Latest news with #SleepingBeautyCastle
The Independent
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
The original ‘Disney castle' finally named as Unesco Heritage site
The campest castle in Christendom? Without a doubt Neuschwanstein, deep in the Bavarian Alps. Amid meadows and mountains, King Ludwig II's hilltop citadel soars skyward. The playful twirls of towers and turrets will be instantly recognised by anyone who has visited a Disney theme park: Walt himself chose Neuschwanstein as the model for the Sleeping Beauty's castle. Copies of it decorate theme parks from California and Florida to Paris and Japan. The Bavarian monarch envisioned a medieval knights' castle that was 'holy and unapproachable' and where he might 'breathe the air of heaven'. Ludwig called in not architects, but theatrical set designers who shared his obsession with Wagnerian opera – and were clearly unfamiliar with the concept of Mässigung (moderation). They embellished Neuschwanstein with motifs from Wagner's greatest hits. Elements from Parsifal – which resonates with lost souls – decorate the Singers' Hall, including a mural of the sacred forest surrounding the Castle of the Holy Grail. The Schloss boss had a state to run. Ludwig ordered the living spaces and working-from-home area to be connected by an elaborate grotto. The royal bedroom, meanwhile, feels like a Byzantine chapel – complete with cherubs and starlight to lull a weary sovereign to sleep. One castle is not enough for any self-respecting king. The rest of Ludwig's portfolio comprises Herrenchiemsee, Linderhof and the Royal House at Schachen – all added to the Unesco list along with crowdpleaser Neuschwanstein. The Bavarian treasury, though, was not at all pleased. The breathtaking scale and intricacy of the king's vision took the state along the road to bankruptcy. Fifteen years after the foundation stone was laid at Neuschwanstein, but before all of Ludwig's grandiose plans were fulfilled, Bavaria 's political leaders had their king declared insane. He had lived for less than six months in the castle. Shortly afterwards, the beautiful dreamer died in mysterious circumstances - along with his doctor. Just seven weeks later, Neuschwanstein opened as a tourist attraction, despite the king's description of its location as. Since then the castle has become the icon of Bavarian tourism. And at last Unesco has recognised the cultural wealth of such glorious madness.
Daily Mail
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Revealed: British paedophile who 'married nine-year-old at Disneyland Paris' is Jacky Jhaj... the predator who masterminded a fake funeral with child actors and an explosion near the O2
The man who pretended to marry a nine-year-old girl at Disneyland Paris is a convicted British paedophile behind a string of bizarre social media stunts, MailOnline can reveal. Londoner Jaskarn or 'Jacky' Jhaj, 39, was arrested after paying £111,000 to stage the vile fake event at the fairlytale Sleeping Beauty castle, featuring musicians, a cake and chairs for hundreds of 'guests' He has been charged with fraud, breach of trust, money laundering and identity theft , French prosecutors said on Tuesday evening. Posing as the 22-year-old 'groom', Jhaj hired professional make-up artists to disguise his appearance, according to police sources in Paris. MailOnline has confirmed that fantasist Jhaj, who has a weird track record of elaborate bad-taste hoaxes, was jailed for four years in 2016 for grooming and sexually assaulting two 15-year-old schoolgirls. He lured them to parties by pretending to be a top Hollywood film producer and plying them with alcohol. Last year, he organised a mysterious fake funeral with an empty coffin, even hiring extras as mourners at the famous London Oratory in Brompton Road, Knightsbridge. The sex offender was also behind a similarly bizarre event in 2023 when a fake red carpet scene was shot in London's West End with 90 children and dozens more teenage extras hired to provide a crowd for the filming. Child actors as young as six were recruited as extras dressed in school uniforms and asked to pretend to faint as Jhaj paraded up and down wearing a red tuxedo as if he were a film star at a premier outside the Odeon Luxe cinema in Leicester Square. Jhaj was arrested following the phony movie premiere on suspicion of breaching a sexual harm prevention order and was released on bail. Jhaj, who poses as a film producer, was subsequently fined £1,500 at Isleworth Crown Court last July for breaching notification requirements and a sexual harm prevention order. The source of funding for his expensive set-ups is a mystery. In another of his stunts, last year, Jhaj, who has boasted on camera about being branded 'a dangerous sexual predator', was filmed naked in Silvertown, east London as he blew up a fake police van, sending its roof 50ft into the air. He was filming a scene for a production dubbed 'Project Dover' - which also involved a van with BBC World branding being set alight. In the 2024 stunt, Jhaj was filmed at a typewriter surrounded by hundreds of newspapers on the floor before he flicked cigarettes at a police car, a police van and a BBC World News-branded lorry which all exploded into a huge blaze that terrified locals. Questions remained over how the convicted criminal was apparently allowed to perform his terrifying stunt so publicly. This week, the eerie footage emerged of the supposed wedding between a '22-year-old' Brit and a nine-year-old girl at the Disney resort outside Paris. Around 100 seated guests were waiting for the ceremony to start as a female violin trio played at dawn before a stage strewn with flowers. French broadcaster BFM shared the bizarre footage as well as an image of a pink ribbon bracelet that read 'Margo & Jack 21st June 2025'. The Brit was arrested after park staff were shocked to see the 'scared and confused' child turn up for the event wearing what was said to be a bridal dress and four-inch heels taped to her feet, according to Le Parisien. Jean-Baptiste Bladier, the Meaux prosecutor, said the British suspect was also being investigated for 