I'm not sure that WDW ever had the curse that sends you back through time. Perhaps it's not necessary when, as in Paris, the land the ride is situated in is not specifically a century or two later than the days of pirates and their pillaging.
Nevertheless, Walt's method of getting around that was brilliance. Perhaps it isn't "necessary" to have it, but it's a loss when it's missing and a mistake in thinking it was just a way to get around a particular problem.
Case in Point - WDW's very own Haunted Mansion. No berm, no need for a stretch room. So, no decending feeling as their ceiling simply rises above you. The room may have been designed to solve a problem that does not exist anywhere else, but it's an integral part of the Haunted Mansion experience nonetheless.
Paris seems to have solved many of the mistakes learned from the DisneyWorld adaptations. Phantom Manor was placed on a hill - - in part so that the stretch room could be used to return guests to ground level. But their decision to go chrono-forward in Pirates is, imo, a lesser bit of coolness than Disneyland's backwards time travel.
btw, I love Johnny Depp, admire 90% of his work, and adore Captain Jack Sparrow. It was the Disneyland doppleganger face character whom I referred to as being present primarily to delight squealing, teenage girls.
