The Intriguing Tale & Hidden Wonders of New Orleans Square

friends New Orleans square is a Disney Masterpiece that we will never ever see replicated in the way that it was crafted here at home in Disneyland today let's break down why New Orleans square is so unique in the world of Disney Parks why it will never be replicated and how this was Walt Disney's last thing that he touched this is Disney in his prime and whatever may happen at Walt Disney World with Tiana's Bayou Adventure moving into their Frontier Land There are some credible sources saying that Frontier land at the Magic Kingdom is going to get massaged into into a New Orleans style land but no matter what they do there it could never ever be what we have here at Disneyland and if you think about it when Tiana's Bayou Adventure does show up out at the Magic Kingdom if the furthest end of Frontier land does get transformed into a New Orleans themed land it will never be anything close to what we have here that area of land is very very long kind of lazy design but also designed for the efficiencies of the popularity that they expected over at the Magic Kingdom and they weren't wrong so their Frontier land just being a long long stretch a very long Disney Road it makes sense for that location but whatever sort of New Orleans theme may show up there it will still sit on on that long gated footprint it'll just feel like a New Orleans Street not a New Orleans square and don't get me wrong don't don't think that I'm saying something bad about Magic Kingdom and its Frontier land I absolutely love it it's more of what I love but looking at how uniquely Disneyland's New Orleans square is the narrow corridors the way that you can get lost going up and down its streets it's not the way that they design their theme parks anymore the closest thing is maybe the center part of Batu but even Star Wars Galaxy's Edge is much wider much much more Broad in its approach than the narrow hug that is Waltz New Orleans Square so even if a New Orleans area does get constructed out on the East Coast it will be just a New Orleans area it won't be the square it won't have the charm the other thing that we've seen Disney build it somewhat close to New Orleans Square would be the world showcase at Epcot but it's different in that each one of those Pavilion is much bigger much broader much wider and even though some of them do have that culdesac that you can go back into the end of that particular nation and the world showcase they limit the Epic escapism that New Orleans Square represents because of it actually being a square where you can go down each of its corridors and at some point feel a little bit lost and theme parks these days aren't designed for you to feel lost that was the thing that impressed me about Galaxy Edge is that they went there they they went the way to give that sort of level of like I I think I'm going in the right direction but I don't know exactly where I'm at New Orleans Square possesses that and I think that this was a working proof of concept for the different Pavilions over at the world showcase not that they built this to do that but when they were thinking about how do we make Epcot work how do we create this landscape of different nations all living next to each other what have we done in the past that we could replicate and I believe it was here in the Square where they got the idea of what if what we did back in '6 at Disneyland what if that was how we approached each of the different nations that would make up the world showcase but the world showcase is a bunch of different nations much bigger build outs but the world showcase is the attraction whereas in Disneyland just New Orleans Square was originally the attraction without any actual attractions arriving rides that is but it would take a year before an actual ride would show up in new Orland Square we would see pirat show up in ' 67 and then the Mansion would finally show up in 1969 making New Orleans Square truly unique that it was just an attraction all into itself a land designed pretty much for adults where shopping and dining were the centerpieces of the land and its opening days and for all the people that cry Disney adult Disneyland has always been designed with adults in mind children as well it's for children of all ages and this was a land that was designed with more of the adult part of the family in mind and I think that's kind of why it's become such a favorite land to most hardcore Disney fans there's a level of authenticity here a level of design a level of thinking that is just so incredibly rare for a theme park even kind of rare for a Disney theme park putting it all in perspective this land was Walt Disney at his prime his last big project this was him taking everything that he had learned as an illustrator artist Movie Maker theme park inventor a general artist and hard worker it all got poured into New Orleans Square his last big swing at bat and I think when you look at it in that context it does look like this this is a body of work where somebody put all of their ambition all of the little lessons that life had taught them led him to this moment to make this particular land Main Street USA authentically feels like a street from turn of the century and it's impressive don't get me wrong but there is something about New Orleans square that feels like a real little city it feels more properly to scale it feels wildly authentic which is why I believe this was looked at as the template for the world showcase at Epcot if we want to make these immersive little pockets where each one truly feels like you've stepped into another country what is our template for creating this a lot of times as a designer you're always looking at what have we built before what's the proof of concept and how do we expand upon that idea the first time I went to Epcot and I started stepping into all the different little Pavilions I realized oh oh my it's like New Orleans Square level of design and creativity replicated each time I walk into one of these different Pavilions as someone who absolutely