King Arthur Carrousel at Disneyland
Last year on our trip to Disneyland the Carrousel was under refurbishment. As I was waiting for my family I began to read some of the interesting signs posted on the construction walls and learned a lot about Walt and the Carrousel.
Walt loved to take his girls to Griffith Park to ride the Carrousel and as he sat on the park bench dreaming about his future park you can be sure that a Carrousel would be one of the cornerstones of his park. As plans for Disneyland began to unfold, Walt sent out a team to find a carrousel that would work for his park. One was found at a park called Sunnyside Beach Park in Toronto, Ontario. The 
Carrousel was built in 1875 and was used by the park since 1922.
As the team began to refurbish the carrousel, Walt decided he only wanted jumping horses so any other type of animal was removed and horses were added, acquiring them from Coney Island and other parks across the country. One other thing you will notice about the horses is that they are all white, Walt noticed the popularity of the white horse on the carrousel and had all horses painted white in the mid 70’s, but don’t worry they all still have their own name. A complete list of the horse’s names can be found at city hall.
Today you will find a carousel at all Disney locations:
- Disneyland Resort – King Arthur Carrousel and King Triton’s Carousel at California Adventure
- Walt Disney World Resort – Prince Charming Regal Carrousel at the Magic Kingdom
- Tokyo Disney Resort – Caravan Carousel
- Disneyland Paris – Le Carrousel de Lancelot (sounds fancy huh)
- Hong Kong Disneyland Resort – Cinderella Carousel
- Shanghai Disney Resort opening in 2015 will have a Fantasia themed carousel
Disney indicates that one in every five park visitors take a ride on the Carrousel, are you the one? Which one is your favorite?
