King Arthur Carrousel is a
carousel
A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...
attraction located in
Fantasyland
Fantasyland is one of the "themed lands" at all of the Magic Kingdom-style parks run by The Walt Disney Company around the world. It is themed after Disney's animated fairy tale films. Each Fantasyland has a castle, as well as several gentle ri ...
at
Disneyland
Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...
in
Anaheim, California
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
. The carousel was built in 1922 and operated at
Sunnyside Beach Park in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, until the park closed. The ride was relocated to Disneyland in 1954, where it was refurbished and modified by
Arrow Development
Arrow Development was an amusement park ride and roller coaster design and manufacturing company, incorporated in California on November 16, 1945, and based in Mountain View. It was founded by Angus "Andy" Anderson, Karl Bacon, William Hardiman ...
, and opened with the park on July 17, 1955.
History
![King Arthur's Carrousel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/King_Arthur%27s_Carrousel.JPG)
Inspired by the
Griffith Park
Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park includes popular attractions such as the Los Angeles Zoo, the Autry Museum of the Ameri ...
carousel,
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
wanted something similar for his new theme park: a carousel consisting of all
jumpers
Jumper or Jumpers may refer to:
Clothing
* Jumper (sweater), a long-sleeve article of clothing; also called a top, pullover, or sweater
**A waist-length top garment of dense wool, part of the Royal Navy uniform and the uniform of the United Stat ...
.
[King Arthur Carrousel , Fantasyland Attractions , Disneyland Park](_blank)
official website.[King Arthur Carrousel Horses](_blank)
Horses - Finding Mickey.com. A park model Menagerie Carousel was purchased and moved to Disneyland in 1954. The carousel was built by
William Dentzel and had been operated at
Sunnyside Beach Park in
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, since 1922;
it had three courses of horses and other animals on a platform in diameter.
Preparation
The attraction was refurbished and significantly altered by the
Arrow Development Company of Mountain View, California in preparation for opening day.
It was widened to four courses to increase guest capacity. Of the carousel's 71 horses and one mule, most were carved in the Dentzel factory. To add the outermost course, several carved wooden horses were acquired from a Stein and Goldstein carousel, others from
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...
's
Looff carousel, and more carved horses from various other carousels from around North America.
Many horses arrived with crude repairs, such as newspaper-stuffed
papier-mâché
upright=1.3, Mardi Gras papier-mâché masks, Haiti
upright=1.3, Papier-mâché Catrinas, traditional figures for day of the dead celebrations in Mexico
Papier-mâché (, ; , literally "chewed paper") is a composite material consisting of p ...
legs. Standers on the original three rows were converted to jumpers by removing the legs and carving new ones. Custom-built crankshafts were installed overhead to operate each horse as a jumper in motion. The original, ornately hand-carved, wooden chariot benches were removed, and the chariot woodwork was repurposed to decorate the "calliope"
tenders and passenger cars of
Casey Jr. Circus Train __NOTOC__
The Casey Jr. Circus Train is the name of a ridable miniature railroad attraction found at Disneyland and a powered roller coaster attraction found at Disneyland Park (Paris). Based on the train of the same name from the 1941 film ''D ...
.
A
Wurlitzer
The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...
#157
Band Organ
A fairground organ (french: limonaire) is a French pneumatic musical organ covering the wind and percussive sections of an orchestra. Originated in Paris, France, it was designed for use in commercial fairground settings to provide loud musi ...
facade decorates the carousel, but does not operate. Motifs from ''
Sleeping Beauty
''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
'' were also added to the carousel.
The carousel was placed in a prominent position in the middle of the castle courtyard, able to be viewed from
Main Street through the castle gate, drawing guests into the realm of fantasy.
Refurbishment
There were two refurbishments to the carousel: one in 1983 and one in 2003. In 1983, to make room for other attractions, the carousel was moved slightly backwards and received a completely new roof. The carousel was also repainted in orange, red, and blue, and the princess and jester rounding boards were repainted into 18k gold. In preparation for Disneyland's 50th anniversary celebration, the
Happiest Homecoming on Earth
The Happiest Homecoming on Earth was the eighteen-month-long celebration (May 5, 2005 through September 30, 2006) of the 50th anniversary of the Disneyland theme park, which opened on July 17, 1955. The Happiest Celebration on Earth commemorated ...