adores this land and this flavor of theme park design when I get to the world showcase I was like yo there couldn't be anything that's designed more perfectly for me because I love the idea that each one of these little lands based off of New Orleans Square give you the opportunity to feel lost in feeling lost in a theme park feeling lost as an adult in a controlled environment there's something kind of fun about like I don't know where I'm going I just know I can't wait to get there and what I mean about feeling lost is both New Orleans square and The Pavilions at the world showcase that had inspired what makes them so much more special than a straightway like Frontier land both here at Disneyland and out at the magic King kingdom is when it's just a straightaway you just can always see where you're going but with this culdesac style design it's amazing because as you walk into New Orleans square and the showcases that have been themed after it once you get around the turn once you make it into the dead end of the culde saac you eventually will get to a spot where you can no longer see out anymore that's the moment where you're fully inside of the story so by the time you get in deep you round the turn you get to a moment where everywhere you look is the theme that you're supposed to be in Main Street USA it's my all-time favorite land but it doesn't have this level of escapism because of its linear design but with the New Orleans Square jigsaw puzzle that's been replicated with the world showcase you have the ability to keep walking through it and to eventually get lost inside of the story inside of the city inside of the country that you're supposed to be in and for someone who was born with a really great internal navigational system I love the spin around ISM of these type of lands this is something that they don't do often and to the level of design and detail and authenticity New Orleans Square will never be replaced and something like this will never be built again it is truly one of those things like the mat horn Fantasmic on the shores of the rivers of America that make Disneyland so special because Disneyland is all about problem solving this is one of the last big things built inside of the burm there was a lack of space to put New Orleans Square together and that has a lot to do with its tight footprint and the square design with all the twist and turns was because they had to fit a lot in a really small area hey friends if you're enjoying tonight's video do me a favor subscribe to hey bricky help me get all the way up to 50K I would greatly appreciate it and I hope you enjoy this sort of quieter video looking at the heart and art of Disneyland now back to today's story I'm so glad you showed up and you know maybe I'm unique in this Spirit but I feel like walking through New Orleans Square all on its own is an attraction to me and it's hard for me to come to the park and not want to walk through the square proper you know the part out on the river that's great but actually coming in and walking through this little jigsaw puzzle and just feeling the hug of the tight corridors around you with the tall walls all the authentic rod iron gates around you the street numbers and street signs that tell you where you're at inside of Disneyland I just love it it makes the park feel so real and New Orleans Square gives it that authentic vibe that Walt always wanted to make Disneyland not feel like an amusement park and probably not feel like a theme park but feel like a real little city and being able to get lost in New Orleans square is one of my favorite things to do in this little city there's also something special to say about New Orleans square that it has two of the best Disney rides of all time and that's not exactly what makes this land so special don't get me wrong wrong Pirates Mansion top five Disney attractions two of the greatest but so is just walking through the square and that's wild because my respect for those two attractions is through the roof but so is my love of just being here as a citizen of Disneyland and just walking through it and thinking about man they thought about every little detail when they made this land New Orleans Square also has so many of these right perfect little key holes that every time you go under one of these Bridges what is it doing framing out what's on the other side to make you only see more of New Orleans Square so technically it may only be four streets but it's four streets that feel like they go on to Infinity in their storytelling and their craftsmanship and giving you that Disneyland feeling an authentic Disneyland feeling even though this was something that wouldn't show up till 11 years in the park history and I truly love the City Vibe that it gives you and how it does feel like something that could have been here on opening day but if you look at it you do see that there are a lot of things that they learned over 11 years that they were able to put into New Orleans square that Main Street is just a little bit lacking on for one they absolutely just nailed the force perspective Ive these aren't truly two-story buildings but they feel so much more real than main streets three-story buildings there's enough details here to make it all feel incredibly real but not so many details here to make it feel like it's over and above beyond what it needs to be it's modest but confident it does exactly what it needs to do it takes you to New Orleans it takes you to a quaint little neighborhood The Eclectic outskirts of Disneyland as I like to refer to it the heart and art of the park it's all right here and New Orleans Square does feel like the perfect stop off the side of the Disneyland railroad truly transformative from Main Street USA a completely different vibe a completely different land but yet also a bit of a companion to Main Street USA I always feel like Main Street USA is downtown and the New Orleans square is that edge of town the arts district that you know that's where the more eclectic folks live if the proper folks live down on Main Street you know theme park