:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/CinderellaCastleDisneyWorld-5b282491119fa8003671c80a.jpg)
Disney
An overnight stay in the heart of the Magic Kingdom is by invitation only. But, you can still tour it when you peek at these Cinderella Castle Suite pictures. (For a fabulous place you can reserve by the night, see Top 10 Disney Resorts and Best Budget Orlando Hotels.
Right at the heart of the Magic Kingdom, inside the iconic Cinderella Castle, is a very special suite that can't be booked at any cost. It takes up an entire floor of the castle, and has a view from stained-glass windows of Fantasyland. Dreaming big? Take a tour with these Cinderella Castle Suite pictures.
If the location alone doesn't capture your imagination, wait until you see inside. The suite consists of a bedroom furnished with two beds and a fireplace, a parlor-style sitting room, and a gilded bathroom complete with a sunken tub. The suite is adorned with several tile murals which tell the Cinderella story. A "magic" mirror hangs above the bedroom fireplace.
For many Disney fans, spending the night in Cinderella Castle would be the ultimate dream come true. The suite is available for special promotions, with no word from Disney about ever renting it out. (Can you imagine how much a night in a suite in Cinderella Castle would cost?) The Royal Suites in Disney's Port Orleans Resort is an affordable, realistic alternative for many guests. Decorated by Princess Tiana with help from all her Disney princess buddies, it's got a few of the magical touches that wow guests in the real Cinderella Castle Suite.
View from Cinderella Castle
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/view_shoe-56a4e0d43df78cf77285175e.jpg)
Charlyn Keating Chisholm
All the windows in Cinderella's Castle suite are stained glass. This is partly because it fits with the theme (a guest suite in a castle), and partly for practical reasons. At night, the view from Cinderella Castle is breathtaking. The lights in the Magic Kingdom are turned up, and nightly maintenance is performed on the theme park as surfaces are scrubbed and repainted. In order to preserve the magic, the view from the windows is restricted to Fantasyland.
Although you can see them through the windows, the guest suite's family room also has a VIP firework seating just outside.
Cinderella
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/cinderella-56a4e0d53df78cf772851762.jpg)
Charlyn Keating Chisholm
The castle in Disney World is home to Cinderella, shown here meeting the first little girl selected to stay in the royal guest suite. She and her family were in the right place at the right time, selected at random.
Cinderella Bedroom
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/bedroom-56a4e0d83df78cf77285177b.jpg)
Walt Disney World
The Cinderella bedroom in the castle suite appears ready to receive royalty. The bedroom is richly decorated, designed to call to mind a royal guest suite in a real castle. The main Cinderella bedroom (shown above) has a fireplace; flanking the fireplace is a parlor and a bathroom. Stone floors and walls, along with hardwood paneling, stone columns and stained glass windows add to the fairytale allure.
The Cinderella bedroom is furnished with a mix of antiques and reproductions. Highlights include a 17th century Dutch desk, two antique "slipper" chairs (used in the 17th and 18th century to sit on while putting on shoes), and support columns decorated with carved mice.
Beds
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/beds-56a4e0d45f9b58b7d0d9aa07.jpg)
Walt Disney World
Cinderella's Castle Suite is designed to sleep up to six guests, with two Queen-sized beds (with feather comforters) and a pull-out sofa in the parlor.
Cinderella Fireplace
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/fireplace-56a4e0d63df78cf772851769.jpg)
Charlyn Keating Chisholm
The Cinderella fireplace in the bedroom of the Castle Suite doesn't really have a fire, although it gives off a warm glow. (Chances are you wouldn't need a real fire in Florida anyway.) The logs glow as if they had transformed into burning embers, and fiber optics create a fireworks effect in the back.
The fireplace is a 600-pound faux limestone structure. It was cast from a 17th century, wooden Gothic original antique from France.
Cinderella picture
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/portrait-56a4e0d75f9b58b7d0d9aa1d.jpg)
Charlyn Keating Chisholm
A Cinderella picture with a magical air hangs regally above the fireplace. The portrait is projected onto a "magic" mirror, which also turns (through the magic of technology) into the television screen. When you're ready to retire, and would rather not watch TV or Cinderella, it can be turned into a mirror.
Cinderella Castle Suite parlor
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/parlor-56a4e0d65f9b58b7d0d9aa1a.jpg)
A similar "magic" mirror hangs in the parlor, where a sofa and chair provide extra seating. It may not look it, but the sofa, with its French carvings, is a custom-made pull-out sofa bed.
