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Managing Leisure
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A theme park in a cultural

straitjacket: the case of
Disneyland Paris, France
Yochanan Altman
Published online: 02 Dec 2010.

To cite this article: Yochanan Altman (1995) A theme park in a cultural straitjacket:
the case of Disneyland Paris, France, Managing Leisure, 1:1, 43-56, DOI:
10.1080/136067195376565

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 Managing Leisure 1 , 43–56 (1995)

A theme park in a cultural straitjacket:

the case of Disneyland Paris, France
Yochanan Altman
City University Business School, London and Lyon Graduate School of Business, France

Problems at Disneyland Paris have attracted a lot of publicity. This paper examines the cultural
Downloaded by [Oregon State University] at 23:30 08 January 2015

ingredients of Disneyland Paris and suggests that they are fundamental to an understanding of the
business problem. Taking a consumer perspective and making comparisons with other major
French leisure ‘institutions’, the analysis demonstrates the importance of societal and cultural
issues to international business planning.

WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT DISNEY? generations of young read er s. Last ye ar over

Th e Walt Disney Comp any with its th ree
divisions and associated com p anies and
sub sidiaries (stud ios, Ž lm p rod uctions, tele-
vision p rod uctions, vid eo p rod uctions, TV
ch annel, record s, th em e p ar ks , recreation
resor ts, b usiness centres, h otels, stores,
pub lish ing, comp uter soft ware, merch and ise
and franch ise op erations: some 40
altoge th er ) is one of th e m igh tiest conglom -
erates in th e Ž eld of leisure.
Walt Disney occup ies a sp ecial p lace in
th e glob al culture of th e second h alf of th e
twentieth centur y. With th e ad ve nt of th e
mass m ed ia, in p ar ticular television, Disney
ch aracters are h ouseh old Ž gures all o ver th e
glob e. Disney animated Ž lms are am ongst
th e most wid ely viewed , with th e latest
release in 1994, The Lion King, exp ected ‘to
break all (p roŽ t) record s of all times’1 (pre-
viously held by th e p revious year’s release,
Aladdin) and setting new ar tistic stand ards
(600 animator s toiling ove r th ree years to
ach ieve th e fam ous Disney attentio n to d e-
tail). Disney weekly m aga zines h ave b een in
circulation sin ce th e early 1930s, attracting
1
‘Lion’ a m erc ha nd ise kin g. International Herald Tribune 31 Ju ly 1994.
1360-6719 © 1995 Ch ap man & Hall
60 m illio n visitor s m ad e th e pilgr image to
th e four Disney th em e p ar ks in th e USA,
France and Jap an.
WHAT’S SO INTERESTING ABOUT
DISNEYLAND PARIS?
If yo u b elieve that th e wh ole of the West ern
wo rld is hyp os t at ised in America, t he whole
of America in California, and California in
Disneyland, th en this is the microcosm of
th e West (Baudrillard , 1988)
Disneyland Paris (DLP) is th e largest
th em e p ar k and recreation com p lex in Eu-
rop e, encomp assing some 600 h a of amuse-
m ent attractions and 5200 hotel room s in
Mar ne-La-Vallée, on th e outskir ts of Par is.
Mod elled on th e Ž rst Disney th em e p ar k in
California, it is th e latest ad dition to th e
th em e p ar k d ivision of th e Disney emp ire
and its second foreign ve nture after th e
Tokyo Disneyland . Since its op ening in Ap r il
1992 and up to Nove mb er 1994 th e p ar k was
visited b y som e 27 m illion visito rs. More
th an 10 000 p eop le on ave rage op er ate it
(th ere are seasonal var iations). Th e o ver all
d irect capital investm ent b y th e end of 1994
 44 Altm an

was in th e region of 27.7 b illion francs,
includ ing local and national gove rnm ent in-
vestm en t in infr astructure.2
Since its opening, DLP h as b een in d ifficul-
ties, notab ly Ž nancial. It ge nerated b ig los-
ses, it was on th e br ink of collap se b efore a
Ž nancial rescue p lan was p ut in p lace and it
is not sch edu led to b reak eve n before 1996.3
DLP is suffer in g from b ad p ub licity, not only
in the French m ed ia. Th e numb er of visitor s
h as b een d eclining, from a p rojected 11
m illion in th e Ž rst ye ar of op er ation to an
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m erch and ise) and th at it is culturally con-
strued and as such sub jected to consum er
exp ectations wh ich are culturally b ased .
More sp eciŽ cally, th e q uestion to b e ad -
d ressed h ere is wh y has DLP not b een
enthusiastically em b raced b y th e French
(and to a lesser ext ent oth er Europ ean
natives) as were the in itial exp ectations.
Alth ough th e numb er of Fren ch visitor s
increased ove r th e p ast ye ar to 40% of all
visitor s (d ue to special p rice p ackages, in
p ar ticular for th e Parisian region) th is is

