Cinderella Castle Suite Tour & Photos

Posted on Jan 6, 2012 in Disney Tips & Tricks | 34 comments

The Cinderella Castle Suite was built in 2006 by Walt Disney Imagineering out of a location in Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World that was originally intended to be an apartment for Walt Disney. After his passing prior to the opening of Walt Disney World, such plans were aborted. The location would take on multiple purposes over the years, finally opening as a suite completely decorated and upholstered as a ‘royal bedchamber’, which can sleep up to six people for the Year of a Million Dreams (or Years of a Million Dreams, as they ended up being since the promotion extended into 2008). During this contest, it was given away as a grand prize of sorts to one lucky family each day.

Since, the Cinderella Castle Suite has become the dream experience for some Disney fans. Along the way, this fan-desire has been spurred by Disney-forum accounts from the Suite by lucky guests who won stays in the Suite, podcast details of the Suite from travel agents, and everyone’s favorite, Samantha Brown Travel Channel special tours of the Suite. In just a few short years, it has attained the cult-like status of exclusive Club 33 restaurant or Walt’s Apartment in Disneyland, and rightfully so, as it’s arguably more exclusive than either of those locations. We have been fortunate to make two visits to the Suite, one in 2010 and another in 2011. The photos that follow throughout this post are some of our unique photos from our visits to the Cinderella Castle Suite.

Please excuse the abundance of fisheye photos here. I attempted to photograph the suite with a rectilinear wide angle lens, but it didn’t provide sufficient coverage. One thing these photos don’t adequately convey is just how small this suite is. It is multiple rooms, but overall it’s still incredibly small and cramped.

On our visits to the Cinderella Castle Suite, we unfortunately didn’t have the opportunity to stay overnight. Staying overnight inside Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom is a dream of ours, but apparently we do not have the clout of Suri or Tom Cruise, Mariah Carey, and other recent celebrity guests. Oh well, perhaps after we get our own reality TV show on which we act like drunken buffoons we’ll To call the Castle Suite opulent would be an understatement. Lavishly adorned with the full royal treatment, its “Beauty-Per-Square-Foot” Ratio is through the roof.

Originally intended to be an apartment for Walt Disney and his family when they were in Florida, the space became an area for telephone operators after Walt died in 1966. The Suite is visible from the bridges to Liberty Square and Adventureland; it’s the small stained glass windows some distance above Cinderella’s Royal Table.

[Cinderella's Royal Table is one of Disney's most popular restaurants. Read our Disney Restaurant Reviews.]

Any visit to the Suite begins by boarding its elevator activated by what else, but a Key to the World card. While quite small, the elevator’s look foreshadows what is to come, with its intricate design and beautiful details. Upon exiting the elevator, guests find themselves in a small marble-floored foyer area before entering the main quarters.

This area is a veritable treasure trove of all things Cinderella, with the highlight being the fairytale pumpkin coach in the center of the floor. From the foyer, guests head to the Suite itself.

Signs bearing the words “Show Ready” adorning chairs and beds provide a gentle reminder to Cast Members and guests just how nice their surroundings are. I imagine the screening process for MouseKeepers who will be allowed to clean the room is a little greater than normal. Understandably so, as Disney probably doesn’t want someone like me in there, so filled with exuberance that it causes them to jump on the beds.

Behind this extravagant exterior lies 21st century technology. The ornately framed, 17th-century-style portrait of Cinderella above the regal fireplace in the bedchamber magically transforms into a flat-screen HDTV. Likewise, in the den there is a mirror that can be turned on to reveal another HDTV. This isn’t your (fairy) godmother’s Cinderella’s Suite!

Lavish it is, but large it is not. The entire space is slightly larger than a Studio room at a Disney Vacation Club resort. The Suite itself contains a salon, bedchamber, and bathroom all befitting of royalty. In typical Walt Disney Imagineering form, the entire Suite looks like something straight out of a fairytale, or more likely, an authentic, Medieval Castle.

Each celebrity guest who stays in the Suite is given one of these $18,000 glass slippers commemorating their stay. This slipper was given to Mariah Carey, who elected not to take it.

Some of the stately details include two queen size beds draped by regal canopies, a gorgeously stitched parlor sofa, and those beautiful stained glass windows mentioned above. Unfortunately, these windows don’t allow for much of a view of the park (you can’t see the gorgeous Disney fireworks shows out the windows), but they’re pretty, nonetheless.

However, the most beautiful feature, unquestionably, is the bathing area. With its walls covered in mosaics reminiscient of those lining the walls of the passageway from Main Street to Fantasyland below, and its star-covered ceiling, guests bathe in style in this royal tub. The toilet, well…let’s just say there’s good reason to call this bad boy the “throne.”

