Welcome to Materially Disney – a show about the stories behind the stuff! In the inaugural episode of this new episodic series, hosts Tom Corless and Josh Benesh talk about the iconic Sleeping Beauty Castle, looking through concept art and blueprints to understand how influential the original icon of Disneyland truly was, and discover one of — if not, the most — important and priceless theme park props of all time.

Materially Disney: Sleeping Beauty Castle

Among the items Tom and Josh look over in this first episode are copies of brown line plans drawn in 1953 by Imagineer Marvin Davis, who designed the “Hub” concept recycled for nearly every Disney park. The plans include a continuation of the castle that would have been the entrance to the Snow White ride, but wouldn’t come to fruition for the park’s 1955 opening.

They also took a look at a more realistic rendering of Sleeping Beauty Castle printed on photographic paper and a 1954 “The Disneyland Story” script used to explain to people what the park would be. It includes a description of the castle and walking through it — mentioning several elements that would not make it into the final design.

But the most interesting piece you’ll see in this episode is the very first, original model of Sleeping Beauty Castle. It was hand-built by Fred Joerger in 1953 based on Davis’ designs. This is the real artifact that once sat on Walt Disney’s desk for several years. So, how did it end up here? Watch to find out:

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