The Bedazzled Castle, Part 2

Yesterday, I mentioned my less than thrilled stance on the Disneyland 60th Anniversary castle makeover.  The photo indicated was taken over a week and a half ago, and the castle has continued to evolve even in the limited time since then.  The photos below were taken just this past Sunday and show additional details being added.  In addition, I've zoomed in and taken more close-up shots of various features of the 60th Anniversary decorations.

The Castle looks relatively nice from an overview perspective, as long as you don't look too closely at any item.
My position remains unchanged.  The aesthetic is definitely very gaudy, and not as elegant as I'd hope.  This may have more to do with my general preference of style in general.  As a person with an architectural design background from relatively recent schooling, I've definitely taken to cleaner, more modern looks.  That's not to say that Sleeping Beauty Castle should look like a 21st century building, of course, but the key word is clean, and there is so much detail in these decorations, all of it glittery and sparkly and glowy, that it almost provides a sensory overload.

I do like the banners with the Disney "D," and I don't mind that the fabric is a different shade of blue from the castle rooftops.
For a lot of people, though, I'll imagine that this is totally their cup of tea. Certainly, it is whimsical and fanciful and quite a sight to behold.  There's nothing wrong about something looking fantastical.  It's just that, in this case, I happen to think it looks too fantastical, to the point of silliness.

I'm conflicted over the drapery, as it looks luxurious in concept but doesn't make much sense on a castle wall.
I'll let you be the judge, however.  Take a look at the rest of the photos, including various detail shots, and tell me what you think!



Walking underneath the portcullis of the castle.

These inverted diamond toppers are perhaps the most perplexing to me.  I hope they integrate with some lighting effects for perhaps are part of the fireworks show Disneyland will be debuting for the 60th. Otherwise, they look a little absurd.

Currently missing above the Disney crest is the large "60" medallion shown in concept art released by Disney.

Close-ups really seem to reiterate the "bedazzled" concept.

Diamonds are everywhere, and while the jewels are pretty on their own, together with everything else, they are a little visually overstimulating.

It's as though the Castle has been giving a whole assortment of jewelry everywhere.

The roof toppers look a little more naturally integrated now, instead of the fabric sleeves they resembled last month.

Again, I do like the color scheme, though. The blue reinforces a notion of royalty.

On concession too--these views are quite zoomed in, and moreso than the human eye can ever get. So some of this focus on the details is probably a bit of nitpicking from a designer background.  I'm sure many guests will be quite pleased with the ornate furnishings Sleeping Beauty Castle has received.

Comments

  1. duuude... I mean DUUUUUDE! this whole set! So damn nice!

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  2. I've been less than thrilled with the designs for the 60th overall. I thought the 50th designs were perfect... the logo, the merch, the golden vehicles, the blue and gold motifs... The 60th stuff looks tacky to me, I think because there might not be a way of reinforcing "THIS IS OUR DIAMOND ANNIVERSARY SO EVERYTHING IS GLASSY AND POINTY JUST LIKE DIAMONDS! LOOK AT ALL THE DIAMOND SHAPES!!" without it looking tacky. If I was doing it, I would forego using actual diamond shapes and just go with silver, blue, and glassy. So on the castle, I'd keep the drapes and maybe find a way of having some glassy accents but not these weird inverted plastic diamond-shapes on the towers and whatever.

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    Replies
    1. I agree. There are some nice spots, and from afar, the composition generally works, but the closer you look, the more overdone it appears. Diamonds as accents, not as main motifs.

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