Quinta da Felicidade: Sintra's Disney palace hidden in the hills

It is known by many as the Sintra's Disney palace, but its real name is Quinta da Felicidade. This impressive Portuguese palace takes up 9,000m2 of the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park and was once a sign of great luxury: a mansion with three swimming pools, a ballroom and its very own Disney palace.

The replica of the Disney palace built next to the mansion, was a gift that the businessman Carlos Maia Nogueira wanted to give his daughter as a "dollhouse". Let's find out more about the history of this Disney Palace hidden in Sintra.

Maria Dúlia Fox

Disney Palace in Sintra: the story of this fairytale

The former owner of the space and the man responsible for building this small Disney palace was Carlos Maia Nogueira, one of the founders of the Solbi company that was a market leader, having sold the first personal computer in Portugal.

The entrepreneur bought the land for 70 thousand escudos, at the time, from an Englishman married to a Spanish woman with the name, Felicity, which gave rise to the name of Quinta da Felicidade.

However, only the name of the farm remained, the original house was demolished, without legal authorisation, to give way to the luxurious mansion of unique construction with an investment of millions of euros. The truth is that, initially, this mansion right next to the Disney Palace had some impressive details that justify the investment.

In addition to the three outdoor pools, there was a heated indoor pool made with blue marble from Venezuela. But if that's not enough to impress you, this mansion already had heated floors at the time and stands out for having the largest marble columns built in Portugal.

Everything in this luxury mansion was thought through in detail by the owner, and security was no exception: besides a hidden safe, there was also a bunker that would allow the family to be safe in case of danger. Between 1995 and 1998, the palace received several demolition orders from the Cascais City Council, but this never actually happened.

Andreia Carrilho

Disney Palace in Sintra: permission from Disneyland Paris

Next to the mansion, there is a small replica of the palace at Disneyland Paris. The businessman even asked Disneyland Paris for authorisation to recreate the existing palace in the French theme park. As well as receiving authorisation, Carlos Manuel Maia Nogueira also received photos and blueprints to help in the process.

Host to company training sessions, parties and international events

Quinta da Felicidade was not only a family home, but was also rented to the owner's company Solbi, which paid a monthly fee of 10 thousand euros. There were several company training courses, parties and international brand events that took place in the building, for example: the famous company Intel even presented a processor in the palace in Sintra. However, the end of this golden period in the 2000s, and the respective accumulation of debts, led to the end of all luxuries.

Andreia Carrilho

Where is Quinta de Felicidade in Sintra?

Its location is unknown to many, only the most curious have access to its coordinates.And unfortunately, Quinta da Felicidade, which once seemed like something out of a fairy tale, now looks more like something out of a horror movie.

This place has gained more and more attention from the curious, but it has also been vandalised, destroying that beautiful image that once existed. Currently, the space is owned by the bank.

However, even though different with the passing of the years, this Disney Palace of Sintra still stands, and is waiting for better days, not losing its beauty and still managing to make us dream.