7 Tips To Snag the Perfect Photos of Cinderella’s Castle at Walt Disney World

How to Get the Best Photos of Cinderella’s Castle at Walt Disney World

If you want to get the perfect photos of Cinderella’s Castle as an iconic souvenir from Walt Disney World, follow these 7 tips!

The most iconic landmark in Disney World (or any of the Disney parks around the world) is Cinderella’s Castle at the end of Main Street in the Magic Kingdom. For most visitors, a fabulous family photo–or selfie–in front of this castle is a coveted souvenir. The issue is how to get this photo without the teeming masses of other tourists unintentionally photobombing you. Here are seven suggestions for getting the ideal photo, ranging from most expensive to absolutely free!

Breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table

If you can get a reservation for either before or around park opening, get there to the park at around 7:30 (or earlier, of course, if your reservation is even earlier). You will be able to get beautiful photos not only outside but also inside the castle. By the way, dining here is the only way to get those interior photos.

Plus you will have a fantastic experience that includes interactions and photos with several of the princesses. You will, however, be paying for this experience. It’s two table service credits if you are on the dining plan. Either way, Disney will place a $73
hold on your charge card per adult, plus a lesser hold per child.

Extended Early Morning Magic

On select Sundays and Tuesdays, you can enter the Magic Kingdom at 7:45, and from then until 10am, you can eat breakfast and ride certain rides without any lines. This also means that, if you get to park a little early, you will be able to get those fabulous castle pics.

This option is also quite pricey–$79 per adult and $69 per child–plus tax, in addition to a regular park ticket. But you will also get a decent breakfast buffet (currently being offered at Cosmic Ray’s but subject to change) and
walk-on access to the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Princess Fairytale Hall, “It’s a Small World”, Under the Sea ~ Adventures of the Little Mermaid, and Mad Tea Party.

Breakfast Buffet at Crystal Palace

This meal also requires a credit card hold and is pretty pricey for a buffet, but it’s all you can eat. The quality is not top-notch, but it’s decent. Plus, you get lots of interaction with Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and the rest of the gang.

Again, aim for a reservation before or around park opening, so you can get in early to get your photos. An added treat is that many of the tables actually offer a view of the castle.

Breakfast at Be Our Guest

Shockingly, breakfast (and lunch) here is considered Quick Service if you are on the dining plan! If you are paying out-of-pocket, the meals are about $30, which is pricey for what you get. However, dinner here is now considered signature dining, so breakfast is a relatively cheap way to check out this beautiful and fun castle.

If the park opens at 9, get your reservation for around 9:30. Get to the park early for your front of castle pics, plus you will still be allowed around behind the castle (to the left) at least 45 min before your reservation. Just to the side of the castle is a beautiful spot for photos against a wall (so no one behind you) with the castle in the back. Then keep going past the back of the castle.

You will be able to get beautiful pics of the castle and Fantasyland with few other people around. You can also go ahead and get in line for Mine Train or Pooh. The lines will look long, but as soon as the park opens at 9, you will walk right onto the ride and finish in plenty of time to make your breakfast reservation.

Breakfast at the Plaza

This restaurant began offering breakfast only recently. The food is good and, amazingly, you can get a nice breakfast for under $20, although breakfast here does count as Table Service if you are on the dining plan. An early reservation here is a great not-so-expensive way to guarantee yourself early entry for those awesome photos.

Arrive early

Disney now allows guests to enter the park an hour before rope drop, meaning that, if the park opens at 9, you can enter and get as far up Main Street as the castle but not beyond–unless you have a breakfast reservation–at 8. So, if you have breakfast reservation, get to the park by 7:30 for your castle photos. If you don’t, get in line early so you can get in at 8. Once you are in, there will be photographers all along Main Street willing to take those shots.

Walk right past them quickly to whichever photographer is closest to the castle. That way, you will have the fewest people in your shot and the castle will loom larger. The photographers will take the professional shots. But they will also take shots of you with your own phone or camera.

If all else fails…

Even if you don’t have breakfast reservations or you just aren’t an early riser, you can still get classic photos with the castle without other people in them (except maybe way off in the distance). You just can’t get these photos right in front of the castle. The first option is to go around the castle to the left, where there will be a wall with the castle behind it. This is the same place described above in the Be Our Guest description.

Often, there will even be a professional photographer there to take photos during the day. The other option is to the right, where you turn from Main Street to cross the bridge to Tomorrowland. Partway across the bridge is a spot (it’s even marked with a sign in the grass indicating that it’s an ideal photo spot) where you can pose with the castle in the background. Again, a professional photographer is often there.

So, there you go! 7 super fun ways to snag the perfect photo of Cinderella’s Castle at Walt Disney World!