magine if in the MK everyone had to get almost all the way to the castle stage before being allowing to go left or right.
YOU WILL GENUFLECT TO THE TREE OF LIFE ON THE WAY IN OR OUT... YOU HAVE NO CHOICE... ITS OUR FANTASTIC WEENIE AND YOU WILL ACKNOWLEDGE IT NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU'VE BEEN TO THE PARK... AND NOT FROM A DISTANCE. YOU WILL APPROACH OR YOU WILL BE FORBIDDEN ALL THE PARK HAS TO OFFER. LOOK. AT. THE. TREE!!! (by the way, hope you enjoyed the long walk we made you go thu first, you see, we wanted the tree in the *middle* of the park, and the park is really big and goes back a long way, so, it'd be like we put Spaceship Earth in the middle of World Showcase Lagoon, and didn't allow you to get to Soarin' or Test Track until you made the trek all the way to the lagoon first, but, c'mon, it's a pretty sweet tree, right? we put a lot of effort into it and you ought to see it.. or get the heck out of my park!!!)
Perhaps I'm mistaken, but isn't that exactly how MK is laid out? Instead of coming in the park entrance and immediately cutting left to Pirates or right to Buzz, you're forced to walk up Main Street almost all the way to the castle before you encounter your first decision point where you can turn left or right.
If anything, MK's overly elaborate arrival sequence with the first vista of the castle from TTC, followed by the monorail or ferry journey, park entrance, and clear view up Main Street is even more demanding of guests to stop and pay their respects at the icon. There's a perverse obsession with the castle and its approach that almost makes it seem like it's a religious object that must be venerated. And yet, each and every time you approach the park, you can hear the excitement of other guests as the anticipation builds as they get closer to it.
At DAK, the distance from the park entrance until the first major decision point is approximately 700'. At MK, the distance to the very first decision point next to Casey's Corner is about 760'; it's another 120' to the point where the road itself splits to form the hub, where most guests walk before turning.
The meandering paths through the Oasis obscure vistas of what lies ahead, potentially making it feel longer as it's intentionally designed to slow guests down to look at the details. However, the cattle chute of Main Street actually covers more distance as it funnels guests ever closer to the imposing landmark in the distance. There's also something to be said about the high-stress environment created by sending all guests through a single gauntlet of merchandise locations prior to the first decision point, rather than letting them spread out onto multiple secluded paths with no real sales locations until you're actually at the decision point.
Measured in a straight line, rather than along the path a guest would follow, the distance from the DAK entrance gates to the center of the Tree of Life is approximately 950'; from the MK gates to the center of the castle is approximately 1250'.
Although the arrival sequences at the two parks are designed to create very different atmospheres (anticipation and excitement vs. exploration and discovery), the distances to key features are actually quite similar. If anything, MK is larger and even more of an ordeal with its arrival sequence creating a long series of bottlenecks before guests reach the first decision point.
