With the Castle of Magical Dreams finally complete and open to the public at Hong Kong Disneyland, the park has also opened a special exhibition dedicated to the construction process behind the first re-imagining of a Disney Park castle! The exhibition is designed to take Guests on a full journey of Walt Disney Imagineering’s process behind the design and construction of the castle. The exhibition is divided in to four areas, which we will take you through!

Hong Kong Disneyland released a special video detailing the construction and design process behind the Castle of Magical Dreams which serves as a great companion to this exhibit. You can also keep reading for details on the exhibit itself!

The exhibition opens with a short retrospective on the history of the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. The first thing Guests will notice is a wall filled with emotional testimonials from Guests and Cast Members in different languages sharing their memories of Sleeping Beauty Castle. Starting from the Introduction area, guests will find Walt Disney’s most famous quotes throughout the exhibition as a tribute to his legacy.

Guests will see a “Now and Then” exhibit that illustrates how the Castle of Magical Dreams was built on the legacy of the Sleeping Beauty Castle at the Design Hall. Guests can also find Aurora’s fairy godmothers Flora, Fauna and Merryweather casting their magical fairy dust along the hall to trigger creativity and imagination.

This area sheds light on how Walt Disney Imagineering developed the castle, in terms of design, color, production and materials, with several never-seen-before assets, tools, techniques and even material samples.

A Castle Gallery features paintings that depict the Castle in different artistic interpretations.

In the Entertainment area, Guests can get a glimpse at the upcoming daytime show and nighttime spectacular coming soon! The day show, according to one of the frames, will be called Follow Your Dreams, and the nighttime spectacular will be called Cherish the Memories.

In the fourth area, Guests will learn more about the Princesses and Queens whose stories inspire the Castle of Magical Dreams and its architectural elements. Guests are introduced to the Princesses and Queens, where they are learn more about their characteristics and footprint in the park by scanning the QR code that leads to a mini page.

Moving to the world map, Guests can locate and appreciate the diverse origins of these beloved royal characters.

At the Magic in Art Glass exhibit, guests will find the Castle’s Rose Window reinterpreted as a digital interactive, which depicts a signature scene from each Princess and Queen’s feature animation, showcasing their strong, independent and dynamic characteristics.

For the first time in Disney history, an existing castle underwent a full transformation while the park was still in full operation. To maintain the presence of the original castle and to minimize the disturbance to the park’s daily operations, Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) technology was used in the Castle’s construction phase. A three-dimensional model at the center of the Main Hall illustrates how this innovative technique was applied for the Castle.

In the Main Hall, guests can also get a closer look at the architectural details, including tower, turret, domes spire, finial and column capital. These exhibits demonstrate how Imagineering interpreted the unique stories and personalities of the Princesses and Queens into architectural elements.

Moving along in this area, Guests can enjoy an interactive story book, where they will find new stories of all the Princess and Queens created by Walt Disney Imagineering’s local designers. These stories are inspired by the traditions and customs of each Princess and Queen’s time period and worldly origin.

The Castle holds countless memories for Guests, Cast Members and the community of Disney fans from Hong Kong and around the world. At the end of the exhibition, Guests are invited to be inspired by the castle and draw their dream onto the “My Magical Dream” card. Guests can submit their magical dream for a chance to be displayed on the exhibition’s “Our Dreams” wall. Guests can receive a “My Magical Dream” card at the Animation Academy (how-to-draw a Disney Castle session) or in the exhibition.

Guests can visit the Building a Dream: The Magic Behind a Disney Castle exhibition starting November 21st at Hong Kong Disneyland! It certainly looks fascinating, so be sure to set aside some time on your next visit to the park! Are you excited about the opening of the Castle of Magical Dreams? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!