Disney Case Analysis

QI: What factors contributed to the poor performance of EuroDisney and Hong Kong Disney?

The first factor mentioned in the case study that contributed to EuroDisney’s poor performance was the reluctance to spend $280 to enjoy the park attractions for a day and hotel rooms were too expensive for families to stay overnight. It also did not help that the French saw “EuroDisney as American imperialism—plastics at its worst” and that the French did not have the same attachment to Disney characters as the Japanese or Americans. In fact, there was “widespread French scorn for American fairy-tale characters” because the French have an attachment with their own lovable cartoon characters, such as Asterix who also has a theme park near EuroDisney.

Additionally, Disney did not research the European culture as well as it could have. For instance, EuroDisney banned alcohol in the park even though the French are the world’s biggest consumer of wine an hardly ever eat a meal without a glass of wine. Plus, the company only provided French sausage in the park, which offended the English, Germans, and Italians who visited the park. Disney believed that Europeans do not eat breakfast, so they were not prepared for all of the guests requesting hearty breakfasts. Even vacation customs of the Europeans were not taken into consideration—Disney believed that children would be taken out of school for mid-session vacations and that Europeans would start shorter, more frequent vacations than their usual month-long vacations in August.

The promotion efforts by Disney were a factor that contributed to poor performance at both EuroDisney and Hong Kong Disney. Disney promoted the size of the park when promoting EuroDisney instead of putting the emphasis on the attractions, which “ruined the magic”. In China, Disney’s advertisements featured two parents at the park with their two children, which did not have the impact Disney was hoping for because the Chinese government...