Cinderella Castle At Disney World Is Getting A Massive Makeover

One of the premiere landmarks of The Walt Disney Company's Magic Kingdom park is getting a major upgrade. It was announced today that the epicenter of the entire park, Cinderella's Castle, will be getting repainted starting in the next few weeks with the refurbishing continuing into the summer. Updates being made to the castle's exterior include a royal blue paint job on the castle's turrets, a color change on the exterior bricks of the lower level, and most notably gold accents and flourishes all around the castle. You can check out a piece of concept art for the changes below.

"Cinderella first transformed into a princess 70 years ago this week when the animated classic was released—and ever since, her courage and kindness have been inspiring guests and cast members alike," Jason Kirk, Vice President, Magic Kingdom Park said in a blog post. "We are excited to share that her story has inspired a bold, shimmering and royal makeover of her namesake castle at the heart of Walt Disney World Resort.

The renovations being made to the exterior of the castle will not effect events that take place around the castle during the park's operating hours, including: "Mickey's Royal Friendship Faire," the outdoor stage show which takes place outside the castle three times a day, and the "Happily Ever After" fireworks show that takes place at the end of the day.

This isn't the first time that Cinderella's Castle has been given an exterior make-over as it were. Back in 1996 the castle was transformed into a giant birthday cake to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the park. In 2004 the castle was "decorated" with toilet paper and graffiti to mark the opening of Stitch's Great Escape, which was a renovation that only lasted for the day. 2005 saw another major upgrade to the castle though, which was a major gold accent and trim for the 50th anniversary of Disneyland.

News of the changes to the castle has been met with both excitement by some fans in the comments section of the post and derision by others.

"Beautiful! Much prettier than the current look, as much as I love it as it already is," one fan wrote.

"This is devastating for so many people who have come to view this magic place as our happy place or second home," a grumpy gus added. "The castle has always been elegant and this new look is gaudy and cheap looking."

What do you think of the changes to Cinderella's Castle? Sound off in the comments below!