Look at your picture again. Do you see anyone ever walking through the stones or even lost? Every person in this photo shows them walking an easy path next to the planter or elsewhere around the stones.
MK's entrance to new visitors isn't very visual either. Most new visitors expect to see the castle the moment they walk through the gates but it doesn't happen until a coule of minutes later. If people navigate through MK's entrance tunnels what's the big deal about heading straight towards SE in front of you? It never been a problem in my mind. Again...my own opinion.
True, but a few things.
First, twenty people are not a good representation of crowd behavior, especially when it appears the only open gate is directly in front of the center entrance.
Second, there are openings in the first set of stones that lead to blocked pathways. People don't walk between them because they are very offputting in that regard. I argue that the most effective design WOULD have people walking between them.
Third, if you look at the pathway, they cut directly across it directly. In fact, they cut back a little bit toward the entrance. People don't travel in angles like that naturally. It's a barrier to the mind. It's not a funnel like the MK entry is (expansive, then curves you in - I know it is actually squared off, but people walk in curved lines). OR, it directs the eye to the sides AWAY from SSE and the central pathway (we go from high to low naturally when it is in front of us).
The problem is that you have two competing structures here. The stones, albeit harshly, push you toward the center and back. But, the center is blocked by the planter, so, in a visual line from the sides, you are pushed right back out the front gate. We follow the acute angle whenever possible; it's human nature.
When you walk in, you aren't really sure where to go because an obstacle is in your way no matter where you go, especially from the side entrances where the walkway is not directly in front of you.
Again, I understand your point, but I'm trying to analyze it from design perspectives. It's basic design principles on how one's eye works and, in turn, their movements. While people can figure out the center walkway, an entry way is the LAST place you want that to happen. You should see the target (the fountain or walkways under SSE in this case), and everything around you should push you directly toward that.
Again, this could be done very easily by either pushing the stones closer together, visually changing the concrete color, and or, lining up any walkways through the stones.
