On the visuals released by Disneyland Resort Paris in early July, the third spire of Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant was occupied by Winnie the Pooh, who was assumed to have floated to this position using the large purple balloon in his right hand. As a character to which Disney only own a license and not the full copyright, Winnie was never featured as one of the “spotlight” characters in these visuals, which are to be used by travel companies and the press next year as brochure covers and marketing material. Pinocchio however, despite not actually being featured on the castle itself, did receive two visuals, the daytime version of which can be seen below.

Now, over three months since we first presented the original visuals, there’s been a quick design change and update the Character Castle Makeover, with A.A. Milne’s “outsider” Winnie character being replaced by the “in-house” Pinocchio and Figaro. Every time Disney uses a character or creation from the world of the Hundred Acre Wood, they must credit the author at the same time, which would surely make presenting the original visuals much more complicated. And so, either as an easy option or for his newfound popularity with the resort (Pinochio is currently starring in both Halloween parades for the first time) Pinocchio and Figaro have pushed Winnie from the castle. Well, at least the Silly Old Bear had a balloon to float him gently back down to earth!

The new visuals also present another change, this time for every single character. Whilst in the original visuals the characters held fifteen bare wax candles, these new visuals show an extra dip into the 15th money pot, with new, stylised candles for each of the Disney classics. Whilst the wax now features a curling fringe all the way up to the flame, the biggest change is the addition of a shiny gold candle holder at the base, with a spiked end.

The updates also include the addition of spotlight visuals for the Disney VIPs, with Donald, Goofy, Minnie and Pluto now receiving their own, personalised images, giving us a closer look at the designs for their castle statues.

Whilst these visuals are, of course, simply for promotional purposes, the quick change of these two elements without doubt suggests a change for the decorations themselves, as designs are finalised for our spectacular 15th Anniversary year. A glance at these visuals gives an immediate feeling of quality and style for the celebrations. There’s no giant birthday cake or bright jester hats, for once Disney have produced castle decorations that are subtle, elegant and more than welcome.

You can find out more about the 15th Anniversary here, or see the full collection of original visuals here.

All visuals © Disney.