The CAKE CASTLE! Good, or TACKY?

[DrWorm2008]

Ahhh, the 25 year Birthday Cake Castle at MK. Was it cool, or just plain hideous? Tell us! :mickey:

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh167/drworm2008/Vintage%20Disney/cakecastle.jpg

[RedheadWriter]

Fellow, Intercotees, that is my photo of the gruesome creation.......I also have a photo of Disneyland paris with the cake decor but it says 1 and not 25.

[d_m_n_n]

My thought was God Awful Horrible, but I'll take hideous!! I don't know what they were thinking...:confused:

[jclightchasr]

That cake castle was bad on so many angles. 1. it shocked those first timers who finally got to disney to see the castle only to behold a giant pink cake.2. It was ugly 3. It ruined the forefront for the rest of the park. 4. set up and take down was long and ugly.

On a positive note i thought the ice castle this past christmas was absolutely beautiful.
Back in dec 04 the decorations on the castle were beautiful then as well.

[Aurora]

I'm one of the few who liked it, but only because I'd already been a repeat visitor and I have fond memories 'cause it was my 1-year-old DD's first visit.

[Jasper]

You missed a third voting choice that I think is rather obvious: Hideous but I loved it!!

I did think it was hideous but it was that very epitome of tacky that made it fun! No, I wouldn't want it to stay that way long term, but for a year or two it was fun. Sometimes in life we all have to have moments where we don't take ourselves so seriously and I think that for Disney World the castle cake fell right into that category. This kind of silliness makes life fun and interesting!

[DrWorm2008]

Wow - I expected this to be MUCH more one-sided! :confused:

[adoptionislove]

HORRIBLE!!!!!

Pepto pink russian birthday cake gone bad!!!

(tell me how I really feel, huh)!!!!

[GrmGrninGost]

My stand is somewhere in the middle. I didn't like it because some people only go one time, and they should see the castle in all it's glory. But, I've been many times and really wish we had gone while it was up! :mickey:

[wendy*darling]

You missed a third voting choice that I think is rather obvious: Hideous but I loved it!!

I'm with you on that one!

[disneymom15]

I didn't like it much either.
Like previous poster, I loved the Ice castle at
X-mas.

[WinnipegDisneyFanatic]

It was my first-ever trip to WDW when that cake was up. I wasn't a Disney "nut" like I am now, so I didn't know any better. I thought it was cool.

...but I thought seeing the REAL castle 2 years later was even MORE cool :thumbsup:

Chris :hatter:

[LudwigVonDrake]

I didn't mind it. I also didn't mind the Wand on SSE but that's for another thread :D

[Mikey Piano 23]

WOW! Does anyone know when this castle happened? and how long it happened for? Great post!

[scoot241]

I never actually saw it in person... I only saw it in process of being taken down and the castle was half white and half pink.

It was definitely tacky, but not horrible because it was temporary (unlike the wand which was supposed to be temporary but stayed up for 7 years).

[laughingplace<3]

When I first saw that picture, it took me awhile to notice it was... THE castle.

The 50th celebration decorations, and ice castle, both were very decorative, special, and good looking, while keeping the castle's glory and normalness. This decoration did the opposite of that.

[SurferStitch]

We weren't crazy about the cake castle, but it was decorated like that on our honeymoon in October of 1996, so it still holds a sentimental place in our hearts....

....as long as they never do it again.

[Polynesian Dweller]

I'm with the group who didn't mind it because 1. I'd seen it before and 2. it was temporary. It wasn't the best idea they've had but for a 25th anniversary idea I could live with it.

[Dakota Rose]

I hated it and was so relieved when it came down!

[sassafras]

My first visit to DW was the year that horrible monstrosity ...whoo... it was just awful!!!:sick: The one thing I had really looked forward to was seeing the castle for myself, but that pink mess just about did me in! I have photos to remember it by, but it is the one thing that really made a lasting impression ( a very BAD impression!). I much prefer the natural state, although I did love the ice castle effect this year.

[Miss Mouse]

The first, and thus far only, time I went to WDW was during the lovely cake-castle phase. For some reason I really don't remember a whole lot about our trip but the one thing that sticks out in my mind was the sight of that horrible pink cake at the end of the street. Needless to say I was very disappointed.

