Comparing New Orleans Square To The Real Thing

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to spend a few days exploring New Orleans. Yep, the real New Orleans, not the Disneyland square I rave about so often on this blog. If you’ve ever been, you know the city has so many distinct neighborhoods, each with its own personality and highlights. But of course, I couldn’t help but notice where Disney drew inspiration for the park: the French Quarter and the Garden District.

FRENCH QUARTER

The French Quarter maintains the look and feel of its original construction in the 1700s, complete with iron detailing on windows, doorways, and balconies/galleries. Disneyland definitely drew inspiration from the beautiful buildings in the French Quarter when designing the square. This building is almost identical!

It’s easy to recognize some of the architectural elements Disney copied. Notice the patterns in the ironwork, the oversized windows, and the planters.

I even found an alleyway with strung lights, which reminded me of one of my favorite spaces in the park!

This is Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop, which I talked about in my Legend of Lafitte post. Today, this amazing building is a bar, allegedly one of the most haunted buildings in Louisiana.

GARDEN DISTRICT

The Garden District, with its over-the-top mansions, is a neighborhood straight out of a 19th century painting. Walking through this neighborhood, you can easily spot elements used in the Haunted Mansion. Most of the homes have elaborate columns in the front, and one house (pictured on the right) had the exact entryway and window layout as the Disneyland mansion.

I had the best time exploring New Orleans, and sorry Disneyland, but real Cajun food is ridiculously good…the park has major room for improvement. If you ever have the opportunity to visit the Big Easy, I can’t recommend it enough! Princess Tiana was right – dreams do come true in New Orleans. 🙂