Do You Remember Cinderella Castle’s Pink Birthday Cake Makeover?

It was 1996, and the Walt Disney World Resort was celebrating its 25th birthday with one of the most memorable (or infamous!) Cinderella Castle makeovers of all time. While some Disney Guests look back on these years with fond nostalgia for the Castle’s pink redesign, others were simply not fans of such an outrageous take on the classic park icon.

What went into transforming Cinderella Castle into a massive birthday cake? Let’s take a look back at the 25th-anniversary celebration at Walt Disney World and fill you in on how you can STILL see the birthday cake castle today.

The birthday cake castle was a mainstay in the Magic Kingdom from 1996-1998, offering Guests a rather unique view down Main Street U.S.A. Disney Imagineers used a mix of massive inflatables and tons of paint to create the pink birthday cake castle.

Disney estimates that the castle’s 25th birthday decor made the “cake” weigh in at 40 million pounds, through the use of 55,040 tablespoons of paint in three different shades of pink, 50 oversized gumballs, 30 lollipops, 4 Life Savers, 12 gumdrops, 16 red candy hearts and 16 green candy stars.

Cinderella Castle was not the only part of the Magic Kingdom redecorated for the occasion. The Walt Disney World Railroad Station at the entrance to Main Street U.S.A. was adorned with 25 oversized candles above the Mickey Mouse floral display.

What was the rest of Walt Disney World’s 25th-anniversary celebration like? Running with the slogan, “It’s Time to Remember the Magic,” the nearly two-year event came with the similarly named Remember the Magic parade in the Magic Kingdom along with a myriad of new experiences around the resort.

The years 1996-1998 were an incredible period of transformation for Walt Disney World with the introduction of new hotels like Disney’s BoardWalk Inn and Coronado Springs Resort, a new theme park with the opening of Disney’s Animal Kingdom on Earth Day in 1998, and more.

Then CEO of the Walt Disney Company Michael Eisner was also leading a transformation across Disney Parks, with the opening of new thrill rides like Test Track in EPCOT and attractions geared toward Disney’s youngest Guests, like Mickey’s Toontown Fair in the Magic Kingdom.

Disney also began to focus on experiences for adults, too, with the addition of events like the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival in 1996. And, it was during this time that Disney Cruise Line launched with the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, and ESPN Wide World of Sports and the Disney Institute opened.

Walt Disney World’s 25th anniversary is perhaps most remembered today for the Cinderella Castle cake, but it really was an exciting and transformative time for the whole resort!

And, if you happen to miss the pink birthday cake look on Cinderella Castle, you can find a virtual reality lens to pose in front of the Castle “like it’s 1996” if you purchase Genie+ in the My Disney Experience app!