The myriad of details in the Suite are such that you could spend hours poking around in there and still not discover everything. It is quite unfortunate that Disney hasn’t utilized this Suite more, as it presently is only used, on occasion, for visiting celebrities who make large charitable donations for use of the Suite. Tours of the Suite have not been offered since 2007, and often, the Suite goes weeks with nary a guest stepping foot inside.

Seeing the guest quarters is such a wonderful experience that it’s a travesty that park guests do not have the opportunity to see the inner chambers of the Cinderella Castle Suite. I know an overnight stay in the Castle Suite is in my wife’s thoughts each time she stares longingly at the Castle on our Walt Disney World trips. I guess until the Year of a Million Dreams 3.0, that stay will only be once upon a dream!

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Read our other Walt Disney World restaurant reviews and Walt Disney World Trip Planning resources.

Your Thoughts…

What do you think of the Cinderella Castle Suite? Do you wish you, like Suri Cruise, could stay whenever you want? Or would you rather stay at a larger Walt Disney World hotel? Share your thoughts or any questions about the Cinderella Castle Suite in the comments!

34 Responses to “Cinderella Castle Suite Tour & Photos”

Kelly says:

April 15, 2011 at 8:45 pm

This is the just beautiful!! I want to stay here. :0)

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Marilyn says:

April 16, 2011 at 7:53 am

Wowza! It really does look like a 17th century, spick and span awesome castle room. Gorgeous. Thanks for sharing the photos!

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- Tom Bricker says:
  
  April 22, 2011 at 12:40 pm
  
  I was somewhat surprised that knight’s armor didn’t mysteriously come to life and start chasing us. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t quite that spooky, but it really did have quite the authentic medieval feel. Well, that is until the HDTV turned on!
  
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Jamie R. says:

April 17, 2011 at 12:55 am

This is so beautiful! Thank you for sharing Tom and Sarah! I love your blog and look forward to each new entry!!

It would be great if Disney offered some sort of tour for the suite, or went back to offering it as an overnight stay to random select people or as a contest again!! I would love love love to stay overnight in the suite!!

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- Tom Bricker says:
  
  April 22, 2011 at 12:16 pm
  
  We totally agree. One of the disappointing things about the Suite is that it’s seldom-used. And that we haven’t won a stay up there!
  
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Donnie says:

April 18, 2011 at 11:19 am

Awesome shots!

What kind of fish eye lens do you use?

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- Tom Bricker says:
  
  April 22, 2011 at 12:15 pm
  
  I use the Rokinon (also called Pro-Optic, Bower, Samyang) 8mm manual focus fisheye.
  
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justin says:

May 25, 2011 at 12:26 am

Wow great photos, how did u get to tour the suite? Also I love your blog and your trip reports are just awesome looking forward to the next one.

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Nina says:

June 3, 2011 at 6:14 pm

Ahhh, so cool! Have seen the Samantha Brown Travel Channel special, but am glad to see photos and it talked about on a blog! What a dream to stay there!!

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Megan says:

June 18, 2011 at 8:55 pm

These are AMAZING photos! Just an FYI though….The Make-A-Wish Foundation does NOT send wish families here!! That’s a huge myth that everyone needs to stop spreading. (I work for the Foundation, so I would know) Most wish families stay at a nearby non-profit call Give Kids The World. Disney is a great partner for Make-A-Wish but staying in the Castle Suite has never been, and probably never will be, an option. Would be really awesome though!

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Heather says:

September 12, 2011 at 10:08 pm

Wonderful! Your pictures are gorgeous! I’d give my left foot for the chance to do this – maybe a few toes to have your lens, too!

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Cinderella Soundtrack says:

September 14, 2011 at 8:27 pm

I just couldn’t go away your site before suggesting that I extremely loved the usual information an individual supply for your visitors? Is going to be back incessantly in order to check out new posts

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Christopher says:

October 23, 2011 at 3:05 pm

How did you get this tour?

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Buzz2001 says:

January 12, 2012 at 8:24 am

Tom, I’m amazed each and every time I see your photos. Outstanding work. Thanks for sharing your gift.

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Brad says:

February 14, 2012 at 5:34 pm

Amazing photo’s thanks so much for posting. How were you able to get a tour of the suite? I have always wanted to do a tour but I don’t know how.

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Emily says:

March 11, 2012 at 5:33 am

I had no idea this suite existed, thanks for giving me yet another thing to gush about to my friends who thought they’d heard everything Disneyland-related from me!

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shanay says:

May 30, 2012 at 1:33 pm

i want my wedding here and i wanna stay here too…

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Lauren Clark says:

June 12, 2012 at 10:07 am

Hi there! Thank you so much for the post. I was just curious about the inside of the castle, googled some pics and came across your blog. You mentioned that they havent offered tours since ’07. May I ask how you were granted the permission to go inside?? I’d love to go!

