Eurodisney
EuroDisney opened in April of 1992, and was expected to be the biggest attraction in France. So what happened? Were the French not into Mickey Mouse, or were they not willing to adapt to American culture? Many reasons contributed to the initial failure of Disney, and it seems Disney underestimated their influence and popularity outside of the United States. The Europeans, mainly the French, were not eager to pay $280 on a day at the park, swollen prices placed on American food like hamburgers and milkshakes, and additional costs from $110 to $380 for hotels per night. Yet is was not only the prices that kept people away. During this period, there was a transatlantic airfare war going on, which made it possible to fly to Orlando cheaper then to drive or fly to Paris and stay at the expensive hotels. Also, the 1992 Olympics were being held in Barcelona, Spain, and the Worlds Fair was in nearby Seville, which many people chose to go to instead of the new American attraction. All this was going on right at the beginning of a recession period for Europe, which made decisions for cheaper and economical vacations for people. Disney's biggest mistake was not researching the people who were supposed to account for fifty percen
Most of these factors would have been foreseeable and controllable if Disney looked at the demographics and psycho graphics of the country that they called their newest home. The assumptions made about the spending habits on the types of items that Disney markets were all wrong. What seems to be is Disney assumed that Europeans, Asians, and Americans shared the same view on value. Environmental factors such as competition, a recession, and the Gulf War were also causes to the primary stages. In conclusion, I don't think that Disney made a mistake by opening a Disneyland in Paris. Is believe that Disney made their mistakes by not knowing how to culturally adapt to the styles of Europe, and mainly French. They thought they could market to the French the same way as they do business in America or Japan. Ethnocentrism played a big part in this situation. The French are a strong group who do not approve of the foreign influences of America. For one, the French already had a beloved cartoon character, one of which had a theme park that went through major renovations in order to compete with Disney. Disneyland Tokyo has been a success since the moment the doors opened. The Japanese were willing to pay the inflated prices for admission, food, and Disney novelties. Disney assumed because of this success, that when the doors opened in Paris, the people and the wallets would be flying around the park. Yet in Europe, the same trend was not observed.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1034
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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