A unique view of the carousel as seen from the Skyway , which closed in 1999 . PHOTO BY MOACIR DE SA PEREIRA
hand-crafted for the ride — 90 of them , to be exact , with no two alike on the entire 60-foot diameter span of the attraction . For the finishing touch , designers included 18 handpainted scenes from 1950 ’ s Cinderella , which you can still see today adorning the carousel ’ s canopy .
Replete with its stunning herd of horses and bedazzled with real 23-karat leaf gold , silver , and bronze decorations , the carousel first opened to park visitors in 1971 , then under the name of Cinderella ’ s Golden Carrousel . And yes , Disney always insisted on that extra
“ r ”— which is simply the French spelling of the word “ carousel .”
If you ’ re wondering what took so long between the acquisition of the ride and the cutting of the ribbon , well … intricate decorations were only part of the delay . After the carousel was first assembled , Roy Disney , Walt ’ s older brother , stood staring at that view we ’ ve all come to know and love so well : the carousel picturesquely posed through the arch of Cinderella ’ s castle . It looked beautiful , regal , imposing … and , unfortunately , just a touch off-center . The whole thing had to be moved 8 inches to square up , which the crew painstakingly did , piece by piece . That ’ s how committed the Disney team is to perfection !
INSIDER RIDER SECRETS So how has this fabulous carousel changed over its many years in the park ? What have its stolid horses seen — and what other fascinating secrets does it keep ?
Well , for one thing , that commitment to perfection means having a backup plan — and WDW Magazine ’ s own managing editor , Rain Blanken , has some insight