expected nine m illion b y th e end of 1994.4
Th ere h as been consistent evid ence of
m or ale p rob lems am ong th e staff,5 wh ich,
toge ther with sever al reorga nizations, re-
sulted in a h igh lab our tur nove r. DLP stand s
in sh arp co ntr ast to its p red ecessor s in
An ah eim, Or land o and Tokyo wh ich were
great success stories from th e star t.
Th e reverence in wh ich th e Walt Disney
Com p any is h eld am ong b usiness and med ia
com mentator s 6 alone m er its an inve stigation
into wh at went wrong. But th ere are oth er
com p elling argum ents for such an
under taking.
Fir st, th e cultur al h yp oth esis. Th e und er -
lying assum p tion b ehind th e Disney them e
parks (as all its oth er p rod ucts) is that they
are culture free. Disney’s sustained success
for th e p ast 65 years rests on its universal
ap p eal.
But is a th eme p ar k culture free? Th is
pap er argues th at a th em e p ar k is q ual-
itatively d ifferent from oth er Disney p rod -
ucts (Ž lms, m agazines, ch aracters and
signiŽ cantly low in com p ar ison to th e h ome
m ar ke ts in th e US and Jap an. In their Ž r st
ye ar s of op eration, 93% of Disney World
visitor s were Am ericans and over 90% of
Tokyo Disneyland visitors were Japanese.7
Alth ough clearly aiming at a Europ ean wid e
m ar ke t, th is is a ke y issue for DLP, since like
all Disney th em e p ar ks it d ep end s on th e
loya lty of th e local p opu lation to sustain
p roŽ tab ility o utside th e h olid ay season. In-
d eed , th e p roximity of Par is with its ten
m illion p op ulace was th e d ecid ing fa ctor in
op ting for th e Marne-La-Vallée op tion
(Grover, 1991).
Linked to th e ab ove are two oth er con-
cern s for DLP: sales p er h ead insid e th e p ark
and its p er ip h er y (th e h otel resor ts with its
sh op p ing and restaurant arcad e) are much
lower th an exp ected , as are the num ber of
ove rnight stays . In oth er word s, custom er s
d o not sp end enough .
An oth er good reason for und er taking th is
enquir y is th e op po r tunity. Th e creation of
DLP is one of those r are institutional eve nts,
in wh ich an organization of such a scale is

