Stories in Stained Glass: Illuminating DLP Details

On the 20th of March 1993, Disneyland Paris opened La Galerie de la Belle au Bois Dormant inside Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. This stunning walkthrough on the upper level of Sleeping Beauty’s castle epitomized the craft and art of all the imagineers and artisans who worked to create the magic of Disneyland Paris. Carefully carved ornaments, intricate tapestries and detailed decorations painted on the inner dome of the castle are already awe-inspiring, but the showstopper up here must be the stained glass windows retelling Sleeping Beauty’s tale.

The nine arched windows were masterfully created by Paul Chapman, formerly artisan to the British Royal court who was also instrumental in the restoration of the windows of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. At the request of Disney, he came out of retirement at the age of 80 to design and oversee this project. His inspiration is evident from the attention to detail and colours present in every pane, as the characters come alive when the afternoon sun shines through them, illuminating the gallery in an abundance of magical hues.

It just so happened that we at Dedicated to DLP were already working with designer, illustrator and theme entertainment creator Rob Yeo on our rebrand which drew on this stained glass element when Disneyland Paris highlighted the 29th anniversary of the gallery’s opening. Distinctly DLP, Rob describes how the heritage of not only La Galerie but quite a few other stained glass windows throughout the park formed the basis of his design.

“When Disneyland Paris was under construction, hundreds of talented craftspeople were brought in from around Europe to make the park the most detailed and ornate to date. So when I was thinking of how to approach the D2DLP logo, I thought about the stained glass of Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant. This approach is a way of alluding to Paris specifically, and standing out visually from other Disney-focused websites and their logos”

Designer & Illustrator Rob Yeo

With our new logo, we want to pay homage to the essence of Disneyland Paris, its attention to detail, the magic it evokes and the light it brings into our lives. Sometimes, these hidden gems are overlooked, but we hope to inspire everyone to seek out these windows on their next visit. Look around and look up because there’s magic everywhere!

Stained glass images courtesy of Disneyland Paris