A Horse Is a Horse Is a Horse, Of Course

Under the royal gold and purple canopy at the heart of the celebration in Fantasyland is Cinderella's Golden Carrousel (spelled with two Rs as per the French origin of the word; Disney's Cinderella draws heavily on French author Charles Perrault's version of the tale, after all). Here, Guests are invited to take a ride on one of the elegant white stallions.

On the way in, you may notice little Jaq and Gus standing by, perhaps secretly hoping the Fairy Godmother will come along and transform them into horses once again (at least for a little while).

The carousel itself is a genuine antique, one of the oldest attractions in the Magic Kingdom. Entitled "Liberty," it was built in 1917 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company for Palace Gardens in Detroit, Michigan. The carousel was later moved to Olympic Park in Maplewood, New Jersey, where Disney's Imagineers found it in 1967. Olympic Park was closing, so Disney was able to acquire the classic carousel, restore it and bring it to Walt Disney World.

In the restoration, the eighteen panels around the carousel were replaced with paintings depicting the story of Cinderella, and the original wooden mechanical parts were upgraded to metal. The Italian-crafted band organ and much of the rest of the carousel's artwork and elaborate carvings were maintained.

In the design are depictions of Lady Liberty, golden eagles and a red, white & blue color scheme (made more pastel to be a better match for Fantasyland), all indicative of the period during which the carousel was built, when a wave a post-WWI patriotism swept the nation.

Once the carousel was acquired, several horses were modified and others added in place of previously existing chariots. It was Walt Disney's desire with the King Arthur Carrousel at Disneyland that it be filled with nothing but white horses, all of which are galloping. That same wish was carried out here in the Magic Kingdom (although notably, one of those original chariots was returned to Cinderella's Golden Carrousel a few years ago, in an effort to make the attraction more accessible to all Guests).

Each of the horses on the carousel is hand-crafted and unique, and many have become personal favorites of Disney Guests and Cast Members over the years. One in particular, though, has been designated as Cinderella's horse. She's on the second row from the outside and the only one with a gold ribbon on her tail.

Why the second row and not a more prominent position? Because the Princess is a lady, of course. The horse on her outside would belong to the Prince, her noble protector. How chivalrous!

It's a Cinderellabration!

The concert with the PhilharMagic Orchestra isn't the only special event happening in Fantasyland today. In fact, the entire village is holding a spectacular celebration, all in honor of Cinderella, Prince Charming and their distinguished Guests (that's you!).

The celebration carries throughout the Kingdom. There are jousting tournaments, festivals of food and an ornate carousel set up under a beautiful canopy. Even a traveling circus has pitched its tents and brought in an elaborate calliope just for the occasion.

Everywhere you look there are colorful tents, banners and flags to mark the celebratory mood.

Since this is a magical storybook Kingdom, many of those tents set up along the castle walls actually serve as portals, transporting the Guests to other fantastic places: the Dark Forest, the Hundred Acre Wood, London, Neverland and the Seven Seaways for a trip around the world.

Wherever we go within Fantasyland, we're free to enjoy our celebration in peace, secure in the knowledge that the entire Kingdom is surrounded by the protective walls of Cinderella Castle. (Just look closely at all the pictures above, and you'll see.)

The Royal Concert Hall

Located just off the central court in the village is the Royal Fantasyland Concert Hall, now presenting Mickey's PhilharMagic. The golden touches and crown icons tell us this is a theater built for the pleasure of the nobility, while the scrolls and musical notes indicate the nature of the performances.

Of course, with this being the Kingdom of Cinderella and Prince Charming, all are welcome to attend. Stepping through the main entrance of the hall, a lobby card informs us of tonight's featured presentation: The PhilharMagic Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Mickey Mouse.

The entire Concert Hall is dedicated to the enjoyment of music, and musical motifs can be found in everything from the large piece of art dominating the back wall ("Music on Parade" donated by Miss Minnie Mouse) to the notes and instrument shapes woven into the carpet.

While this is home to the PhilharMagic Orchestra, the Royal Fantasyland Concert Hall has also played host over the years to a number of guest performers. Posters from some of the past shows that have played the theater grace the walls of the theater lobby. They represent a virtual "Who's Who" of Disney musical heritage.