Hopefully when I finally return this summer, the castle will be in it's regular, glorious state! :)

[FlaTinkRAMESAM]

ugh... I haaaaaated the cake. :ack:

[IloveDisney71]

When I first saw that picture, it took me awhile to notice it was... THE castle.

The 50th celebration decorations, and ice castle, both were very decorative, special, and good looking, while keeping the castle's glory and normalness. This decoration did the opposite of that.

I couldn't have said it better myself. I loved the gold decorations of the characters that were in various places around the castle and this past Christmas the "icicle" lights were fabulous! Even though I only saw the castle cake in pictures, I thought it was pretty bad.

[cgriff]

I liked the castle cake.

How many of you who voted "dislike" would turn down a Cinderella castle cake as your birthday dessert?

:party:

cgriff

[Melanie]

Does anyone know when this castle happened? and how long it happened for?

The birthday cake castle was for the 25th anniversary of WDW. The celebration lasted from October 1, 1996 until January 31, 1998.

[MinnieMommie]

I'm with you on that one!

Me 3! I thought it was kinda gross at the time but in retrospect it is a fond memory. :mickey:

[ktflisa]

Loved it! My first visit to WDW was July 97. I had been to Disney west many times, so I'd seen that castle. I just loved it! Great memories of my and my new boyfriend's first trip together! :mickey: We've now been 11 times together and are married.. :cloud9:

[Magic Smiles]

Ahhh, the 25 year Birthday Cake Castle at MK. Was it cool, or just plain hideous? Tell us! :mickey:

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh167/drworm2008/Vintage%20Disney/cakecastle.jpg
Gee, I missed that. Was that really the castle at MK in WDW for the 25th anniversary? What were they thinking?

[mickeys_princess_mom]

When I first saw that picture, it took me awhile to notice it was... THE castle.

The 50th celebration decorations, and ice castle, both were very decorative, special, and good looking, while keeping the castle's glory and normalness. This decoration did the opposite of that.

I agree! Loved both of these, but couldn't take the cake!
:shake:

[Mickey91]

I liked it. But, we go enough that it would have been neat to see. I it were my honeymoon, wedding, or first/only trip I would have been extremely disappointed.

[PirateLover]

I think it's a cute concept- Very Candyland-esque. However I really don't like it for the castle. I mean, Cinderella Castle is the focal point of the Magic Kingdom, and all of WDW for that matter. I think I would be so disappointed to have had to look at that everyday for my first vacation. :twocents:

[RAIDER]

I was lucky enough to see it in the flesh and as something that was going to be temporary right from the word go .Then for me it was a feat of brilliance and imagination . It would have been a different ball game if it was going to be permanent :thumbsup:

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

Oh lordy, the abomination known as the pink castle....

I blame Goofy, Minnie and Donald for that....they're the ones who wanted to string popcorn, hang candy canes from all the spires and wrap it up like a present for Christmas.

Mickey was the only sane one who wanted a simple wreath. No wonder the Fairy Godmother stepped in at Christmas!

So yeah, I hated it. I loved the Christmas overlay and the 50th anniversary for DL was pretty. I still have nightmares about the giant cake.

[TBY2225]

My DH and I went to WDW in Feb 1997 and saw it for ourselves. I was so disappointed because I had dreams of us getting our pictures made in front of the beautiful blue castle. Instead we got the pepto pink cake!

[snifflesmcg]

Sadly, I missed this creation from Disneyworld but I would have loved to see it first hand. I think it's awsome! Yes, tacky, but awsome. What little girl hasn't wanted to see a gigantic pink castle birthday cake?

[Marker]

I'm not going to be able to vote on this one. The only options offered were the two extemes. In my opinion, while I didn't "love" it, I definitely wouldn't say it was "Hideous".
For me, if I were to subscribe to either opinion, I think I'd be taking it much too seriously.

We were there, we saw it. For me, they were having fun with it. Sure, it was kind of a radical idea, but I thought it was also quite amusing. Kind of like a bad joke that you moan over, but then laugh. Likewise with the birthday cake castle, even though when we looked at it wk kind of thought "ick", when we look back now we smile and laugh. So actually, like it or not, I think it was kind of cool that they did it (so long as it wasn't permanent).

