The final section of pink paint has been painted over at Cinderella Castle as Disney visually completes the transformation from the old “rose pink” Castle to a restoration of a more classic color palette for the Magic Kingdom icon. We made it out to Magic Kingdom this morning to get a closer look at the latest work!
Final Pink Paint Removed from Cinderella Castle
Good morning from Magic Kingdom, where the final section of pink has been painted to a grey-ish white as part of the transformation of Cinderella Castle. This marks the end of the “rose pink” look for Cinderella Castle. Before we take a look at the latest progress on the repainting, we wanted to take a brief look back at the pink version of Cinderella Castle, and a common misconception about the repainting.
First announced in February 2020, the “Royal Makeover” of Cinderella Castle would introduce “a bold, shimmering and royal makeover”. While many fans refer to the pink Cinderella Castle paint color as for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary, the pink paint color was actually to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the animated classic, Cinderella.
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. 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 transformation of Cinderella Castle into its royal, “rose pink” color palette would begin in March 2020 with the repainting of one of the turret roofs. From there, we spotted the very first test swatch of pink paint shortly thereafter.
The repainting of Cinderella Castle was one of the only projects to continue during the COVID-19 shutdowns. When the theme parks reopened in July 2020, fans got their first in-park glimpse at the completed color scheme.
Fast forward to March 2023, and an announcement that the Cinderella Castle “rose pink” would remain beyond the end of the 50th Anniversary. Our reporting at the time noted what we noted earlier in this article – the rose pink look for Cinderella Castle predated the 50th Anniversary celebration and was independent of that celebration. Fans began to wonder if we’d ever get the “classic look” for Cinderella Castle back.
We’ll keep fast-forwarding, this time to August 2025 and the Destination D23 Expo. It was at this Walt Disney World-centered fan event that Disney announced that the look of Cinderella Castle would be changing, once again. The “new” paint scheme would be a return to the classic look that fans had been clamoring for.
Here’s a look at the concept art that was released for the new look for Cinderella Castle, “[featuring] grays, creams, blues, and touches of gold, aiming to enhance the castle’s architecture”. This “new” paint scheme was “inspired by the classic and original look of the castle”.
By the end of January 2026, we had our first look at the repainting project that would restore Cinderella Castle to its classic look. Since then, we’ve been tracking the progress of the project. Back in early March, the vast majority of the “body” of Cinderella Castle had been repainted.
After that, crews began working on repainting the rooftops of the iconic structure. Interestingly enough, Disney says that they use a high-performance paint that is actually used for cars to repaint hard-to-reach locations, such as the roofs.
Disney says that subtle variations of sheen play an important role in the final look of the Castle. Stones are finished with a lower sheen to appear natural, while rooftops and gold accents shine with a higher gloss, giving them a decorative sparkle. Gold is used strategically around the spires to catch the last reflections of sunlight.
While work is still wrapping up, the project reached an important milestone recently, with the repainting of the final segment of rose pink paint at the very top of Cinderella Castle. Here’s a look!
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!