Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
February 22, 2013
Introduction
The Walt Disney Company was originally founded in 1923; a company committed to providing quality and wholesome entertainment experiences to people of all ages. The company is known for the following four segments, which consist of Studio Entertainment, Parks and Resorts, Consumer Products and Media Networks. The Walt Disney Company consists of five (5) Disneyland and Disney Park Resorts, in total. Two are located in the United States, one in Europe and two in Asia Pacific. The original Disneyland Resort was built in 1955, in Anaheim, California; followed by Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Florida in 1971. After the success of these two large theme parks in the United States, Disney decided to expand internationally. First Tokyo Disney Resort built in 1983, secondly, Disneyland Resort Paris (EuroDisney) which opened its doors in 1992, and thirdly, Hong Kong Disneyland, opening its doors in 2005.
Case Study Questions
1. The factors that contributed to EuroDisney, now called Disneyland Resort Paris, poor performance during its first year of operation was the lack of knowledge of their target market, cultural differences between the USA and Europe, and the failure to take into account that “Paris is Europe’s most-popular city destination among tourist of all nationalities”. Disney did a bad job at understanding Europeans and their lifestyles.
Unfortunately, for Disney the French were neither happy nor receptive to having what they called “America Cultural Imperialism”. Many specially the children welcomed Mickey and his character friends, but there were many against the “cultural Chemobyl”, such as the French Communist Party and many demonstrator who with the following action, of throwing eggs and ketchup at Disney President, Michael Eisner upon his arrival to Paris in 1989, let Disney know they were not welcome.1 The prices were much higher in EuroDisney, than in any other Disney park. The hotels and park
Introduction
The Walt Disney Company was originally founded in 1923; a company committed to providing quality and wholesome entertainment experiences to people of all ages. The company is known for the following four segments, which consist of Studio Entertainment, Parks and Resorts, Consumer Products and Media Networks. The Walt Disney Company consists of five (5) Disneyland and Disney Park Resorts, in total. Two are located in the United States, one in Europe and two in Asia Pacific. The original Disneyland Resort was built in 1955, in Anaheim, California; followed by Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Florida in 1971. After the success of these two large theme parks in the United States, Disney decided to expand internationally. First Tokyo Disney Resort built in 1983, secondly, Disneyland Resort Paris (EuroDisney) which opened its doors in 1992, and thirdly, Hong Kong Disneyland, opening its doors in 2005.
Case Study Questions
1. The factors that contributed to EuroDisney, now called Disneyland Resort Paris, poor performance during its first year of operation was the lack of knowledge of their target market, cultural differences between the USA and Europe, and the failure to take into account that “Paris is Europe’s most-popular city destination among tourist of all nationalities”. Disney did a bad job at understanding Europeans and their lifestyles.
Unfortunately, for Disney the French were neither happy nor receptive to having what they called “America Cultural Imperialism”. Many specially the children welcomed Mickey and his character friends, but there were many against the “cultural Chemobyl”, such as the French Communist Party and many demonstrator who with the following action, of throwing eggs and ketchup at Disney President, Michael Eisner upon his arrival to Paris in 1989, let Disney know they were not welcome.1 The prices were much higher in EuroDisney, than in any other Disney park. The hotels and park
References: 1. The BaltimoreSun, April 19, 1992, “MagicKingdom or Cultural Chernobyl?” Retrieved February 10, 2013 from http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1992-04-19/news/1992110078_1_mickey-mouse-cultural-chernobyl-amusement#.USky18QWcBI.email Philip R. Caterora, Mary C. Gilly, & John L. Graham. International Marketing: The Cultural Environment of Global Markets. Fifteenth Edition (pp. 63-82; pp 96-157 McGraw-Hill/Irwin. 3. Mobility Magazine, March 2013, “Creating an Expat Ecosystem” pp 48-54. M. Diane McCormick, freelance writer in Harrisburg, PA. Case 2-1 The not so Wonderful World of EuroDisney 4. Philip R. Caterora, Mary C. Gilly, & John L. Graham. International Marketing: The Cultural Environment of Global Markets. Fifteenth Edition – Pg 126-129