Hey, if they never changed anything, it would always be the same. Nothing wrong with shaking things up from time to time. Nothing wrong with a little silliness occasionally.

[gwfx1031]

I liked it. It was fun and different. It was also temporary so like it or not, it served a purpose for the celebration.

[mjm]

Oh God!

You just had to remind everyone, huh!

That had to be the worst idea someone ever had for Disney World!

:down:

[Sean Riley Taylor's Mom]

I really hated it. We were there on our honeymoon that year so, all of our pics have it in the backround!! :sick:

I agree with everyone else that said they loved the overlay this holiday season and the 50th celebration decorations. They were both beautiful!!

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Aw, man!
2) Just when I thought I was over the Castle Cake.

3) I had eased the pain
. . . of being spanked when born
. . . of being kissed by a girl in the first grade (yuck!)
. . . of eating granola at Woodstock (yuck!)
. . . of not being kissed by a girl in the sixth grade
. . . of tearing a ham string playing Big-10 football
. . . of seeing my beloved Castle as a pink cake
. . . of learning my "special deal" $24 Rolex wasn't a Rolex

4) Now, some at that pain comes back by being reminded of the Castle Cake!

[murphy1]

Luckily I was not interested in WDW at that particular point having lived there for about 25 years and ready to leave Florida then. I thought okay, it's whimsical, but kind of terrible to do to the gorgeous castle. I love the ice crystals, too and it was so cool to see how they managed to do that one on Travel Channel with Sam Brown.

[DNS]

I guess I would say it's not something I'd like to see done again, but it was okay for one celebration.

[jclightchasr]

Luckily I was not interested in WDW at that particular point having lived there for about 25 years and ready to leave Florida then. I thought okay, it's whimsical, but kind of terrible to do to the gorgeous castle. I love the ice crystals, too and it was so cool to see how they managed to do that one on Travel Channel with Sam Brown.

Yeah, you just gotta love Samantha Brown she's great.

[King Triton]

The pink castle was definitely not one of the imagineers' better moves.

I remember that it was up for my daughter's first Disney trip and I remember telling her that it'll look a lot better the next visit.

[lightyearfan]

our family actually liked the birthday cake castle, you know sometimes its nice to see the castle in different stages, now i also know that if your a first time visitor you might be a little disappointed, because to this day and thats since 1995, me and dw still get awe struck when we turn that corner onto main street and see that beautiful castle at the end of it.


Victor

[DisneyorBust]

Hideous. Glad that I never had to be exposed to the 'cake' in person. The photos are horrible enough.
To end on a positive note, I love the 'ice' castle, really magical to see.

[DrWorm2008]

ACK ! :ack:

The cake castle was nauseating.

:ack:

That ice castle was INCREDIBLE! :number1:Does anyone have a good picture of it?

[DrWorm2008]

Here's a great pic of the "Ice Castle" at night. Enjoy! :mickey:

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh167/drworm2008/IMG_1251.jpg

[splashtest]

It looked like a giant puffalump!!!

[TheRustyScupper]

A LITTLE TRIVIA . . .

1) WDW had to refund tens of thousands of dollars due to the cake.
2) There so many people that complained.
3) Domestic and foreign visitors had booked weddings at GF Chapel.
4) The Grand Floridian Wedding Chapel has the Castle over the alter.
5) It was specifically designed to face that way.
6) People started complaining about the Cake and not seeing the Castle.
7) WDW had to refund many wedding ceremony fees.

NOTE: The full vacations were not refunded, just the wedding ceremony or picture-package arrangements (like photo packages in front of the Castle). Pretty embarrassing for WDW.

NOTE2: We don't know if it is true or urban legend, but allegedly one Japanese wedding party was so upset, that the photographer was paid by WDW to photo-shop the Castle into the weddng pictures, so they wouldn't have to remember the Cake in years to come.

[CaptainSad]

It was OK to see once, but more then that was bit to much. Same way for the Wand over SSE for 2000. I'm glad those are no longer with us. Now we just have to get rid of the hat at DHS. WDI has got to come up with something better then what they have in the last dozen years or so.

Nothing will ever beat the Ice Castle... I hope they do that every year...

