Paradise Estate - pony friendly?

[ValeofSpring]

I first saw Paradise Estate in 1986 when the Ponies got it in My Little Pony: The Movie.  In the dark of the theater, I turned to my best friend at the time and said "I WANT THAT." 

I have never, however, actually purchased it--even as an adult collector when I didn't have a mom and dad guarding my pennies:)  I think it is a very exciting playset in a lot of ways (gates! huge rooms! a pool!), but the accessories always bother me.  In the kitchen there are two chairs, a high bar, and utensils, in the living room a sofa and chair, on the patio two more chairs.  These features make the Estate seem more like "Megan's Florida Timeshare" b/c ponies can't use these things!  I have not seen the bed in person, so I don't know if a pony can lay across it or not.

(I'm not much of a Megan fan.)

If you look at most other playsets--Dream Castle, the Show Stable, even the Perm Shoppe--the accessories are all designed to fit ponies, not the blonde teen in the ruffled romper!

All that said: do the Megan-specific accessories bother you?  Even a little?

AND . . . if you could, how would you design the accessories differently?  How might you make the Estate more pony friendly? 

[Elfpony]

Yes!  This always bothered me too!  It's one of the reasons I've not wanted to get a PE either (the other being the Dream Castle has always been my favourite playset and I was none too happy when the Ponies abandoned it: hello!  It's a castle!  Why wouldn't you want to live in it?)

I suppose you could tip the ponies back to "sit" on the couches, but still.

I've just been collecting the accessories I like and that can work with the other playsets: the tv, toybox, lamps, coffee table...

Elf

[FarDreamer]

No, sorry.  But I just LOVE how detailed the paradise estate is.  They thought of everything.  It has a freaking TOASTER.  I'm biased towards accessories though, so I'm not the best person to ask. 

[kaoskat]

I dunno, my ponies sit across the sofa & bed and the babies hang out in the chairs. You know, when it's not being taken over by G4 hamsters.......

[NoPonySpecial]

 This is something that bugs me across all the generations of MLP - wouldn't ponies have invented more pony-friendly versions of chairs and pencils and musical instruments and...and everything? I remember being surprised when I found out the yellow umbrella was a pony accessory; how could a pony use that? The mouth I guess, but then the whole body would get wet. (Which is why I like Pinkie Pie using an umbrella hat in G4, but there's still the wet body issue.) My Little pony Tales acted like they characters weren't even ponies, everything in that show was designed for people with hands! G3 was pretty guilty of this, too. Shame on you guys! If you're going to makes shows about ponies, at least acknowledge that they're ponies!
 
 My headcanon for my own personal Ponyland is that all those things were made by monkey-like creatures from across the sea (think those inventor monkeys from the original series, except less interested in destroying the ponies for no established reason) and that their devices have been imported to Ponyland for their use, even though they have to get creative to use them.

[Shenanigans]

I was none too happy when the Ponies abandoned it: hello!  It's a castle!  Why wouldn't you want to live in it?)

I always thought the same too! When I was little I was so upset that the ponies would abandon the pretty castle for a "house" Castles are much more magical

[Honeycomb]

PE was my grail as a child, so I was never really bothered with that, although I loathed Megan.
Now I have finally obtained my grail, and I just have the newborns sit on the sofa watching TV while the adults do some other stuff. Doesn't bother me.

[Sunshine]

I guess I always thought of Paradise Estate as being Megan's place (don't mind that other stable playset named Megan's Place or whatever)...but I figured that was her house, the ponies came to visit... whereas the Castle was Majesty's house, the Salon was Fifis, Stable was Lemon Drops, but Megan would go visit them there... I dunno.

I guess the only thing that bothers me is that the accessories are SO SMALL! I'm going to kill myself trying to find 2 spoons so mine is 100% complete! 

[MANIMAL!]

. . . "Megan's Florida Timeshare". . .

Hahaha, I think I like this name better. I agree with others on here--I hate that they left the castle!

[Aurora]

I only have a few pieces of the furniture in Paradise Estate, it's hard to play in- the rooms are big, but you can't exactly reach in through the roof and move anything. It's pretty, and it's the showpiece of my pony room, but it isn't my favorite. But the Satin Slipper Sweet Shoppe, which comes with a dainty table and two little chairs, has always made me wonder about that. I figured Megan and Molly can sit in the chairs, the ponies will stand because that's what horses do. They also work nicely for Care Bears and little Pom-pom bears that found their way into Ponyland, so they aren't just collecting dust.
I like the concept of Megan- if she can do it, so can I ! Maybe someday a pink Pegasus will come out of the clouds and take me away to save all of Ponyland! . But I don't like the way the ponies count on her for everything. I'm sure they were just using her for her thumbs- in one of the old episodes there was a pony using a hammer with her mouth. That's a strong set of choppers!
And yeah, when they just started being ponies that acted like people, ignoring the fact that they had hooves and couldn't hold a pan of steaming cookies or a pen, that frustrated me, too.

[hathorcat]

Lol "Megan's Florida Timeshare" - that should have been the description on the box!

I love Megan though so for that reason I do think of the PE as her home because everything is dolly sized and I love it too.

I think it would have made sense perhaps to have 2 rooms doll size and 2 rooms with some more pony sized items but perhaps the problem would have been fitting larger furniture in...and I think your average parent would have fainted if the PE was any larger.