fans are always focused on but what's your favorite what's your favorite food what's your favorite Attraction what's your favorite land and it's hard with something like Disneyland it's hard to pick a favorite when each little piece is handcrafted to be so truly special but what makes New Orleans square one of my favorites is the attention to detail that you notice from the walkway the walkway which is quietly lowkey the stair steps of an Amphitheater for a nighttime show already amazes me but then there's all the brick planners everywhere designed to create a stair stepping effect but to also push all of this back further to us and then there's actually walking through its streets whether it's Royal Street or your favorite walking through these narrow corridors going under all of the different Bridges creates a design experience like none other at Disneyland because this design experience is always around you there's never really that moment to like look out of it you're always captured inside of the square and its designs are subtle it never goes over the top it's not full of Disney characters it's not full of lots of little secret chachkies to sort of get your attention it's not a Hidden Mickey type of spot it's more core authentic to its narrative to make people feel like they're going to a city on the other side of the country which putting things in perspective in 1966 not everybody jumped on a plane in sweatpants and flew every where they wanted to go for under $200 travel to New Orleans was not something that a lot of people did but Walt Disney was one of those people that traveled there and he was crazy inspired by the art and culture of New Orleans very different from the middle of the country where he's from or out here in California it seems like New Orleans was a place that taught Walt already a dreamer how to dream a little bit more how to find a way through all of its culture and diversity to find a new way a new medium which would be the pallet of New Orleans where he could do something that I'm sure as an artist and as a Creator he'd always wanted to do rebuild replicate a city that he loved but to do it in the Walt Disney way to make it safe familyfriendly and to give people just a taste of a city that it seemed that he was in love with and a city that inspired him inspired him enough to replicate it here in Disneyland I don't know there's just something sweet about thinking this was his last attempt his last project I got to work on and I feel like you can see all of those years poured into New Orleans square and sure it's been used as a proof of concept to build something like World Showcase which is something that I love and I think that it will also be an inspiration for whatever comes to the far end of Frontier land if some of my peers are correct with their predictions But ultimately there were only ever be one one New Orleans Square here at home in Disneyland never to be sted never to be replicated a true Masterpiece in theme park design but you know I could go on and on and on and try to convince you just how magical and how unique it is but how about I let somebody else explain to you the beauty of New Orleans Square let's listen to Walt Disney in his own words talk about his final contribution in the world of Art and in his world called Disneyland Disneyland has always had a big river and a Mississippi sternwheeler it seemed appropriate to create a new attraction at the bend of the river and so Disneylands New Orleans Square came into being a New Orleans of a century ago when she was the gay perie of the American frontier it was a Galla day when we officially opened New Orleans Square it had a real Jubilee southern style on this is a big occasion today the dedication of New Orleans Square it's uh been underway for some time I think a lot of you folks that have been to Disneyland in the last two or 3 years have probably noticed this big hole out here that wasn't filled up well we finally got it filled up and that big hole is now New Orleans Square it's a quite a project it's a it's the way I uh I've always wanted to see Disneyland built when you see the buildings you see all the decor and the details it's a it's really uh a joy to see that uh done in the way that we've done New Orleans Square oh I might explain to you folks the the wine and wherefor of New Orleans Square in in Disneyland Disneyland as you know is sort of a made up of the various things that represent our country as Main Street is you know it's the turn of the century it represents the kind of life that was changing then from the horse and buggy on into electrical area now the electronic and things and New Orleans comes into this thing in this way the original architecture and atmosphere of old New Orleans of the 1850s has been retained the narrow winding streets intimate Courtyards and the iron lace balconies are authentic in every detail flower Marts a tradition of old New Orleans add color to the streets and Courtyards the quaint shops offer Treasures from all over the world Craftsman create articles in silver stained glass and many other materials New Orleans was the birthplace of marching jazz bands here in Disneylands New Orleans Square this tradition is an everyday occurrence anyways that's what New Orleans Square means in this land of Disneyland which again this entire theme is based on a Mary can so thank you now I want to show the mayor around our New Orleans you know see how clean we keep the that's what I like

Channel: Hey Brickey!

Views: 19,450

Keywords: Disneyland, new orleans square, Walt Disney, imagineering, design, brickey, document disney, disneyland walkthrough, new orleans square walkthrough, new orleans square disneyland, new orleans square disney, disney new orleans square, new orleans, disneyland new orleans square, walt disney new orleans square, artist profiles, history, walt disney success story, disney, disney inventor, disney imagineering, imagineer, imagineering walt disney, disney imagineer, imagineers, theme park

Id: 1Q4C2Tec52o

Length: 20min 1sec (1201 seconds)

Published: Sat May 11 2024