[diz_girl]

I have been to WDW twice since my '97 trip and had forgotten how truly hideous the cake castle looked. I actually twitched when I looked at the picture of it and I had to quickly avert my eyes.

I'm sure the imagineers now have some mantra when they decide to so something to the castle and not make it hideous. Something like, "Remember the cake!"

I haven't seen the icicle cake in person, so I hope that they do it again this year when I am there. It looks beautiful.

[Marker]

A LITTLE TRIVIA . . .

1) WDW had to refund tens of thousands of dollars due to the cake.
2) There so many people that complained.
3) Domestic and foreign visitors had booked weddings at GF Chapel.
4) The Grand Floridian Wedding Chapel has the Castle over the alter.
5) It was specifically designed to face that way.
6) People started complaining about the Cake and not seeing the Castle.
7) WDW had to refund many wedding ceremony fees.

NOTE: The full vacations were not refunded, just the wedding ceremony or picture-package arrangements (like photo packages in front of the Castle). Pretty embarrassing for WDW.

NOTE2: We don't know if it is true or urban legend, but allegedly one Japanese wedding party was so upset, that the photographer was paid by WDW to photo-shop the Castle into the weddng pictures, so they wouldn't have to remember the Cake in years to come.

I think that's just insane that they felt they had to give refunds. In my opinion, those folks need to lighten up. Frankly, I'd find it rather amusing if the "Cake" were in my wedding pictures. But then my strings aren't strung quite so tight.

Actually I got married on a 10 degree day, with gusty winds in the middle of Iowa, I think the WDW Cake would have been just fine.

[Crystal Palace]

I thought it was cute! I never saw it in person though. I definately wouldn't have wanted it to be a permanent thing though!

[MegaDisney]

1. it shocked those first timers who finally got to disney to see the castle only to behold a giant pink cake.


My first trip to WDW was in '97 and I thought the Castle Cake was COOL!!! I didn't shock me.

What shocked me was seeing the castle in 2000. I thinkg the WDW Castle is too big, and does not fit the scale of Main Street. "The fiberglass castle that ate small town America!"

I preferred the Castle Cake to the normal Castle!

[Crow]

i agree w bad but good
it was something different even though it was bad

[LarryBoy]

For some reason I liked it. I think because I had been many times before, and I knew what a big deal it was for them to do that. I think it made the anniversary kind of special. I knew I was there for a once in a lifetime event. Now that being said, it was kind of tacky and they should never do it again. I could understand how somebody wouldn't like it if it were their first trip.

[pirate pixie]

call me crazy .
but my husband and i went on our honeymoon during the 25th celebration . we have so many pictures of it . it just makes me feel all mushy .:mickey:

[SBETigg]

I think it was a neat idea, but one of those neat ideas that should have stayed on the Imagineering shelf. Too disappointing for park first-timers and people who rarely get there. I doubt they'll do it again quite to that extreme, but no doubt the Castle will suffer many more special event decorations. When it works, like the holiday ice overlay, it's wonderful.

[2Epcot]

I really liked the castle cake. I visited during the 25th Anniversary so I saw it complete. I didn't have to see in during the construction or striking of the cake. I can understand those visiting for the very first time or their only time, being upset without seeing the "regular" castle, but I never had a problem with the castle cake. Unlike the Epcot wand that took forever to get rid of .... The castle cake was known from the beginning to be very temporary.

[mickey&missy]

I still can't get over the fact they did that to the castle!!! What in the world were they thinking!?

I started a thread (http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=65300) a long time ago about it. I didn't know they did it, I saw a picture of it looking for something on ebay. YIKES!

I wouldn't say that it would have ruined my vacation but I would have been disappointed not to see the castle the way I remember it looking when I was a kid.

That being said, I would have loved to see the Happiest Celebration Decor and can't wait to have the opportunity see the castle lights!

[PinKy]

I thought it was cute!

[broadway_chick72]

My sister went that year and took about 400 pictures of the castle. I thought it looked awesome. Adults may not like it but kids do.

[NJGIRL]

I was just looking at an old photo album that had picures of the cake in it. It was bad very bad in person.

[3Cabsfan]

Are you kidding me? You had to actually ask the question?:sick:

[Mom2princesses]

Ugh! I missed it and I'm glad I did. It look so tacky. I am surprised they had it up for so long. I am so glad it wasn't like this when I took my girls to WDW for their first visits.

