This expansion is not about giving people a slice of France. It’s focus is instead on giving you a totally zany ratatouille adventure as a rat running around the world. That is something different and therefore the result should be something different.
This is what I was trying to say. I agree with you—“forgotten” isn’t the right word when it comes to storytelling, maybe a better word is “convoluted?” With the Ratatouille expansion, they’re telling a
different story than they were with the pavilion, and “magical portal arches/canopies” aside, it doesn’t seem to work well here. The transition from “idealized France“ to “cartoon Paris” is only part of the problem.
Also, many Disney guests may not be well-versed in the elements of design and planning that you’ve helpfully laid out above, but I think many (not all) will nevertheless
feel the differences. Thoughtful people may not be able to pinpoint exactly why the space feels,
off, but they certainly recognize that something doesn‘t quite ”work” (at least in the ways that other lands/areas in the parks do).
It used to be what we referred to as “the Disney difference,” but now I’m not sure what to call it.