A personal favorite is the poster of Willie the Whale performing "I Pagliacci." Not only is it a nice reference to the segment "The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met" from Disney's Make Mine Music (1946), but the image on the poster actually shows Willie performing at the Royal Concert Hall. The golden proscenium is the same one you see before you once seated in the theater.

It's just about show time, so grab your opera glasses and head inside. This way, please. That entrance is for the musicians only:

After the show (assuming everything goes well and doesn't get interrupted by that meddling duck), perhaps you'll want to pick up a souvenir of the performance at the Concert Hall's shop, Fantasy Faire.

Inside, we discover that when Donald was shot from the tuba at the end of the concert, he crashed all the way through to the ceiling of the shop. We find him in one of his usual moods, caught up in a tangle of instruments. While we're looking up, though, it's a great opportunity to admire some of the other musical details in the space, from the tops of the fixtures to the columns around the edge of the room.

Just above those columns is a bar dotted with musical notes. The appear purely decorative... unless you know how to read music. Hum through the notes, and you'll find yourself singing a bit of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" by Paul Dukas.

The Fairy Gardener

Also found in the immediate neighborhood of Cinderella Castle is Tinker Bell's Fairy Treasures, inspired by the current series of Tinker Bell animated features. While the location is full of nods to the newest films, there are also a few touches that reference the original Peter Pan story. Before stepping inside, take a moment to spot all the characters (like Tick Tock the croc below) depicted in the "stained" glass of the shop.

The cottage is home and workshop for the Royal Gardener, known far and wide for the beautiful floral gardens she creates throughout the Kingdom.

The Royal Gardener stays busy all year long. Different areas of the shop represent each of the four seasons (see autumn, winter and spring below; summer is pictured at the bottom of this article). Of course, if you think the Royal Gardener is able to produce all the natural wonders of Fantasyland on her own, you would be mistaken. She gets lots of help... from fairies.

Do you believe in fairies? Stand in the workshop long enough, and you may hear them at work or catch a glimpse of pixie dust as they fly by. In fact, if you're really lucky and think only the happiest thoughts, you might just see Tink herself at the window...

A Giant Story to Tell

Moving away from the castle, we start into the Kingdom of Fantasyland itself, where we come upon the second half of Sir Mickey's. This is the village tailor's shop, taking its inspiration from the Mickey Mouse short cartoons "The Brave Little Tailor" and "Mickey and the Beanstalk."

From the outside, we see that the beanstalk which grew that night when Mickey dropped the magic beans on the ground is alive and well, pushing up through the cottage and reaching skyward. The monster vine has even ripped the Sir Mickey's sign off the front of the building and is starting to carry it along.

Inside are many more references to the two stories (completely different from one another, save for the fact that both include a giant). Above the door is a painting of Happy Valley, where Mickey and the gang live in "Mickey and the Beanstalk." As the story goes, once the giant was vanquished all the residents of Happy Valley were "valley" happy. The keys found in the shop also reference this story and Mickey, Donald and Goofy's attempt to rescue the singing harp.

From "The Brave Little Tailor" come the props that help set the scene of the village tailor's shop: scissors, needle, thread, ribbon. Even the hands of the clock are blades from a pair of scissors.

The front window gives us a peek into Mickey's tailoring workshop. Of course, if we need something mended, we're out of luck. It seems Mickey is out giant hunting. He no doubt got roped into the job. Probably shouldn't have bragged so much about killing seven with one blow (especially since he meant flies and not giants).

Ducking back inside, we might just be lucky enough to catch Mickey before he heads up the beanstalk. If he's paying attention, though, he'll realize he doesn't have to go far. The giant has come down to pay him a visit.

Lifting up the roof and peeking into the cottage is Willie the giant himself. Willie made his first appearance in the "Mickey and the Beanstalk" segment of Fun & Fancy Free (1947). Later, he took on a much friendlier role as the Ghost of Christmas Present in the animated featurette "Mickey's Christmas Carol" (1983), where he walked through the village lifting up rooftops just as he's seen doing here.