All that glitters is not gold — at least when it comes to certain Disney World changes…
Disney World is ALWAYS changing, and right now, that’s a bit of an understatement. New lands are being created, restaurants are being refurbished, and the landscape of Disney World — as a whole — is in the midst of a massive transformation. There’s a lot going on at one time right now. Over at Magic Kingdom, Cinderella Castle is getting a makeover that has largely been well-received. However, now that the work has actually started, some fans are rightfully getting irritated…
The famous castle is getting a fresh paint job that will remove the pink theming that was installed for Magic Kingdom’s 50th Anniversary Celebration back into its classic blue, cream, and grey color scheme!
So many fans — including us — are stoked for the change…but that doesn’t mean it’s all sunshine and roses. This repaint won’t happen overnight, and growing pains have already popped up.
While the castle repainting will only take place in the mornings and equipment will be stored away by noon each day, not every fan knows this, so any morning pictures will be ROUGH.
But since you’re here and reading all about this repaint project, you don’t need to run into this issue! We recommend waiting until the afternoon to grab that pretty castle picture you can show off to all your friends and family back home!
We wish the only problem plaguing the castle was crane visibility. Unfortunately, three castle shows are all affected by the work being done.
The first is the 8:55 AM Let The Magic Begin welcome show, which signals the official park opening each morning. Familiar faces like Mickey, Minnie, and the Disney Princesses will be absent, as the show is on pause during the castle’s repaint. This is tentative, so be sure to check the My Disney Experience App for showtimes during your trip, just in case.
Mickey’s Magical Friendship Faire is also affected, as it is now only scheduled to play daily at 1 PM, 2:05 PM, 4 PM, and 5:15 PM. This popular show features Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Daisy, and characters from Frozen, The Princess and the Frog, and Tangled.
Again, we recommend checking the My Disney Experience App for possible showtime changes.
Sadly, the Magic Kingdom fireworks are also affected. Happily Ever After will keep its 9 PM showtime, but the projections are slightly changed during the show, so you won’t get the normal experience you’ve become accustomed to.
The castle repainting began on January 28th, 2026, and will wrap up later this year.
While these annoyances have certainly been unwelcome, we’re still so excited to see the castle with its fresh coat of paint! We’ll be covering progress over the coming months, as well as all the latest Disney World updates, so keep it posted right here at AllEars to stay in the know!
Disney World Just Took Its First Step Toward Repainting Cinderella Castle
How are you feeling about the Cinderella Castle repaint? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
It doesn’t bother me at all. I was never a fan of the pink paint because it was too Sleeping Beauty Castle instead of Cinderella Castle. I’m willing to deal with “inconveniences” in order to get rid of the color scheme…
Anyone that has minimal understanding of things Disney should know about the painting, and most newbies aren’t hopping, but spending all day at MK, so photos, etc. should not be an issue. I look forward to the classic colorway when we visit later this year.