That color palette works thematically because it matches the pink dress (sometimes changed to blue by the fairy Merryweather) worn by Sleeping Beauty. But Cinderella’s ball gown has not a stitch of pink in its blue and white fabric. If each castle is to represent visually the character for which it is named, Cinderella Castle needs that blue and white color.
The upcoming, classic Cinderalla Castle at Walt Disney World. Concept art courtesy DisneyIf you have not noticed, next time you visit Disneyland or Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, look for buildings where Imagineers have installed a color palette to match a Disney character. Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster at Disneyland provides one example, but there are others that I will leave readers to cite in the comments.Disney also announced during its Castle-themed panel at Destination D23 that the next episode of “We Call It Imagineering” will include details on the castle for the upcoming Disney theme park on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. That episode drops September 8 on YouTube.As for other international park openings, Disney narrowed the window for the opening of World of Frozen and the renaming of Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris to Disney Adventure World to spring of next year. Stay tuned.In other news from Destination D23 today, Disney introduced the Imagineers who will be working on the Villains-themed land at the Magic Kingdom, which is now in development. Caroline May will be the Executive Creative Director for the project. She has worked previously for Disney on the Marvel portfolio as well as on the Storyliving project. Disney Legend Andreas Deja is consulting, bringing experience animating Disney villains including Gaston, Jafar, and Scar.Imagineers have been traveling, looking for visual inspiration for the land, which will feature what Imagineers called “conjured architecture” – a style that looks like it was created by magic. They found their inspiration in the Art Nouveau buildings of Paris and Barcelona.
Imagineers at Casa Comalat in Spain. Photo courtesy Walt Disney ImagineeringStill no word on what or when for the Villains-themed land, though Disney’s use that term seems to put to rest any assumption that it formally will be named “Villains Land.”In other villains news, Hong Kong Disneyland today announced that Disney’s villains will be crashing the park’s 20th anniversary celebration with “Uninvited! A Villains Takeover Party,” starting September 19. Resort Managing Director Michael Moriarty called it “a wicked mashup of cavalcade, street show, and musical spectacle.”The party will continue through Hong Kong Disneyland’s Halloween Time, which runs September 19 through November 2. To keep up to date with more travel and theme park news, please sign up for Theme Park Insider’s weekly newsletter.
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