2
Disne yland Paris: Mickey n ’e st p as tir é d ’affaire ! Capital Fé vr ier 1995, p p . 39–42.
3
Inter vie w with Philip p e Bourginio n, Libération 15 Decem b er 1994, p . 47.
4
Inter vie w with Philip p e Bourginio n, Libération 15 Decem b er 1994, p . 47.
5
As early as Ž ve weeks in to its o pe ning, th e Hollywood Reporter reve aled a string o f staff an d m ana gem ent
pr ob lem s (Financial Tim es, 27 May 1992, p. 3).
6
Pete rs and Wate rman (1982) in the ir we ll known b es t-se ller selec t Disney a s one of a n exclusive num b er o f
‘excellent’ c omp an ies, wh o h ave con sistently p roved to be ou tstand ing in th eir Ž nanc ial, strategic an d R&D
p e rforman ce. Many oth e rs h ave written ab o ut Disney with an ad ula tion-like a pp ro ach . A recent b o ok in th is genre
is Grover’s (1991) The Disne y Touch.
7
Source s: Walla ce, 1985, p . 53; 10 Years Tok yo Disneyland, Orien tal La nd Co., Ltd Pub lic ity Division, 1993.
 A them e park in a cultural straitjack et
reprod ucing itself in minutiae and do ing it in
th e p ub lic lim eligh t, th rough a rationally
construed p lan , wh ich is tigh tly controlled
and m eticulously exe cuted . Tr ue to th e Dis-
n ey sp irit, ve r y little was left to chance.
It is th erefore th e intentional institu tional
b uild -up and th e p ub lic exp osure wh ich
attract our attention. DLP p rovid es an o p-
p or tu nity to exam ine an organization’s rai-
son d’être concep tually and in action.
Fur th erm ore, it is an opp or tu nity to exam ine
th e fa m ous Disney th eme p ark for mula (th e
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m agic experience) outsid e its natural h ab-
itat. Parad oxically p erh ap s, this m ay h elp us
to unveil its ingred ients as th ey are tested in
a foreign environm ent.
DOES A CULTURAL DISCOURSE
MATTER?
Th e com mercial fa ilures of DLP m ay b e
explained b y com mercial m eans. Th ere h as
b een mu ch controver sy ab out th eir pr icing
p olicy and low key, ind irect pub lic relations
str ategy (wh ich wor ke d to great effect in
Califor nia: Fjellm an, 1992). An ad ult entr y
p r ice in Ap r il 1992 was twice th e entr y p r ice
to Alton Towers, th e UK’s p remier th em e
p ark (225 Ff. comp ared to £11.50: Mark eting,
9 Ap ril 1992). The hotels at th e resor t were
expensive eve n in comp arison to Paris h o-
tels of the sam e r anking and a fa mily round
tr ip to Disney Wor ld in Florida would not
h ave b een th at much m ore expensive th an a
tr ip to Euro Disney in Marne-La-Vallée. A
th ree d ay tr ip for a fam ily of four in low
season would h ave co st £335. Of th e nearest
French com p etitors th e entr y pr ices were
150Ff (Parc Ast ér ix) and 120Ff (Futuro -
scop e). Clear ly, extraneo us econom ic cir-
cum stances can be b lamed for DLP’s
m isfor tunes. Th e coinciding of th e op ening
o f th e p ark with th e onset of a Europ ean-
wide recession, a sh ar p d ecline in land
p r ices – creating a nega tive eq uity – and a
fall in interest r ates – m aking the ser vicing o f
th e capital loan exp ensive – are all d irectly
45
attr ib utab le factors. Is a cultur al exp lan ation
at all necessar y? Taking the p arsimony p rin-
cip le as a gu id e, wh y sh ould we attem p t a
cultur al explanation at all, b efore exh au sting
m ore ob vious sources, Ž nancial and m arket-
ing, for instance? Th is is not m erely an
acad em ic questio n. It h as far -reach ing im-
p lications for th e tur naround str ategy of
Euro pe’s largest them e p ar k, a sub sid iar y of
one of the wor ld ’s m ost successful
corp orations.
In a way, our task in justifying such an
app roach is m ad e easier b y DLP’s current
reaction to th e crisis. By th eir own ad mis-
sio n, th e cap tains of DLP Ž nd th e cultural
d om ain of imp or tance to th eir present p re-
d icament. Th ey went through th e effor t of
changing th e th em e p ar k’s nam e from Euro
Disney to Disneyland Paris (em p h asis in
origin). Th e com p any’s Ch ief Executive OfŽ -
cer, Ph ilip p e Bo urginion (h is ap p ointm ent in
Ap r il 1993, b y itself an act of sym b olic
signiŽ cance: an Am er icanized French man re-
p lacing an Am er ican fr ancop h ile, Rob er t
Fitzpatr ick) is op en abo ut h is str ategy for
th e future, wh ich is attr acting th e French –
and French izing th e attr actions. Th is in-
clud es sp ecial r ates for lo cal resid ents, stag-
ing special events dur in g French h olid ays
and th e latest attraction – space m ountain –
