Eurodisney Background - Lacking of Proper Business Research

Background Information

In year 1955, the first Disney Park opened in Anaheim, California. Instantly, it achieved significant success and attracted millions of visitors from all over the world. Well known Disney characters can be found in the park, and in addition, the park provided people heartwarming family feelings and unique adventure experiences. Many American families consider Disneyland as the destination of their vacations. In the following years, the Disney triumph was repeated in Florida and Tokyo. In year 1992, another Disney theme park, Euro-Disneyland, was opened in Paris, France. From the very beginning of this project, Walt Disney Company did not pay enough attention to the cultural differences, and later on, the company faced lots of challenges. Several difficulties are revealed in the operational process of this new theme park. In this research paper, Euro-Disneyland's problems will be clearly identified, and we will suggest useful alternatives to solve the struggles.

Problem Identification

Lacking of Proper Business Research

Walt Disney Company did not do a complete business research for Euro-Disneyland project. Its insufficient business research can be seen through as that 1) ignoring of political issues, 2) despite of customers' needs, and 3) inappropriate price setting.

The French ministry of culture declared that Disneyland was an unwelcomed American culture invasion during the negotiation stage of the project. Shortly after the park opened in 1992, the front entrance has been blocked by angry French farmers. They were protesting against US government's agricultural policies and Disneyland become their target. Apparently, Walt Disney was not considering enough about the political issues between France and United States.

The consumer behavior in France is different from American consumer,