The opening of a long-awaited second theme
park at Disneyland Paris yesterday was in stark contrast to the launch of
the first 10 years ago. At that time, the French press savaged Disney,
accusing it of a US cultural invasion. Wandering around the park at that
launch, I remember thinking that if it wasn’t for the grey drizzle, you
could have been in Florida. Everything was done the American way, from the
ban on alcohol inside the gates to the use of American English on the
voiceovers and menus. As the financial results got worse and worse,
Disney realised their market research was not all it had cracked up to be.
They started replacing some of the expensive sit-down restaurants with
more family-affordable stand-up burger bars. They introduced beer on the
menu and even changed the image-tarnished name EuroDisney to Disneyland
Paris in a bid to get the turnstiles moving. After a long slog, it now
makes an operating profit and the new park is expected to make visitors
stick around for longer than the current average of two days.
Visiting the new Walt Disney Studios Park last week, it was almost
painful to see how hard Disney bosses had gone the other way to be
accepted in France. CEO Michael Eisner said: ‘When we first came in there
were questions that we were too American. People recognise we are not
actually American, we are Disney European.’ He pointed out that Disney is
behind Am�lie , the biggest-grossing French film ever to hit America.
Others emphasised the great connection between Disney and Europe saying
that Cinderella , Pinocchio and the Hunchback of Notre Dame have their
roots here. Every opportunity to highlight the European connection is
milked. The stunt-show scenery is based on the French Riviera and the
Studio Tram Tour shows London being scorched by dragons.
Many shows are in French verse, then if you’re lucky, English. Songs
are mainly in French, and your children will need to have a pretty high
reading age to understand the English subtitles in the studios where they
explain how animated films and special effects are created. Disney tunes
are crooned in French, and at attractions such as the Disney Animation
Gallery the songs switch in and out of French, English, Italian and
German. All very Eurovision Song Contest.
The food outlets have names such as ‘Rendezvous de Stars’ serving
dishes such as ‘ Salade de Stars ‘ (that’s mixed salad with ham and cheese
to you and me) or Studio Catering Co – where you can gnaw on a petite hot
dog ‘ manger comme une star ‘.
You get the feeling that people with a real sense of humour and fun put
the studio together rather than the slick corporate machine Disney is
famous for. You can’t help but enjoy yourself from the Rock’ n’Roller
Coaster to Armageddon Special Effects, where you find yourself inside a
spaceship under attack.