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Tammy says:

July 5, 2012 at 7:09 pm

Make A Wish (MAW) Children and their families do not stay in Disney, unless the wonderful Give Kids The World Village (GKTW) are full, then if it is an emergency situation the child and their guests can stay at a Disney resort, however it is not in Cinderella’s suite. This was explained to our family both before our child receiving her wish as well as at GKTW. Just so “rumors” get stopped before they are started. Thank you

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Jamie B says:

August 7, 2012 at 9:35 am

Amazing pictures!!

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- Tom Bricker says:
  
  December 24, 2012 at 5:18 pm
  
  Thanks!
  
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Johnay says:

August 8, 2012 at 3:19 am

My Wife Carol and I had the great fortune to be selected to stay in the castle suite in September of 2008 while visiting WDW for our honeymoon. I still carry my Cinderella Key to the World card in my wallet to show people who dont believe it when i tell them that we stayed there. It was an incredible afternoon, night and morning. The only thing that took a little shine off of it was that crews were putting lights on the castle for the holidays and it was a little noisy. And yes… since it was out honeymoon… we engaged in certian activities in every room and bed in the suite. Hey… it was a once in a lifetime deal!

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john says:

November 21, 2012 at 10:23 pm

i want go it look so fun plez tell me

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Timothy Adams says:

December 4, 2012 at 1:29 pm

Won a nights stay in the castle suite. It was beyond anything I have ever seen.

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Safiyah Long says:

December 23, 2012 at 12:03 am

Disney should offer up this suite to families of the victims in Newtown, CT.

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- Tom Bricker says:
  
  December 23, 2012 at 8:57 am
  
  That would be a great gesture. If I were a family who just lost my child, though, the last place I’d want to go is Walt Disney World.
  
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Tammy says:

January 5, 2013 at 2:52 am

sad that privileged children like Suri are able to stay in this exquisite room…a dream come true for a little princess while children who are fighting life threatening illnesses, going through chemo, surgeries, etc. cannot even if it is their one dream to do so. They don’t have to spend their whole week there just one night…or even a special tour just to say they were there. Just to hold that memory close as they battle for their life <3 My little girl is getting her wish to go to Disney. She is 4. She has been battling a brain tumor since she was 23 months old…I know Suri is probably a sweet little girl with dreams like everyone else…but who deserves to feel like a princess more than a sick child.

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- Aviva Patt says:
  
  May 1, 2013 at 3:20 pm
  
  I agree, and at the risk of offending readers of this blog who are obviously passionate Disney World fans, I think Disney’s policy regarding the Cinderella suite is just proof of their outsized greed. Their corporation feeds on people’s fantasies but they’re too stingy to share this lovely dream with their public at large, or even with sick (sometimes dying) children.
  
  Tammy, I hope your little girl’s other dreams come true and pray for her recovery.
  
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Paris Luke says:

January 12, 2013 at 10:21 pm

This castle is the most spectacular Cinderella castle i have ever seen.I want to go in there.I been to Disneyworld every since i was a little girl,Pretty much i been there since i was born.Let me tell you,i really want to go there grandma.Hey Tammy,i know i just met u but i reallywant to go there to,but i have to stay at home to cause of my step-cousin. Sincerely,Paris Luke To:Disney world Resort-Cinderella Castle

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Grace says:

April 7, 2013 at 5:27 pm

With an influx of studies about the best time to buy airline tickets, search engines that aggregate the prices of dozens of travel websites!

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Micki says:

April 23, 2013 at 12:36 pm

How can you stay there. I love to be in there. Cinderella is all been my fart princess in i was lil

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Tonya Holcomb says:

April 24, 2013 at 3:01 pm

I heard about the suite when I was in Disney in January. I came home & Googled it. Tom, this article was the one I found on Google, which led me to DisneyTouristBlog and DisneyPhotographyBlog. Now, I read both blogs daily. While I do not want to sleep, I think it is sad that they do not give tours. If Disney would allow tours again, I would rent a fisheye lens just to photograph the suite.

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Byron E. Gray says:

April 24, 2013 at 4:05 pm

I think Walt Disney would be appalled that only the wealthy could stay in what would have been his apartment. Too bad they couldn’t have converted this space into replicating what Walt’s apartment would have looked like instead of this garish indulgence for moneyed pigs.

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Katie says:

May 7, 2013 at 9:54 pm

I’m sad and appalled that only the rich and affluent have opportunities to stay in this beautiful suite. Suri Cruise has been blessed with parents who can afford to stay anywhere. Wouldn’t this be an awesome destination for “Make a Wish” kids?… If I had an opportunity to stay here I would happily give it to a child in need…. Just sayin!!

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