, King Arthur Carrousel closed for extensive renovations and reopened in February 2003. These renovations included an entirely rebuilt turntable platform, a new computerized operating console and system which halts the carousel each time at the same spot, removal of a row of four horses to accommodate a four-course-wide bench and wheelchair clamps with an access ramp for
ADA
Ada may refer to:
Places
Africa
* Ada Foah, a town in Ghana
* Ada (Ghana parliament constituency)
* Ada, Osun, a town in Nigeria
Asia
* Ada, Urmia, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* Ada, Karaman, a village in Karaman Province, ...
compliance, which reduced the count of horses to 68.
In January 2010, the
stirrup
A stirrup is a light frame or ring that holds the foot of a rider, attached to the saddle by a strap, often called a ''stirrup leather''. Stirrups are usually paired and are used to aid in mounting and as a support while using a riding animal ( ...
s of each outer-course horse were replaced to include additional lower loops, increasing accessibility.
Horses
![King Arthur Carrousel, Mary Poppins on Jingles](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/King_Arthur_Carrousel%2C_Mary_Poppins_on_Jingles.jpg)
Because of the overwhelming popularity of the carousel's single white horse, since 1975 all horses have been painted white. After a 2003 update, the carrousel was reduced to 68 horses and one chariot.
Each horse on the carousel has a name; a complete list is available at City Hall on
Main Street, U.S.A.
Main Street, U.S.A. is the first "themed land" inside the main entrance of the many theme parks operated or licensed by The Walt Disney Company around the world. Main Street, U.S.A. is themed to resemble American small towns during the early 20t ...
Jingles is the lead horse, and Walt's favorite, named for her very ornate carvings which include straps of jingle bells hanging from her breast collar, decorative quarter sheet behind the saddle, and fastened on the cantle. For Disneyland's 50th anniversary in 2005, Jingles was repainted gold from nose to tail, trimmed in 18k gold leaf set apart as a photo opportunity near the queue for
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Dumbo the Flying Elephant is an aerial carousel-style ride located in Fantasyland at six Disney parks around the world. It is based on the 1941 film, ''Dumbo''. The original attraction opened at Disneyland on August 16, 1955. The four other ver ...
. When Jingles was reinstalled as lead horse after the Year of a Million Dreams campaign, major portions of Jingles were painted over in a new pastel color theme, except where the gold bells and trim show through, with a translucent treatment of the rosettes on Jingles' head. Decorative detail was painted on the quarter sheet representing the talking-parrot-handled umbrella from ''
Mary Poppins It may refer to:
* ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character.
* Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers.
* ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...
.'' On the saddle flap, a decorative crest was added, with the monogram "JA", a bird perched on high button shoes, a silhouette of Mary in flight, and the number 50, representing the 50th anniversary of this original Disneyland attraction. Jingles was then ceremoniously dedicated to
Julie Andrews on April 8, 2008, as "Honorary Ambassador", the title painted beneath the Hidden Mickey on her cantle.
Sword in the Stone Ceremony
Inspired by the
legend of Excalibur from ''
The Sword in the Stone'', Merlin used to host a ceremony nearby to determine which guest could pull the sword from the stone to become king for a day. The final ceremony was in 2006.
:"By proclamation of Arthur, the right and true king, and lord of all the land, it is time to select a temporary ruler of the realm... to safeguard and protect the kingdom while good King Arthur is on vacation."
The statue with the sword still stands at the front of the carrousel. In January, 2020, a visitor reportedly pulled out the sword.
In popular culture
*In the
''Mickey Mouse'' episode "Potatoland", Mickey and Donald build a theme park called Potatoland to fulfill Goofy's lifelong dream to go to the park, even though it never existed. One of the attractions featured was a low-budget carousel, similar to the carrousels at Disney theme parks, with Mickey playing the organ, while Donald cranked the ride.
See also
*
Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
Prince Charming Regal Carousel (formerly Cinderella's Golden Carousel) is a carousel in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort. Similar attractions under varying names can be found at two other Disney Parks, including Tokyo Disneyland a ...
*
Le Carrousel de Lancelot
Le Carrousel de Lancelot is a traditional family carousel attraction in Disneyland Park (Paris)'s Fantasyland area. The ride features organ music from various Disney films.
Summary
The ride features organ music renditions of famous songs from ...
References
External links
Disneyland.com- King Arthur Carrousel , Fantasyland Attractions , Disneyland Park
FindingMickey.com- Information about the King Arthur Carrousel, horse name checklist, names and photos of the King Arthur Carrousel horses
{{Sherman Brothers
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions
Disneyland
Fantasyland
Amusement rides introduced in 1955
Amusement rides manufactured by Arrow Dynamics
1955 establishments in California