'corruption of a minor'. He is said to have disguised himself to 'play the role of the groom, having made up his face professionally', added M. Bladier. The girl's mother, who is believed to be of Ukrainian heritage and was later arrested, had reportedly said she wanted her daughter to feel like a Disney 'princess' for the day, according to DW. The girl is said to have been carried around because she could not walk in the extravagant costume. In his London funeral stunt, Jhaj reportedly paid over £10,000 to a funeral director for the service. The elaborate setup included a horse-drawn carriage, two luxury cars, and a full choir. However, when Father Rupert McHardy, 49, arrived in his robes to conduct the ceremony, he sensed that something was amiss. The 'guests' who showed up for the ceremony were late, many dressed in black puffer jackets and face masks. Father McHardy had been informed that the funeral was for Lauris Zaube, a 23-year-old Latvian man missing since a New Year's Eve party near an iced-over dam west of Riga. Jhaj, posing as the missing man's brother and using the name 'Clyde,' wore dark glasses and declined to provide more information when asked by Father McHardy. The sick hoax sparked international media attention when it emerged that Fr McHardy had dramatically stopped the service upon realising that it was being filmed, that the mourners were fakes and the coffin was empty. The serial prankster features in a two-hour online film uploaded in 2020 with the title 'Dangerous Sexual Predator' - appearing to refer to a description the police made of him when convicted four years earlier. The footage features an often bare-chested Jhaj driving around in a 4x4 vehicle filmed on a dashboard camera, with a regular flurry of young - often female - passengers joining him. In one section a young male passenger asks, 'What do you work as?', with Jhaj smirking as he replies: 'Do a few things, bruv, don't worry about it.' He is heard describing one female passenger as looking 'like a young Keira Knightley', while another schoolgirl protests she cannot get out of his vehicle 'because the teachers will see'. In this week's Disneyland stunt, 200 adult guests and 100 children aged five to 15 had been hired online for what was bizarrely advertised as a 'chic and elegant' 'rehearsal' wedding, Le Parisien reported. They were allegedly paid €200 each and had to 'enter the room, sit down, stand up, applaud and participate naturally and elegantly in this event filmed in a festive and classy atmosphere'. But organisers had booked the park for a function they said would be a genuine wedding ceremony. Police arrived and took the man into custody along with the girl's 41-year-old mother. The 'groom' - who the mother allegedly said was a 'friend' - later told police the aim had been to make a video for social media. The Meaux prosecutors said four people were questioned, the groom, believed to be the British organiser of the event, the mother of the child, a 41-year-old Ukrainian woman; and two Latvian nationals aged 55 and 24.' The 55-year-old man has claimed he was recruited to play the role of the bride's father for 12,000 euros but discovered last minute she was nine years old, local news reports. The prosecutor's statement added 'police custody of the British suspect and a Latvian national was also extended on charges of fraud and money laundering'.
Times
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Briton arrested after Disneyland Paris ‘mock wedding' with girl, 9
A British man was arrested on Sunday after an alleged attempt to stage a mock wedding with a nine-year-old girl before a crowd of 100 guests at Disneyland Paris. The man, 22, was allegedly the 'groom' at a bizarre staged ceremony at dawn on Saturday in front of the Sleeping Beauty castle in the theme park 20 miles east of Paris. The aim was to make a video for social media, he told police. Disney staff intervened to halt the action and called police when they spotted the girl, a nine-year-old Ukrainian, in a bridal dress. The organisers had booked the park — which is available to rent outside public visiting hours — for a function that they said would be a genuine wedding ceremony. The 'guests' were recruited online through adverts seeking 200 adults and 100 children aged between five and 15 to play the guests at a 'rehearsal' for a wedding at Disneyland. Video obtained by BFM TV showed about 100 seated guests awaiting the ceremony as a female violin trio played at dawn before a stage strewn with flowers. The event had cost the organiser €130,000, BFM said. Alexandre Verney, assistant prosecutor for the Seine-et-Marne département, said: 'Four people were arrested and questioned: the groom, who was believed to be the organiser of the event and is presumed to be British and aged 22; the mother of the child, a 41-year-old Ukrainian woman; and two Latvian nationals aged 55 and 24. 'It wasn't a wedding but a staged wedding that was to be filmed with a hundred extras. They privatised Disneyland, claiming that it was a real marriage.' The mother and the older Latvian were released after a medical examination of the girl showed no mistreatment or constraint. The Briton and the other Latvian were held for questioning over possible money laundering and fraud offences, the prosecutor's office said. Disney thanked its staff for their action in halting the event. A witness told Le Parisien: 'We were not told at any time that it was about a film shoot. We all thought we were going to part of a wedding. Everyone was stunned. No one expected this. Disneyland does things very well. They immediately cancelled when they understood that the bride was a kid. We were sickened by that.' The extras said they had been driven from central Paris on buses at 5am and given pink bracelets with the names of the 'bride and groom' printed on them. One of the extras, named Yeleen, who went to the ceremony with her daughter, said: 'I saw a little girl dressed in white. I saw her hair prepared with curls and a lady picking her up in her arms. At that moment, I was shocked. I realised when I saw the child. It was atrocious.'
