The repainting of Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom is officially complete, and Disney is now offering an inside look at how it came together. The finished palette returns the icon to a more classic look. Disney first teased the new paint scheme at Destination D23 in August 2025. Here’s the latest!
Cinderella Castle Repaint Completed at Magic Kingdom
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- Meet the Disney team that managed one of the park’s most visible projects
- Learn how crews kept the Castle photo-ready every single day
- Find out which colors Imagineering chose and why
IT TAKES PEOPLE TO MAKE THE DREAM A REALITY
Disney framed the announcement about the completed Cinderella Castle repainting project around the people who did the work, not just the end result. Multiple teams collaborated on it, including Walt Disney Imagineering, Facility Asset Management, Disney Live Entertainment, Project Development, Operations, and PhotoPass.
One of those cast members is Nathan Collahuazo, an Associate Project Manager with Facility Asset Management. He explained that his group handles long-term maintenance, rehab, and construction projects across the parks, working side by side with Imagineering. “They have the vision, and we help execute that vision for them,” he said.
Nathan described what the assignment meant to him personally. “It’s the icon of not only Walt Disney World, but Disney as a whole,” he said. “And so being told that, ‘Hey, you’re going to change how this looks for, you know, the foreseeable [future]’, it was really exciting to me and a dream come true.”
That excitement came with pressure. Nathan, who started his Disney career as an intern a few years ago, felt the stakes immediately. “Not every day you are told, ‘Hey, you’re going to change the look of one of the most iconic buildings Disney has,'” he explained. “That excitement hit immediately, and then very quickly, the weight of it.”
RESTORING A CLASSIC LOOK
Imagineering selected a palette meant to bring the Castle back toward its original look. The team chose colors to catch the Florida sunshine and emphasize the building’s architectural details from every angle.
Chris Weck, a Senior Creative Director with Walt Disney Imagineering, explained the thinking behind the choice. “When given the opportunity to repaint the castle, it was really important to us to look at the rich history we have here,” she said. “So we wanted to make sure we were bringing back that classic 1971 color palette, but in a more refined way.”
Weck said the team leaned harder into the building’s details than the old scheme did. “We play with the architectural details a little bit more,” she said, pointing to the stonework, the rich roof colors, and gold accents made to pop.
Weck framed the palette as a nod to the Castle’s earliest days. “We took our inspiration from that classic vision of the Castle in 1971 by selecting elegant shades that lean into the element of fantasy,” she said. The result pairs deep blue roofs and stonework with gold trim, a look Disney says feels both refreshed and familiar.
DRAINING THE MOAT TO GET STARTED
Before any paint touched the front walls, the team faced its biggest logistical hurdle. The moat had to be completely drained, a step we covered closely as crews worked through it earlier this year.
Nathan pointed to the moat as the hardest piece. “Probably one of the most difficult parts of this project was getting into the moat,” he explained. “The moat had to be completely drained so we could safely work in there.”
To pull it off, crews built temporary dams and lowered the water level. After cleaning the moat floor, the team lifted large boom lifts one by one so painting could begin on the front of the Castle.
PAINTING IN FULL GUEST VIEW
Unlike most Facility Asset Management projects, this one could not hide behind construction walls. The work happened in plain sight along Main Street USA, so the teams built a schedule around the guest experience.
Weck described the broader challenge of painting a park icon in the middle of an operating day. “As you can imagine, working on a live construction site in the middle of a park on our park icon is a challenge,” she said. Facility Asset Management managed and moved the project forward, while live entertainment partners worked to keep the Cinderella Castle projection effects working as intended.
To protect the photo op, crews carefully lowered the cranes and moved them out of sight each day at noon. We reported on that midday crane retraction earlier in the project, and it held through completion. Weck said the schedule was set with guests in mind. “In the afternoon, our guests could still take those beautiful photos of the castle that they want to go home with,” she said.
Over several weeks, painters worked in safety harnesses up to 150 feet in the air. They finished each piece of trim, wall, and roof with small brushes and rollers, including the very top of the Castle, a view only Tinker Bell usually gets to see.
WATCHING IT COME TOGETHER
For Weck, one of the best parts of the job was doing it in front of everyone. “Truly, one of my favorite parts of this project has been the way guests have followed along with us,” she said. “We’re working in front of them and they’ve truly embraced this.”
The daily progress kept the team going too. Weck pointed to one morning in particular. “The day the roofs became bluer was a beautiful morning,” she said, describing the sunlight hitting each new facade.
Nathan felt the same excitement when the new shades of blue were visible. “When I first saw the new blue and all of the new shades of color on there, it was just really exciting and it lit me up,” he said. “It felt like a new heart to our park.” He added that he hopes guests feel the passion the team put into the work.
THE STORY SO FAR
- Disney announced the repaint last year at Destination D23, sparking early excitement among fans.
- Crews drained the moat and brought a high-reach crane into the basin to begin work on the surrounding rockwork and the Castle.
- Disney later called the project “almost complete” and shared an updated look at the new palette while the moat remained drained.
- The painting is now finished, and Disney has shifted to celebrating the crew behind it.
THE FINISHED PICTURE
With the painting done and the moat refilled, the project is fully complete for guests visiting Magic Kingdom! Have you seen the new look in person yet? Tell us what you think of the classic palette the next time you walk right down the middle of Main Street USA.
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!