[BklynChick]

Not only did I like the Castle Cake, I still have a snow globe of it.

Yeah, yeah, I know...I liked the wand on SE too...so sue me!

[purplestarlisa]

My very first visit was that year, and at the time, I thought it was cool, but after seeing the castle this past November, I have to say that it was so much better without all the pink stuff!

[WDWFREAK101]

It was nice. I like the winter snowflake castle that they did this year better.

[big blue and hairy]

To the question, was the Castle Cake good or tacky...I say...yes!

:sulley:

[WDWFREAK101]

To the question, was the Castle Cake good or tacky...I say...yes!

:sulley:

Um... that isn't a yes or no question

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

Um... that isn't a yes or no question

I think that was the point. :mickey:

[2Epcot]

Not only did I like the Castle Cake, I still have a snow globe of it.

Yeah, yeah, I know...I liked the wand on SE too...so sue me!

Can't go with you on the wand ...my lawyers will be contacting you. Your snow globe though, reminded me I also have a miniature sculpture of the pink castle cake that I got during the 25th Anniversary. I used to keep in next to my sculpture of Spaceship Earth (no wand). :mickey:

[Funforall]

For a very regular visitor, it was a fun change. For someone new, it probably was a big bummer.

[GoinGoofyPlanninThisTrip]

Um... that isn't a yes or no questionYes it can be. They're saying it was well done and that it was tacky.

I happened to think it was both also. It was fun for the frequent visitors but definitely not for the first (or only) timers.

[Gooftroop5]

I put I really liked it. However its not really my answer to it. I didn't think it was hideous either. It was interesting and I like pink (ok not that much). We ate in the castle that year it was weird though.

Lets hope they don't do it again. Once was enough. I did enjoy it the one time.

[dizknee531]

:party:I'm in the minority. I liked it!! It was different.:party:

[dcraze]

OMG...that pink cake castle was too ugly to think about. That wasn't my trip and isn't my last considering the fact that I've been at least 8 times since that castle and I am currently packing and leaving this Saturday morning for another trip but this is the first time that we are going and not staying on Disney property. My family travels with our 3 dogs so we stay at Fort Wilderness in our motor home and because we just decided to go like 2 weeks ago we were unable to get reservations at Disney!:mickey:

[jszczur5]

Wow these results are a lot closer than I would have figured. I voted hideous! I also hated the gold version of 2 summers ago. Yuck! Our pictures from summer/07 are just so much more tasteful than summer/06. The same can be said for the Epcot SSE ball as well. Bye bye hand, wand and sparkles. Yaaaay!

[caryrae]

I thought it was pretty cool, only because I knew it wouldn't stay that way.

[McGoofy]

I just saw a friend's actual pictures of it this past week. Absolutely hideous!!!

I think the castle threw up Pepto Bismol!!:ack: It looks like something that would belong in the Candyland game or Santa Land. There is a place for such a creation, but not at the end of MainStreet!!

I have to add...Disney has become much more classy in decorating the castle. The 50th gold decorations were really pretty, and the lights this past Christmas were so beautiful that they would bring a tear to your eye.

[houseofmouse103]

C'mon, it wasn't that bad. It was my DD's 1st visit after much scraping & saving on our part, so it too holds a special place with us. The hat @ the Studios is much, much worse! When is Disney going to remove that monstrosity?

[Red Randal]

Hahahaha. Oh the cake castle, it's always good for a laugh.

The thing that strikes me most about it is that despite how awful it turned out to be, they just went ahead and did similar stuff at two other parks!

Though, to be totally honest, when I went there as a kid and it was up, I honestly didn't care in the least. It was different, at least.

[DISFREAKS]

I didn't mind it too much but DW hated it! When we took the Keys to the Kingdom tour in 2005 we asked our guide what she thought about it. She told us with a smile " We don't discuse the cake period".;)

[big blue and hairy]

I thought it was pretty cool, only because I knew it wouldn't stay that way.

Exactly!!

:sulley:

[ariel03]

It looked horrible and I didn't even go then.

[bringbackhorizons]

I didn't like it... why mess with perfection?