Main Street U.S.A: Disney Paris vs Magic Kingdom

[WondersOfLife]

From Google, Disneyland Paris looks a lot more beautiful.

I will be going to Disneyland Paris next Fall in 2016! So I'll have my final decision then c:

 

[180º]

WDW appears slightly shorter than Disneylands. The width difference is negligible but DLs shorter buildings make the width seem more in Anaheim.

They're pretty much the same length, although Disneyland has the Plaza Inn and Plaza Pavilion jutting out into the hub whereas the Magic Kingdom's Main Street falls completely off once it gets to the bridge (or whatever it is now) with Crystal Palace and the Tomorrowland Noodle Station pushed way out horizontally, roughly on the same latitude as the end of Main Street proper. From there, however, it's still an ever-so-slightly longer walk to the center of the hub than it is at Disneyland, even excluding DL's hub cafes. MK's hub is just that much bigger.

The DL buildings are about half as deep on either side, and WDW's are taller. DL's sidewalks have been paved with brick since the mid-'90s. I think they may be slightly narrower than WDW's, but I believe the road is the same width, accounting for that negligible overall width difference. And DL has no incline, save for the uphill entry into Town Square.

My only aesthetic qualm with DL's Main Street is that it looks faintly stucco-ey, in the same way WDW's looks faintly plasticky, so I think it's a draw in terms of realism. The WDW architecture is lavish, whereas DL's is a little more humble, but I think I prefer the Midwestern treatment at DL to the New England treatment of WDW and subsequent parks for its naïve, small-town feeling.

And Disneyland still has Main Street vehicles, multiple live bands, trees in Town Square, etc.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Paris, no question. DLP's Main Street isn't only the best Main Street ever built, and the best "land" in that park, but it really should have retired the "Main Street" concept entirely. Once you do that there's no real reason to keep trying.

Slightly off topic, but will you be writing a blog post on DLP soon?

 

[FigmentForver96]

From Google, Disneyland Paris looks a lot more beautiful.

I will be going to Disneyland Paris next Fall in 2016! So I'll have my final decision then c:

Its great, you will love it! While it has troubles in the past, the park is starting to pick itself back up.

On a side note. One thing I REALLY praise them for in Paris is no theater or cinema. (Hold your pitchforks down) When a park like Magic Kingdom is so crowded I feel things like that can really cause clutter on the street. I feel like replacing the theater with the firehouse and the cinema with the motor store would be great steps. Maybe not those stores exactly, but you know what I mean.....alright....enough brainstorming.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Slightly off topic, but will you be writing a blog post on DLP soon?

She just posted one!

 

[englanddg]

WDW appears slightly shorter than Disneylands. The width difference is negligible but DLs shorter buildings make the width seem more in Anaheim.

Purely subjective standpoint.

I found the Main St. at Disneyland to be more...in line with what I remember Main St. being.

At WDW, it long since has turned into a huge congestion point. Basically it's where you rush through to get somewhere else, crowd around for the parades, and then rush back through the shopping mall atmosphere (or rush through to escape it)...

The loss of center street really breaks the whole concept, as you can't really "experience" a relaxing trip back in time at WDW anymore. It's more just like...hey, welcome to Disney, we have this because, well, Disney...

Things don't work there (even if still present)...

- Dapper Dans
- Carriages and vehicles
- Facades...there is no "facade", they linked all the shops together and now it's just one jumbled mess of shopping and food for the most part...I get WHY they did this, but...

Toss into that the fact that finding a relaxing place there is nearly impossible, even during off peak times. Nowhere to sit and enjoy...it's a rush through to get to the rides.

Disneyland's is similar in many respects, but at least they TRIED a lot harder to keep the isolated shops going. For example, the Penny Arcade facade still exists at both DLC and MK...at MK, it's now a bland fashion thing which blends into the larger emporium which has taken over that whole side of the street with the exception of Caseys...at Disneyland, at least as of my visit a few years ago, they at least tried. They kept the facade and a few machines near the entrance before you delve into a shopping mall "world of disney" style setting...

I get the WHY, I just think it really devalues the entire section of the park...imho. It's a well themed Walmart.