I have reached what many will consider the obsessed stage but after listening to the podcast discussion and hearing "bigger is not always" better, I really wanted to "objectify" whether in fact DL is smaller and more intimate. So I turned to Google Earth. The results surprised me.
First let's compare the width of
Disneyland to the Magic Kingdom. I measured from the eastern most train track to the western most train track (or vice versa) in each park.
Magic Kingdom:
Disneyland:
MK width is .44 of a mile.
DL width is .40 of a mile.
Assuming my Google Earth measurements are accurate, that makes MK 211 feet wider than Disneyland.
I also measured some attraction to attraction distances. Suppose I want to go from Haunted Mansion to Space Mountain. I measured from the start of each line (actually, I measured from the covered start of Space Mountain in DL because a good bit of Space Mountain in DL is walking though the restaurant).
MK:
DL:
MK is .35 of a mile.
DL is .32 of a mile.
That is 138 feet longer in MK than DL though I think this is within a margin of error.
Then, I compared the distance to the Partners' Statue from the train track at the entrance.
MK:
DL:
MK is .17 of a mile.
DL is .16 of a mile.
That makes the MK distance 52 feet longer. Again, I think most of this is within a healthy margin of error.
Suffice to say, at this point, I had to measure the length and width of Main Street. For length, I measured from facade to facade south to north. For width, I measured from curb to curb west to east.
MK Main Street Length
DL Main Street Length
MK Main Street Width
DL Main Street Width
So, Main Street USA in the MK is 357.14 feet long (give or take a few feet) and 31.64 feet wide (give or take a few feet).
Main Street USA in DL is 339.97 feet long (give or take a few feet) and 30.04 feet wide (give or take a few feet).
So then I measured the width of Town Square:
MK
DL
MK Town Square width is 247.88
DL Town Square width is 241.27
But I do not believe these measurements reflect the most accurate distance because I measured from facade to facade and, trying to be honest, I ended the eastern measurement at DL at the overhang above Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. If that were factored into the measurements, DL's town square would be a about a foot shorter in width than the one in the MK.
These measurements confirmed that MK is in fact larger than DL but the size difference is no where near as significant as it appears. Yet, there is no denying that DL feels markedly more intimate.
I wonder if it is the castles.