A First Look at the Walt Disney Studios Paris
Page 6 of 6
(c) Disney
In Conclusion
My personal greatest fear is that guests are expecting a park similar to Disneyland Paris.
The Studios will open with around a third the number of attractions that Euro Disneyland
opened with in 1992. However, the general economics prevented a similar scale park opening
now. EuroDisney is still riddled with debt and although the managers are succeeding in
creating a profitable resort, they were rightly concerned with building a park that was
conversatively budgeted for.
The Studios’ investment is less than that for any Disney park developed in Disneys history. My partner and I were lucky enough to be invited to the Grand Opening of DCA and thoroughly enjoyed the park. Unique attractions like Soarin’ over California and California Screamin’ are phenomenal E-ticket attractions for a park to debut with. The park has room for improvement and expansion, and I’m certain that Paul Pressler, Marty Sklar and their team with continue to develop the park and listen to guests’ comments. People bemoan this park as “inferior” and “un-Disney” in the same way that Animal Kingdom is criticised. Americans expected a Tokyo DisneySea and got something supposedly substandard. The U.S. parks simply do not have the economics to support a DisneySea. Tokyo Disneyland attracts a mind-boggling 17 million guests a year and has spend per-guest-beyond the wildest dreams of Disneyland and Walt Disney World managers.
I am very excited about DisneySea and look forward to being present at the opening on September 4. I personally feel it is wrong to compare the Japanese parks with their American cousins. The long and the short of it, is that The Walt Disney Company simply could not afford to spend $2 billion on a new park like the Oriental Land Company has expended on Tokyo DisneySea. The same is true in Paris. I am genuinely excited to finally be receiving the second park that we were promised back in 1987 and again at Opening Day on April 12, 1992. It will take time to grow and develop.
Discuss It
Related Links
- DLP-Guidebook
Many more Walt Disney Studios construction pictures
-- Posted August 16, 2001
-- Story and pictures by Lee MacDonald
The opinions expressed by Lee MacDonald do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the past decisions and future plans of the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.