FROM: Park Perfect Published Daily
Perfect Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
This week's windfall of perfect pics from Disney World comes courtesy of Jeff Christiansen. Yesterday, we enjoyed a delicious view of Tonga Toast, and now we'll work off some of those calories on the Prince Charming Regal Carrousel.
For decades, this 'merry-go-round' was called Cinderella's Golden Carrousel. Then, in 2010, Disney changed the name to Prince Charming Regal Carrousel, though many people do still call it the merry-go-round, or more simply, the horses.
Why the name change?
According to Disney, it was time to spotlight Prince Charming's role in the Cinderella legend. They even created a back-story:
Following their fairy-tale romance and happily-ever-after wedding, Cinderella and Prince Charming took up residence in Cinderella's Castle. With peace throughout the kingdom, Prince Charming had time to practice for jousting tournaments. In the countryside near the castle, he built a training device of carved horses, on which he could practice the art of ring-spearing, a tournament event in which a knight rides his horse full speed, lance in hand, toward a small ring hanging from a tree limb, with the object of spearing the ring. This event was known by various names throughout the lands, but generally came to be called "carrousel."
The carrousel device drew the attention of the villagers, who wanted to take a turn on this amazing spinning contraption. So Prince Charming had a second carrousel constructed closer to the Castle, where everyone could take a spin on this wondrous invention. Instead of a working knight's training device, however, this new carrousel is more befitting its regal location in the Castle Courtyard - its rustic training horses replaced with ornately decorated prancing steeds adorned with golden helmets and shields, flower garlands, feathers and other festoons. Prince Charming invites one and all to test their horsemanship skills and to enjoy their own happy ending.
Many people don't know that the carousel had another name, given to it by the folks who built it in 1917: Liberty. I'm guessing the builders chose that name because they were from Philadelphia, home of the Liberty Bell. Makes sense, and unless you have a better story, I'm sticking to it.
One of the horses has a golden bow tied to its tale. That horse, supposedly, is Cinderella's horse, and kids whose parents are aware of this park legend make a bee-line for it.
Perhaps the best times to ride the horses is at night, when the carrousel is lit up. That's when Jeff Christiansen captured his perfect pic:
The images in Park Perfect this week are courtesy Jeff Christiansen.
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