Mirrored spaces in Cinderella Castle Suite parlor open to reveal secret doors (like every good castle should have) with drawers and space for hanging clothes.
Royal Bathroom
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/bathroom-56a4e0d83df78cf772851778.jpg)
The bathroom in the Cinderella Suite has a sunken bathtub, separate shower and a toilet decked out like (what else?) a throne.
Cinderella Bathtub
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/bathtub-56a4e0d85f9b58b7d0d9aa29.jpg)
The sunken Cinderella bathtub is surrounded by glass tile murals depicting scenes from our host's fairy tale romance. Above, a dark blue ceiling serves as a backdrop for a twinkly night sky.
The bathtub itself is a Jacuzzi with a waterfall faucet. The mosaics were created from 30,000 hand-cut Italian smalti glass tiles.
Bathroom Vanity
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/basin-56a4e0d83df78cf772851775.jpg)
Charlyn Keating Chisholm
Cinderella might be an old-fashioned princess, but her bathroom fixtures, while as beautiful as you would expect, are also quite modern and up-to-date. The vanity in the bathroom of the Cinderella Suite features sinks made of hand-hammered copper adorned with silver leaf.
Bathroom Amenities
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/amenities-56a4e0d75f9b58b7d0d9aa26.jpg)
Charlyn Keating Chisholm
Only the best will do for Cinderella's royal guests. The castle's Cinderella Suite comes with H2O products, the latest upgrade to Disney World resorts. Cinderella's guests get special pampering with mint foot scrub, body butter and hand and nail cream.
Royal Shower
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/shower-56a4e0d73df78cf772851772.jpg)
Charlyn Keating Chisholm
The separate, wheelchair-accessible shower has a rain showerhead and a lush curtain.
Fireworks in the Fireplace
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/fireplace_fireworks-56a4e0d65f9b58b7d0d9aa17.jpg)
Charlyn Keating Chisholm
A fiber optic fireworks display lights up the back of the faux fireplace in the suite's bedroom.
Cinderella's Mural
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/cinderella_mural-56a4e0d55f9b58b7d0d9aa11.jpg)
Charlyn Keating Chisholm
Outside the Cinderella Suite's main entrance, a mural high on the wall of Cinderella's Castle depicts the future princess and her fairy godmother. You can see this mural yourself when you walk through the castle in the Magic Kingdom.
Door in Cinderella Castle
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/castle_door-56a4e0d55f9b58b7d0d9aa0a.jpg)
Charlyn Keating Chisholm
A special castle door leads to the private elevator, which brings guests up to the Cinderella Suite. When you walk through the castle on the way to Fantasyland or your dinner in the castle, you can see this door in Cinderella's Castle yourself.
Cinderella's Chandelier
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/chandelier-56a4e0d55f9b58b7d0d9aa0d.jpg)
Charlyn Keating Chisholm
A private elevator is the only way to access Cinderella's exclusive Castle Suite in the Magic Kingdom. Just outside the elevator is a foyer with memorabilia from Cinderella's fairy tale. A crystal chandelier hangs in the center.
Cinderella's Crown and Scepter
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/crown-56a4e0d55f9b58b7d0d9aa14.jpg)
Charlyn Keating Chisholm
Cinderella houses a number of her priceless possessions in the foyer of her castle suite. Seen among Cinderella's memorabilia are her crown and scepter, on display along with her famous glass slipper.
Cinderella's Pumpkin Coach
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/pumpkin-56a4e0d75f9b58b7d0d9aa20.jpg)
Charlyn Keating Chisholm
On the marble floor of the foyer, a hand-cut mural depicts Cinderella's pumpkin coach that brought her to that fateful ball where she would meet her prince. The mural, which took four craftsmen four months to create, consists of 30,000 tiles, including 3,400 24-carat gold tiles and 120 white-gold pieces.
First Family to Stay in Cinderella's Castle Suite
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/first_family-56a4e0d63df78cf77285176c.jpg)
Charlyn Keating Chisholm
On January 25, 2007, the Fouch family of DeWitt, Michigan became the first family to be selected by Disney to spend the night in Cinderella's Castle. Each day, a group of guests is selected at random by a computer at Disney World. The criteria is randomized each day, so even the castmembers don't know who will be chosen until it happens.
In the case of the Fouch family, it was Row 2, Seat 8 in Simulator 4 of the Star Tours attraction at Disney-MGM Studios at 10:00 AM.