One of the strong points in Disney movies are the mesmerizing landscapes and castles from the land far, far away.
Wheres, most of us thought that these amazing landscapes are just a products of imagination, the truth is the most of them were based on a real location.
This is perfectly understandable since many of Disney numbers are based on existing traditional fairy tales, so the references to real-life castles were only appropriate.
Aladdin – Taj Mahal, Agra, India
Photo Credit: Disney
Image credits: Razvan Ciuca
Agrabah, Arabia is the central location in the popular 1992 Disney film, Aladdin. It is located near the Jordan River (as the narrator tells during the first minutes of the film). Agrabah’s ruler is the Sultan.Agrabah’s most prominent feature is its palace, which was inspired by the Taj Mahal, located in Agra, India. Though commonly mistaken by many to be a palace, the Taj Mahal is actually a mausoleum (tomb) for a dead panguian (wife of a sultan).
Atlantis The Lost Empire – Angkor Wat, Angkor, Cambodia
Photo Credit: Disney
Image credits: Oliver J Davis Photography
Angkor Wat is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world. It was originally constructed as a Hindu temple for the Khmer Empire, gradually transforming into a Buddhist temple toward the end of the 12th century.
Beauty and the Beast – Alsace, France
Photo Credit: Disney
Image credits: Tambako The Jaguar
The village was a location in the film Beauty and the Beast. It acted as Belle’s hometown and was described to be a relatively quiet, peaceful secluded village with every day like the day before. It was a provincial farming community which had a flower shop, a bakery, a wig shop, a bookstore, and a tavern. Belle’s Cottage was just a walk away. Because it was a farming community, livestock such as sheep and pigs are often seen in the area. It was located in a mountainous region with a riverbed closeby headed to the west behind Belle’s Cottage. The population of the village, or at least those who composed the mob late into the film, was at least 50.
Beauty and the Beast – Chateau De Chambord, Loir-Et-Cher, France
Photo Credit: Disney
Image credits: Sylvain Sonnet
Expansive, 16th-century, former royal palace with multiple towers and cupolas, surrounded by a moat
Brave – Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland, UK.
Eilean Donan is a small tidal island where three lochs meet, Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh, in the western Highlands of Scotland.
Frozen – St. Olaf’s Church, Balestrand, Norway
Photo Credit: Disney
Image credits: Heather Tesch
This church built in a stave church style was completed in 1897. It belongs to the Church of England and is under the spiritual administration of the Bishop of Gibraltar who is in charge of all Anglican churches on the European mainland
Mulan – Forbidden City, Beijing, China
Photo Credit: Disney
Image credits: Makenzie & Shakyston & Abigail
The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty—the years 1420 to 1912. It is located in the centre of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum.
Sleeping Beauty – Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany
Image credits: paparountas
The Royal castle from the Sleeping Beauty was inspired by Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany.Neuschwanstein Castle is a nineteenth-century Romanesque Revival palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany
Snow White – Segovia Castle, Spain
Image credits: Fernando de Antonio
The Emperor’s New Groove – Machu Picchu, Cusco, Peru.
Photo Credit: Disney
Image credits: Vegard Saetrenes
Disney animators drew their inspiration for Kuzco’s empire in The Emperor’s New Groove from the real life ruins of Machu Picchu, built by the Incans around 1450, and located in the region of Cusco, Peru. Kuzco, Cusco.
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame – Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France.
Notre-Dame de Paris ( French for “Our Lady of Paris”) is a historic Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement ofParis, France.The cathedral is widely considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture, and it is among the largest and most well-known church buildings in the world.
The Little Mermaid – Chateau De Chillon, Lake Geneva, Switzerland
The Château de Chillon is an island castle located on Lake Geneva, south of Veytaux in the canton of Vaud.
The Princess And The Frog – Louisiana bayous, USA.
A bayou is a Franco-English term used in the United States for a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area, and can refer either to an extremely slow-moving stream or river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), or to a marshy lake or wetland.