1) Some of the contributing factors to EuroDisney’s poor performance their first year are factors that could have been avoided. The first thing that Disney failed to do was realize that the culture in France and many other areas in Europe are much different than in the United States. Disney approached Europe with a kick the door down attitude and that is how the European culture functions. The French have a very different opinion of Americans – they view our ways as imperialistic. This caused the French to stay away from Euro Disney. It is imperative to learn to appreciate the intricacies of cultural differences to for a company to be successful in a foreign market. The average price to visit the park at $280.00 and the high price of the hotels made the French reluctant to go. Disney did not take into account that France had their own beloved cartoon characters either, or that Europeans do eat breakfast. They were not able to accommodate guest’s basic requirement for breakfast food. Some of the other factors to their poor performance can be associated with the recession in Europe in the 80’s, the Gulf War in 1991, high interest rates, the World Fair, the Olympics in Barcelona, as well as a major cultural faux pa of no alcohol in the parks. That is a cultural staple in France and was deemed as insensitive to their way of life. Disney also did not consider vacation customs of Europeans – who typically vacation for 2 days compared to 3, and entire cities shut down for the month of August. Disney’s focus on size rather than the entertainment value of the park ruined the magic for potential guests.
Hong Kong Disney also was not as successful as they expected even though they took steps to make it culturally acceptable. The park was too small without enough rides. The visitors were not familiar with the characters or the stories that are so popular in the United States. Another key contributing factor to their poor performance can be attributed to...