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Rare Tinker Bell’s-Eye View of Disney World Shown in Cinderella Castle Crane Photos, Looking Into New Fantasyland and Beyond

in The Walt Disney Company, Theme Parks, Walt Disney World

Posted on by Ricky Brigante 9 Comments
Soaring above Disney World, Cinderella Castle stands as the park’s magical centerpiece, surrounded by winding pathways and lush landscaping, with the thrilling attractions and immersive worlds of New Fantasyland just steps away.

Ever wondered what Tinker Bell sees just before she makes her descent from high atop Cinderella Castle during the nightly fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom? It’s certainly a unique vantage point to oversee all of the Walt Disney World theme parks and though it’s not a view park guests can normally get, a new set of photos offers an aerial glimpse at what it’s like to hover above the castle in the sky.

Disney occasionally uses large cranes inside the park for maintenance on Cinderella Castle, whether it’s the installation and removal of the annual Christmas time “Dream Lights” or simply for touch-ups on the spires. And during a recent sprucing up, a Cast Member snapped away a set of photographs that have since made their way around the company and were ultimately forwarded to my inbox. So now I’m sharing them with you.

Related: Disney Fully Boards More Attractions at Magic Kingdom

Here’s what it looked like for the unnamed photographer to be standing on a crane, several stories in the air, above Cinderella Castle:

above Cinderella Castle

From that vantage point, you can see not only into Tomorrowland all the way to Space Mountain, but even beyond to the shores of Bay Lake and Disney’s Contemporary Resort.

Aerial view of Disney World’s bustling Magic Kingdom, with fans exploring white-topped attractions, lush gardens, shimmering waterways, and the centerpiece Cinderella Castle rising above the magical New Fantasyland.

It’s easy to capture all of Cinderella Castle in one shot from Main Street USA, but no guest photo has ever been taken with this unique view of the iconic structure:

Cinderella Castle

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But it seems the focus of the photographer’s attention was behind Cinderella Castle, with the remaining photos in the series centered on the ongoing construction of the New Fantasyland expansion, the Magic Kingdom’s biggest ever.

Here’s an overview of the entire construction site:

Aerial view of an expansive construction project within a theme park, surrounded by buildings, lush trees, and winding pathways, capturing the scale and excitement of major new developments like those in New Fantasyland near Cinderella Castle at Disney World.

Closer photos reveal the progress behind construction walls, beginning with Beast’s Castle and the Be Our Guest restaurant:

Expansive theme park construction site featuring towering artificial rock formations, active construction cranes, and lush trees in the distance, channeling the epic transformation of Disney World’s New Fantasyland as seen near Cinderella Castle.

Here’s the surrounding Beauty and the Beast village:

Aerial view of New Fantasyland’s ongoing construction, with scaffolding on brown-roofed buildings and two orange lifts in action—capturing the massive expansion unfolding near Cinderella Castle at Disney World.

The Little Mermaid ride and Prince Eric’s castle are taking shape:

The early days of New Fantasyland coming to life, with scaffolding, rockwork, construction vehicles, and building materials filling the site as Cinderella Castle rises in the background at Disney World.

The new Dumbo is around a month away from opening in Storybook Circus:

Bird’s-eye view of a vibrant new Disney World land taking shape, where construction crews and vehicles work amid colorful attractions, all unfolding in clear sight of the iconic Cinderella Castle.

Previous Toontown tents are getting a new look:

Two massive, gleaming white circular structures take shape on a lively construction site, surrounded by bustling crews and vehicles—evoking the excitement of major expansions like New Fantasyland at Disney World, just steps from Cinderella Castle.

And the Storybook Circus train station is a lot more elaborately decorated than the former Toontown version:

Aerial shot of a bustling construction zone with crews, towering cranes, and partially finished brick and white structures, capturing the excitement of new attractions rising—just like the major expansion in New Fantasyland near Cinderella Castle at Disney World.

It’s not clear if Disney ever intended for these photos to reach the public’s eye or if they were only meant for internal distribution, but either way, they certainly do wonders in increasing the excitement for New Fantasyland, which will open its first phase in March, with more to come throughout this year and next.

Though many guests complain about unsightly cranes positioned directly behind Cinderella Castle, “ruining” photos of the landmark, when pictures like these emerge, it seems worth it to block the normally perfect view for a brief while to offer an even more incredible and unique view of the Happiest Place on Earth.

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