The bridge to Sleeping Beauty Castle now has 2,735 pieces of granite underfoot, plus a compass rose that puts Flora and Merryweather's famous color fight in stone.
Guests walked across the bridge to Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Paris on Saturday, Oct. 31, for the first time since early May.
Disneyland Paris picked Halloween to bring it back, which feels right for a castle with a dragon sleeping in the basement.
Construction walls went up around the bridge in the spring, so for nearly six months, every classic castle photo came with a fence in it. The castle itself stayed open the whole time, and guests got in through side entrances from Fantasyland and near Adventureland.
Disneyland Paris Report shared the first photos Saturday morning, showing the new floor, the rebuilt railings and fresh rockwork along the moat.
What changed on Sleeping Beauty Castle's bridge?
Pretty much everything you can see, plus a lot you can't. That stamped concrete floor? Gone. In its place are 2,735 pieces of granite, each one cut to fit the curve of the arch, and Disneyland Paris says the new stone will be easier to keep up and more comfortable underfoot.
The part nobody takes pictures of got the most work. Crews rebuilt the arches and the carved stonework underneath that holds the bridge up, swapped out the railing posts and laid a new tropical timber deck on the drawbridge.
Those fancy limestone balusters along the sides were rebuilt and waterproofed, since they sit right in the spray of the castle's fountains. And yes, even the fake rock got a makeover. The rockwork under the arches was sculpted and painted by hand in five different shades.
Stefano Servi, a stage architect at Walt Disney Imagineering Paris, said the goal was to "restore the bridge to its former glory" while keeping the details that give it its character.
What does the new compass rose on the bridge mean?
It's a Sleeping Beauty joke you can stand on. The compass rose in the middle of the bridge uses the colors of the three good fairies from the 1959 movie: blue for Merryweather, red for Flora and green for Fauna.
Anyone who has seen the film knows the pink and blue part. Flora and Merryweather spend the ending zapping Aurora's dress back and forth between the two colors, and it's still switching in the very last shot.
A brass medallion at the center shows Aurora's crown wrapped in thorns, a nod to the thorny forest Maleficent grows around the castle. A brass fleur-de-lis marks north.
The brass is a throwback, too. Back when the park opened in 1992, the bridge had four brass letters set into it. They were pulled out during a refurbishment in 2010, and the new medallion and fleur-de-lis bring some of that brass back.
How long was the castle bridge closed?
About six months, which ran a little long. Disneyland Paris had pointed to the end of September at first, then quietly dropped that date. On Oct. 12, it said the bridge was coming back but still didn't say when.
The work changed the nighttime show, too. From May 4 through the end of September, Disney Tales of Magic ran without its fountain effects, and Disneyland Paris added new fireworks moments to fill the gap. The fountains are expected back now that the bridge is finished.
How old is Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Paris?
Older than the park. The castle was first shown to the public on Oct. 12, 1991, six months before Disneyland Park opened on April 12, 1992, so it quietly turned 35 this month, on the same day Disneyland Paris said the bridge was nearly done.
It isn't a copy of the castles in California or Florida, either. The Paris version, Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant, has a cave underneath called La Taniere du Dragon, where a huge animatronic dragon sleeps and wakes up every so often to growl at guests.
What else is happening at Disneyland Paris right now?
Halloween Night, for starters. On Saturday, the park added special characters, a nighttime version of Mickey's Halloween Celebration and the return of Phantom Manor's projection mapping, according to Disneyland Paris Report.
Christmas is already moving in behind it. Holiday decor is going up in restaurants like Walt's and Auberge de Cendrillon, and the reopened bridge means this year's castle Christmas photos won't have a construction wall in them.
Disneyland Paris has also set its New Year's Eve hours. Both parks will stay open until 1 a.m. on Dec. 31, according to Pixie Dust DLP.
Article compiled and written by Kambrea Pratt (editor-in-chief), Derek Gibbs (beat editor) and the Pirates & Princesses newsroom. Pirates & Princesses is part of WebReef Media.
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Hat Tips:
Disneyland Paris Report on X (Oct. 31, 2026), reopening photos and details, Halloween Night and holiday decor
WDW News Today, Shannen Ace (Oct. 30, 2026), reopening date and refurbishment details
Mickey From The UK, Ash Hales (Oct. 12, 2026), granite, compass rose, Imagineer quote, 1992 brass letters and castle history
Pixie Dust DLP (Sept. 29 and Oct. 31, 2026), closure timeline, fountain effects and New Year's Eve hours
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