USA Today
05-06-2025
- Business
- USA Today
New report finds Disneyland, Disney World contribute $67B to US economy
New report finds Disneyland, Disney World contribute $67B to US economy Show Caption Hide Caption Disneyland celebrates 70th anniversary with deals, new attractions Customers can access discounted ticket prices and see new shows over the summer at Disneyland. Scripps News Disneyland and Walt Disney World generate nearly $67 billion in annual economic impact and support more than 403,000 U.S. jobs, according to new report commissioned by Disneyland. Disney's domestic parks contribute almost as much to the U.S. economy as consumers spend on Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and Halloween combined. You don't need to be an economist to know that Disneyland and Walt Disney World bring in a lot of money, but for the first time, Disney is sharing just how much its domestic theme park resorts contribute to the overall U.S. economy. A new report commissioned by Disneyland and prepared by economists at Tourism Economics found that California and Florida resorts generated nearly $67 billion in annual economic impact and supported more than 403,000 direct and indirect jobs across the U.S. Prior to this report, Disney hadn't measured its impacts beyond the parks' local economies. 'To add some color to this number, consider that the two resorts' total combined impact of nearly $67 billion was nearly as much as U.S. consumers spent on Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and Halloween combined in 2024,' said Michael Marianna, head economist for Tourism Economics, which is a subsidiary of Oxford Economics, the largest group of private economists worldwide. Disney again? Why fans keep going back to Disney parks The report attributes one in eight Central Florida jobs to Disney and nearly one in 20 jobs in Orange County, California, where Disneyland is celebrating its 70th anniversary. Disney notes it also fuels thousands of small businesses, which provide everything 'from the paint used on Sleeping Beauty Castle to specialty popcorn served in the theme parks.' 'Our destinations create economies far beyond the gates of our parks, and when we invest in the groundbreaking experiences that only Disney can deliver, growth follows,' Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro said in a press release. In 2023, Disney pledged to invest $60 billion over the next decade to 'turbocharge' growth across its Experiences segment, which includes domestic and international parks as well as Disney Cruise Line. Half of that money is earmarked for U.S. parks, including Magic Kingdom's largest expansion to date, doubling the size of Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure, and building new lands and attractions like Disney's first Monster's Inc. land at Disney's Hollywood Studios and new 'Coco' and 'Avatar'-inspired attractions at Disneyland Resort.
Thrill Geek
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Thrill Geek
Savannah Bananas Visit Disneyland Resort
Today, May 28, guests at Disneyland Resort went wild for a one-day-only event featuring the wildly entertaining Savannah Bananas baseball team, also known as The Greatest Show in Sports. The resort has released new photos capturing the excitement of the team's special appearances at Disneyland Park earlier today. The Savannah Bananas visit Disneyland Resort on May 28, 2025. The schedule included an 11:00AM PT dance performance in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle and a 12:30PM cavalcade down Main Street, U.S.A. Select team members joined an energetic cavalcade along the park's parade route before treating fans to a lively performance of 'Hey Baby' in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle. Banana-themed snacks and drinks were also available throughout the resort, adding to the festive atmosphere. The Savannah Bananas visit Disneyland Resort on May 28, 2025. The schedule included an 11:00AM PT dance performance in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle and a 12:30PM cavalcade down Main Street, U.S.A. The Savannah Bananas' visit comes at the perfect time, as Disneyland Resort kicks off its historic 70th anniversary celebration and just ahead of the team's upcoming road games against the Firefighters at Angel Stadium on May 30–31, 2025. Clint Gamache is the owner of ThrillGeek. He started ThrillGeek to share his love of theme/amusement parks and pop culture with the world. You can find him at Halloween Horror Nights. Also, be sure to follow him on Twitter/X, Instagram @iamcg83
