ABOVE : Eyes and Ears , a Disney Cast Member newsletter , featured the Castle Cake makeover on the cover . IMAGES COURTESY OF MIKE CONRAD
cranes were left in place when idle during the day .” This left a lot of anticipation for guests who were eager to see the finished cake .
In the days and weeks leading up to the 25th Anniversary Cinderella Castle press conference , Conrad had already been looking at the almost-finished castle . Seeing it finished at the press event was a bit anticlimactic to a guy who had been looking at it for so long . But one part of the event will stick with Conrad forever .
“ I did get a big thrill at the opening-day press event when I had the honor of meeting none other than the legendary John Hench , one of Walt ’ s original team of animators . John ’ s primary role in this project , as I understood it , was to choose which shades of pink were going to be used .”
But not everyone was a fan of Hench ’ s pink hues . Conrad said , “ I was surprised to learn how much some people hated the transformation . Some disliked the color , which they often referred to as ‘ Pepto-Bismol Pink ,’ though I preferred to call it ‘ Barbie Pink .’ Others had been looking forward to getting their wedding photos taken in front of the castle and were upset that their dreams had been shattered .”
Gagne said of the guest reactions , “ For many , I know it was something new and temporary they just had to come see for themselves . For others , of course , it was an abomination , a desecration of Walt ' s original vision of a fairy tale castle as the park ’ s focal point . I appreciated the creativity Michael brought to the project , as well as the contributions by Gentry Akens [ then Creative Director at WDW ]. Michael ’ s and Gentry ’ s creativity brought Ron Logan ’ s vision to life .”
And Conrad agreed : “ My point of view was that anybody could get a picture in front of the white castle , but only those who were there during a particular 15-month period were lucky enough to get this unique background . Call it the world ’ s biggest wedding cake !”
NOSTALGIA WINS IN THE END Just like shag haircuts and mom jeans , the castle cake has come around . The 1996 Cinderella Castle cake AR filters on Disney ’ s Genie + app have recently splashed Instagram feeds with a dash of familiar Barbie Pink . It took about 25 years , but many fans have realized that the temporary castle redesign was all in good fun .
Conrad said , “ Recently , as WDW ’ s 50th anniversary has come upon us , a friend of mine tagged me on an image of Cinderella ’ s Castle Cake , and the comments were overwhelmingly positive . Some folks even said they felt special to have had their wedding photos taken at that point in time .“
Whether you ’ re a longtime fan of the castle cake or just coming to terms with it , you have to admit that this labor of love added something special to the history of Magic Kingdom . Imagination and artistry came to life via the careful efforts made by Conrad and the entire team at the Imagineering and Entertainment departments . That level of creativity and commitment is one of the parts of Disney I love the most . The parks are a place of playfulness and fantasy , and dressing up the icons is a cool way for Walt Disney World to give guests a little something to mark the occasion . Gumdrops and all .
ABOVE : The castle , with its tri-tone pink paint job , before the additional decorations were installed . PREVIOUS PAGE : Construction is nearly complete on this one-of-a-kind castle . IMAGES COURTESY OF MIKE CONRAD