I joined a short line outside the castle where we waited for the royal elevator. The elevator whisked us to an upper level of the castle where beautiful rooms held dioramas and other art depicting Cinderella’s story. Some of the dioramas featured moving or changing scenes, similar to those in the Sleeping Beauty walk-through at Disneyland in California. Unlike the Sleeping Beauty walk-through, the rooms in Cinderella Castle weren’t dark hallways lined with stone. Here, they were well-appointed rooms suitable for entertaining important guests, with beautiful windows with stained glass accents that looked out on Disneyland. As I walked though the rooms and looked at the park though the castle windows I couldn’t help feeling like a princess in disguise (dressed in a raincoat, t-shirt, and quick-dry beach shorts).
The final room featured a royal throne. I joined other guests who were lined up for the photo op. A Cast Member saw me alone in line and offered to take a photo for me using my camera. I sat on the throne to pose for photos, and the throne responded by sparkling. Then the Cast Member led me over to a painting of the Cinderella’s fairy godmother and suggested that he take a photo of her sprinkling me with fairy dust! He even demonstrated how I might pose! It turned out to be a cute photo.