Step In Time: The History of the Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
With the Prince Charming Regal Carrousel currently undergoing a refurbishment, now seemed like a good time to look back on the storied history of the attraction. From its early beginnings in Philadelphia to the recent renaming of the attraction, Fantasyland’s iconic carousel has quite a storied past. So, let’s hop in the Wayback Machine and take a trip through Disney history!
Creation and Early History
You may not know this, but the Prince Charming Regal Carrousel is actually the oldest attraction in all of Walt Disney World.
The carousel was built in 1917 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company for use in Detroit’s Belle Island Park. In total, the Philadelphia Toboggan Company only made 87 carousels before stopping production in the 1930s. The carousel that is today known as the Prince Charming Regal Carrousel was the 46th one they made.
Initially, the ride was named the “Liberty Carousel” and painted red, white and blue. The original canopy was decorated with images of Miss Liberty and other patriotic symbols. The horses were carved by artisan Daniel C. Mueller.
In 1928, the carousel was brought back to Philadelphia for repairs before being sold to the Olympic Park in Maplewood, New Jersey, the next year. The carousel operated there for 29 years until the park closed in 1965. During that time, the attraction became a staple of Olympic Park, as the horses danced around and a band organ, imported from Italy, played.
Disney Purchases The Attraction
In the late 1960s, as Walt Disney and his Imagineers set out to create Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, the company launched a nationwide search to find a suitable carousel to star in the new park.
By that point, the Liberty Carousel had deteriorated and was in bad shape. Carousel historian Fredrick Friend, however, recommended the storied ride to Walt, telling him it was “the best carousel in the world.”
While the Liberty Carousel was almost certainly not the best carousel in the world, largely due to the condition it was in, it may have been the largest.
So, Disney made a deal with Olympic Park to purchase the ride. The carousel horses were unhitched, the canopy disassembled, and the attraction sent off to Florida.
Restoration Begins
After acquiring the ride, Disney Imagineers, including John Hench and Isle Voght, had to completely restore the carousel. It was a process that took years to complete. The horses were stripped and taken down to the bare wood. Voght and Imagineer Joyce Carlson then set to work on bringing the horses back to life.
First, the horses were repaired, repainted, and refinished.
Hench decided to have all of the horses on the carousel painted white. This was done because, in Disneyland, guests always wanted to ride on the white “hero horse.” Carlson and Voght then went to work on adding color to the livery, saddles, bridles, and blankets. The horses’ manes and tails were also given unique tints.
Disney also added 23-karat gold leaf, silver, and bronze to each of the carousel’s 90 mounts. Additionally, the carousel’s main center pole was also replaced.
According to Voght, Disney purchased antique horses that were made by two other well-known producers of carousels, the Dentzel Company and the Parker Company, to add to the ride.
Molds were then made of 18 horses to create fiberglass copies. These steeds also serve as temporary replacements when the original wood horses are down for repair and were used to recreate the attraction in Tokyo Disneyland.
During the refurbishment, the canopy was also rethemed, with 18 scenes from the Disney movie Cinderella added to the design. Some of the original Liberty Carousel images, including the now iconic Miss Liberty, remained.
Voght also saw to the recovery of the Liberty Carousel’s original chariots, which had been lost for 10 years after the ride was disabled. Discovered deteriorating in a Los Angeles warehouse, they were revived under Voght’s watchful eye and eventually installed.
History in the Magic Kingdom
The ride opened as Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel on October 1, 1971, along with the rest of the Magic Kingdom.
Although the ride has not experienced any major changes since opening day, on June 1, 2010, Disney announced that they were changing the name of the attraction to the “Prince Charming Regal Carrousel.”
Along with the name change, Disney also released a new backstory for the attraction, which reads:
“Following their fairy-tale romance and happily-ever-after wedding, Cinderella and Prince Charming took up residence in Cinderella’s Castle. With peace throughout the kingdom, Prince Charming had time to practice for jousting tournaments. In the countryside near the castle, he built a training device of carved horses, on which he could practice the art of ring-spearing, a tournament event in which a knight rides his horse full speed, lance in hand, toward a small ring hanging from a tree limb, with the object of spearing the ring. This event was known by various names throughout the lands, but generally came to be called ‘carrousel.’
“The carrousel device drew the attention of the villagers, who wanted to take a turn on this amazing spinning contraption. So Prince Charming had a second carrousel constructed closer to the Castle, where everyone could take a spin on this wondrous invention. Instead of a working knight’s training device, however, this new carrousel is more befitting its regal location in the Castle Courtyard – its rustic training horses replaced with ornately decorated prancing steeds adorned with golden helmets and shields, flower garlands, feathers and other festoons. Prince Charming invites one and all to test their horsemanship skills and to enjoy their own happy ending.”
Today, the Prince Charming Regal Carrousel continues to entertain and delight guests of all ages, just as it has for the last 107 years.
Fun Facts and Trivia
Before we wrap up this trip down memory lane, here are some fun facts about the Prince Charming Regal Carrousel.
- The horses that guests ride on are made of Maplewood.
- There are 2,325 lights on the attraction.
- The Prince Charming Regal Carrousel is almost 60 feet in diameter.
- While on the attraction, guests can hear classic Disney songs. These include “Hakuna Matata” (The Lion King), “High Ho” (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), “Feed the Birds” (Mary Poppins), “Be Our Guest” (Beauty and the Beast), “Chim Chim Cheree” (Mary Poppins), and “When You Wish Upon A Star” (Pinocchio).
So, next time you are in the Magic Kingdom, stop by the Prince Charming Regal Carrousel. It is truly a piece of American history.