The Not-so-Wonderful World of Eurodisney - 5487 Words

BONJOUR, MICKEY! In April 1992, EuroDisney SCA opened its doors to European visitors. Located by the river Marne some 20 miles east of Paris, it was designed to be the biggest and most lavish theme park that Walt Disney Company (Disney) had built to date—bigger than Disneyland in Anaheim, California; Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida; and Tokyo Disneyland in Japan. Much to Disney management’s surprise, Europeans failed to â€Å"go goofy† over Mickey, unlike their Japanese counterparts. Between 1990 and early 1992, some 14 million people had visited Tokyo Disneyland, with three-quarters being repeat visitors. A family of four staying overnight at a nearby hotel would easily spend $600 on a visit to the park. In contrast, at†¦show more content†¦A park services consulting ï ¬  rm framed the problem in these words: â€Å"The French see EuroDisney as American imperialism— plastics at its worst.† The well-known, sentimental Japanese attachment to Disney characters contrasted starkly with the unexpected and widespread French scorn for American fairy-tale characters. French culture has its own lovable cartoon characters such as Astà ©- rix, the helmeted, pint-sized Gallic warrior, who has a theme park located near EuroDisney. Hostility among the French people to the whole â€Å"Disney idea† had surfaced early in the planning of the new project. Paris theater director Ariane Mnouchkine became famous for her description of EuroDisney as â€Å"a cultural Chernobyl.† In fall 1989, during a visit to Paris, French Communists pelted Michael Eisner with eggs. The joke going around at the time was, â€Å"For EuroDisney to adapt properly to France, all seven of Snow White’s dwarfs should be named Grumpy (Grincheux).† Early advertising by EuroDisney seemed to aggravate local French sentiment by emphasizing glitz and size rather than the variety of rides and attractions. Committed to maintaining Disney’s reputation for quality in everything, more detail was built into EuroDisney. For example, the centerpiece castle in the Magic Kingdom had to be bigger and fancier than in the other parks.Show MoreRelatedCase2 the Not-so-Wonderful World of Eurodisney1743 Words   |  7 PagesMKTG 650-6T1 Global Marketing Management Professor: Prof. Nicholas Name: Tim Date: 2/25/13 Case study: The Not-So-Wonderful World of EuroDisney Summary Euro Disney SCA formally launched its theme park to Europeans in April 1992 near river Marne, 20 miles East of Paris. It was the biggest and most lavish theme park that Walt Disney had built bigger than any of its Disney parks around the world. The location was chosen over 200 potential sites in Europe from Portugal through Spain, France, Italy and GreeceRead MoreThe Not-so-Wonderful World of Eurodisney: a Cultural Lesson2035 Words   |  9 PagesThe Not-So-Wonderful World of EuroDisney: a cultural lesson by Emilio Gonzà ¡lez Introduction This paper introduces some thoughts about the Disney strategy choosing the place for its European park and about the beginnings of its operations; in some way related to cultural factors. It constitutes a personal answer to a case study placed in the book International Marketing 13/e by Philip C. Cateora and John Graham, McGraw-Hill 2007. Factors that contributed to Euro Disneys poor performance duringRead MoreThe Not-so-Wonderful World of Eurodisney-Things Are Better Now at Paris Disneyland3269 Words   |  14 PagesThe Not-So-Wonderful World of EuroDisney Summary1 EuroDisney SCA opened in April 1992 its doors to the European public which was located 20 miles from Paris. This specific location was selected over 200 potential sites in Europe (Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and France). Spain was threw out the selection period the most likely place to be chosen but due to the insufficient acreage of the land around Barcelona area as opposed to France government was generous with incentives and showed impressiveRead MoreCase Study: Disney Global Essay examples2214 Words   |  9 Pagesaspects that contributed to the poor performance that EuroDisney experienced in its first year of operations. The market place was extremely different along with the culture differences from our nation to the host country. The European’s were unwilling to spend the money required to enter the park for its attractions. For a European family to enjoy the park the admissions for a family totaled $280 (â€Å"Case 2-1. The not-so-wonderful world of EuroDisn ey†, 2013). In addition to the park entrance priceRead MoreNational Office Machines Case1355 Words   |  6 PagesCase 2-1: The Not-So-Wonderful World of EuroDisney’--- Things Are Better Now at Disneyland Resort Paris 1. What factors contributed to Euro Disney’s poor performance during its first year of operation? What factors contributed to Hong Kong Disney’s poor performance during its first year?   The factors that led to Euro Disney’s poor performance were the lack of understanding of the French culture, mistaken assumptions, and ethnocentrism by the American management. Since the prices of the hotelsRead MoreCase 2-1 Eurodisney2938 Words   |  12 PagesCASE 2-1 Ali Zein Kazmi February 1, 1999 THE NOT-SO-WONDERFUL-WORLD OF EURODISNEY -THINGS ARE BETTER NOW AT PARIS DISNEYLAND- 1. What are the factors contributed to EuroDisney’s poor performance during its first year of operation? Walt Disney overestimated the magic that was to be in introducing Europes most lavish and extravagant theme park in April of 1992. The fiscal year 1992-1993 brought EuroDisney a loss of nearly $1 billion. Mickey, a major promotion tool of Disney managementRead MoreThe Failure of Disney Paris2387 Words   |  10 PagesIntroduction: Disney, the very word evokes magic in the minds of people young and old. As a brand that has catered to audiences since early 1923, it stands as a symbol of redemption from the mundane existence of daily life for people throughout world. Over the last few decades, the Walt Disney Productions Company has been in the industry of producing cartoons and quickly diversified into an array of operations, riding high on its brand equity. Most famous amongst its flagship projects have beenRead MoreDisneyland analysis8865 Words   |  36 Pagesare not abstract notions; they are anchored in space where they create geographical landscapes. The company and its imagineers have been pushed by investors to create more and more circuits. The Bass brothers controlled nearly 25% of equity and so named Michael Eisner as the new company chairman in 1984, following other hostile takeover attempts, because the company was not exploiting it’s full potential to create more circuits of capital (Wallace, 1985; Taylor, 1987). The company, in 1984,Read MoreThe Walt Disney Company and Disney Management25371 Words   |  102 PagesE O F CASES 2-1 The Not-So-Wonderful World of EuroDisney— Things Are Better Now at Disneyland Resort Paris 2-2 Cultural Norms, Fair Lovely, and Advertising 2-3 Starnes-Brenner Machine Tool Company: To Bribe or Not to Bribe? 2-4 Ethics and Airbus 2-5 Coping with Corruption in Trading with China 2-6 When International Buyers and Sellers Disagree 2-7 McDonald’s and Obesity 2-8 Ultrasound Machines, India, China, and a Skewed Sex Ratio CASE 2ïš º1 The Not-So-Wonderful World of BONJOUR, MICKEY! InRead MoreDisney Land9906 Words   |  40 PagesExecutive Summary This report is about the ‘not-so-wonderful world’ of Euro Disney a.k.a (also known as) Disneyland Paris. Euro Disney is Europe’s No.1 family entertainment park. All the same it has had its moments of ups and downs. This adventure that Euro Disney has been through has been full of surprise and anticipation. The management have had to re-evaluate their strategies in order to pull out of the crisis facing them. Every company must analyse the marketing mix, i.e. Product, Price