Yeah that's a really good point, it's such an iconic thing for the park, the resort and its history that it shouldn't, and hopefully won't, be copied. Compared to the other castles it seems so unique and such a part of DLRP that if it was copied it just wouldn't work - the Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella castles are less ornate and less tied to their locations, meaning they seem quite generic to a DLRP fan and can also be duplicated without any problems. If they used Le Chateau for an Australian park, for example, I think they'd be going too over-the-top. It was designed so much with Europe and particularly France in mind that I now think it just couldn't work if it was copied.
Also, as a general rule I think Disney needs to start being really careful about what it's cloning and where it's putting it. A major example of this from what I've seen of it is Lights! Motors! Action!. It's such an exact clone of the WDS attraction that it doesn't fit properly in D-MGM Florida at all. Disney obviously didn't realise just how different the styles of WDS and D-MGM are...
Looks rubbish, doesn't it? It just seems completely out of place on the edge of the park, and there's no kind of "icon" to be seen like there is in the WDS version (bell tower) - the original layout of the stunt arena was best...
Not a lot different, but it fits into it's surroundings far better and just a simple thing like having the layout designed so that the bell tower is in the background really makes a difference...
Perhaps WDW have plans to continue to change the area about "LMA", but for me it already seems like a good example of something which shouldn't have been duplicated. The same goes for Le Chateau - it's just so absolutely 100% designed for its original location that it CAN'T be put anywhere else!
Great topic idea Raptor, it certainly got me thinking anyway - I hope I've not used up all possible discussion about it in just 2 (very long) posts... :lol:
