Am I the only one that felt like.....

[sunshinedim]

Am I the only one that felt like that the Paradise Estate was a downgrade from the Dream Castle in the 80s MLP movie? I know the actual playset was much bigger than the Dream Castle playset.... but in the movie's universe.... the castle seemed a lot more grand and majestic.

The ponies went from living in a beautiful fairytale-like castle to.... living in a pink house with a pool.

I know it was all about marketing and promoting the new toy in the movie but... it would have been better if they made a bigger castle playet or something...

[Carrehz]

oh I agree! sure Paradise Estate's a cool playset, but castles are so much cooler It's a pity not much of Dream Castle was really shown in the cartoon before it got Smoozed. Would've been nice to see it from the inside.

[NovelNerd]

I never thought about it that way since Paradise Estate toy wise was so much neater than the castle. But yeah, the ponies did kinda downgrade didn’t they?

[Taffeta]

It never occurred to me...I didn't really see many of the episodes as a kid, I grew up with the comics. And Dream Castle was always Majesty's base in those, with the other ponies flitting in and out. PE appears in maybe one, two comics, a pullout...it's probably more than that but it wasn't hugely focused on in the stories. The 2 page advert for it probably appeared more, to be honest.

I had DC as a kid, I wanted PE but it was too expensive. My friend had it though and I thought it was pretty cool.

I've never cared about how things were portrayed on the animation since it wasn't really an influence on me growing up (aside cultivating my love for Paradise). And the only eps I had as a kid were from MLP & Friends, so I was probably a teenager before I even saw DC in an animated episode xD. Revolt of PE was my favourite of the four episodes I had as a kid (the others were Ice Cream Wars - which included Satin Slipper, Would Be Dragon Slayer (can't remember, found it boring) and Sweet Stuff & the Treasure Hunt (also based at PE I think). So it never occurred to me to think of it in that way.

I always did wonder how come PE and the nursery got interconnected in revolt of PE, but otherwise...

[Gator]

Castle for me.  I felt like PE estate was too modern.  I knew Megan was from our world, but I felt like Dream Valley and Ponyland existed in more of a medieval, magical time of knights and dragons, wizards and such.  That not only was Megan traveling between worlds, but taking a step back in time as well.

[SpacePinto]

Am I the only one that felt like that the Paradise Estate was a downgrade from the Dream Castle in the 80s MLP movie? I know the actual playset was much bigger than the Dream Castle playset.... but in the movie's universe.... the castle seemed a lot more grand and majestic.

Yeah, but... did the castle have a home gym?

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[Heelys]

"Alright everyone, we need to make the next must-have playset for our fantasy horses. We've had the Dream Castle, we need an even better fantasy dollhouse for the kids to play with. Something bigger, pinker, with more features. I don't want just another Dream Castle. What do little kids NEED for their unicorns to live in?"

"...Modern Tuscan countryside architecture."

"...Carol, I don't--"

"With a hotel pool."

"You mad genius."

[sunshinedim]

Am I the only one that felt like that the Paradise Estate was a downgrade from the Dream Castle in the 80s MLP movie? I know the actual playset was much bigger than the Dream Castle playset.... but in the movie's universe.... the castle seemed a lot more grand and majestic.

Yeah, but... did the castle have a home gym?

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Hopefully not haha! Stuff like that in later G1 stories actually bothered me a little. I like my ponies living in a non-modern world. I definately agree with Gator, the castle was a lot more fitting with the whole "fantasy" genre that they were going for.

I wish that we could have seen an episode at least with the Grundles living in the Dream Castle....

[Artemesia's Garden]

I agree with you and about preferring a non-modern world on the whole. I don't collect the P.E. or G1 Tales ponies for this reason.

[LadyAmalthea]

I'm probably in the minority, but I prefer the Paradise Estate, mostly because it was the one I had. The Dream Castle was slightly before my time (no longer being sold in stores in my area by the time I really got into ponies), so since it wasn't available to me, I didn't dwell on wanting it too much. My best friend and her sister had it, so I got to play with it over at their house, and sure, I was a little envious, but as a kid bigger seemed better, and the realism vs fantasy debate never really crossed my mind. As an adult, I now understand why people would prefer the latter, especially seeing as how PE was used as a pretty blatant marketing gimmick in the movie.

[FernMariposa919]

Oh, I totally agree with you. The castle is way cooler! The Paradise Estate is just a big pink house!

When I was a kid, I loved my Paradise Estate. I loved the Dream Castle too, of course, but I was more into PE. But now, as an adult, I think overall the castle is better. I think it has a better design with the faux bricks and the drawbridge and that string where you can lift Spike up in the basket. I also liked the accessories and decorations better. Plus, it just makes more sense as a home to the ponies than a glorified mansion.

[Mewtwofan1]

The estate is cool, don’t get me wrong. But if you gave me a big house or a castle with a drawbridge to live in, I’m going to the castle! The paradise estate just didn’t quite fit with the fantasy magic and dragons vibe. It felt like shoehorning a Barbie dream house in there.

[glitterball]

I ABSOLUTELY loved my Dream Castle! I wasn't really aware that it existed in real life until I received it as a Christmas present - my Uncle had chosen well!

Like others have said, it is all about the Medieval fantasy theme, dragons, magic shoes, etc. oh and the castle design does look cute with the little flags & accessories.

PE - ​I saw photos and was aware that it was expensive; I wasn't too excited about it. I preferred my DC anyway! 

[ridi]

I never had any large playsets when I was a kid, but I remember wanting the dream castle if only because it came with Spike, one of my favorite characters. lol

I don't really have one preference over the other, but I wish the dream castle had been explored a bit more in the cartoon before they retired it. I guess maybe the ponies were excited to move into something a little more modern? Who knows.

[sunshinedim]

I really think the issue with Paradise Estate being too modern in a Medieval fantasy setting could have been avoided if the little ponies' second home was something like "Paradise Palace" and it could have been a bigger and more fancy version of the Dream Castle.