inspired b y Jules Verne’s classic ‘trip to th e
m oon’ (Lib ération, 15 De cem b er 1994, p . 47;
Capital, Février 1995 p p . 39–42).
Ear lier on (while still Euro Disney), th ey
b roke one of Walt’s sacred rules, b y allowing
alcoh ol into th e p ar k, as a way of respo nding
to French cr itique. It did not wor k (and why
will b e exp lained later ), b ut th ere is no
d oub t th at DLP has b een aware for some
time of th e necessity to app ly a culturally
sen sitive app roach to th eir them e p ar k.
Se tting th at aside, th e task of th is pap er is
to contextualize DLP in a cultural d iscour se.
Therefo re, any asp ect of its attitud es, p o-
licies and op er ations could be sub jected to a
cultur al inter pretation, includ ing th e p ar tic-
ular Ž nancial ap p ro ach take n b y Th e Walt
 46
Disney Com p any. Th is will be Ž rst p oint to
b e exam ined .
HAS DLP FAILED?
(CULTURAL STATEMENT 1)
Well, ye s: b y th eir own ad mission, DLP h as
failed so far. Th e com pany has b een con-
tinuously in th e red (last ye ar losses, aft er
d eb t restructuring: 857 m illion fr ancs) (Capi-
tal, Févr ier 1995, p p . 39–42) and all Ž nan-
cially involved , from the Walt Disney
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Com p any to th e pr ivate inve sto r h ave lost
consider ab ly on th e stock exch ange .
Of course, DLP could h ave p or traye d a
d ifferent p icture, had th ey not em p h asized
from th e onset th e great Ž nancial opp or tu n-
ities for inve stor s ($1 b illion p roŽ ts a year
b y th e mid-1990s) and h ad th eir own ex-
p ectations for a h igh and q uick return on
investm ent b een m ore mod est. Grove r
(1991) suggested th at th e Walt Disney Com-
p any team were con vin ced of th e Ž nancial
success of the European th em e p ark and
th at th eir only concer n was to gain as m uch
as p ossible from its exp loits.
DLP could h ave p ar ad ed a list of no minor
ach ieve ments. Like b uilding in record time
(four ye ar s) a new resor t, th e size of a sm all
to wn, pr actically from scratch ; introd ucing a
new concep t of leisure and d eve lop ing a
market in unfa vou rab le econom ic circum -
stances; cop ing with th e com p lexities of
simultaneou s m ultilingual en ter tainm en t;
running a h igh ly com p lex enterp r ise in a
new cultural environm ent; creating new job s
in times of a d eep ening recession; (almost)
ach ieving th e am b itious p rojected num ber
of visitors for th e Ž r st ye ar. An d p erh ap s
eve n taking p ride in Walt Disney’s (ofŽ cial)
mission ‘to b ring h app iness to m illions’!
The p erceived fa ilure of DLP is th erefore a
cultural statem ent par excellence, a d isclos-
ure abo ut th e Walt Disney Comp any’s core
values: its b eing a h ard-nosed , ‘b ottom-line’,
proŽ t-making enter p rise. Th ere is no reason
Altm an
to suggest th at DLP is b ut a Ž nancial exe r -
cise for its p arent com p any, wh ich has
d isap p ointed .
Th e m ain concern of th is pap er, however,
is to p rop ose a cultural interp retation of DLP
from a consum er p ersp ective. This takes us
to th e Disney p hilosoph y of wh at concer ns
gue sts (Disney sp eak for customers) and
th eir role in th e fa ntasy th eme p ark.
THE DISNEY SUCCESS FORMULA
(CULTURAL STATEMENT 2)
What I wa nt more t han anything else is for
Disneyland t o be a place wh ere peop le are
hap py, where ch ildren and grown -ups can
have exh ilarating exp eriences and fabulous
times t oget her and come out feeling t he
bet ter for it (Walt Disney).
Th e Disney product, its un iq ue selling
point, is magic . . . an illusion th at requires
absolute b elief on t he parts of the gu est s
and ab solut e convict ion from the cast mem-
bers. Wit hout th at mutual faith, Euro Disne y
wo uld b e ‘just another th eme park’ (Phil-
ip pe Bo urginion, Ch airman, DLP).
Th e Disney form ula for a quality guest
experience (Disney sp eak m eaning ‘good
va lue for m oney’) as instr ucted in th e tr ain-
ing m anual for new recr uits is as follows :
safety + courtesy + show + efŽ ciency = happi-
ness. The secret of th is succin ct recipe lies
in th e interd ep end ency of its elem ents. Take
one away and th e m agic experience (Dis ney
sp eak) tum b les.
Th ere is anoth er par t to th e form ula,
wh ich is eq ually exp licit. For gue st read
gue sts – and , m ore p recisely, a fam ily. Th e
Disney th em e p ar k is d esigned for fam ily
en ter tainm en t. Th e interd epend ency there-
fore fur th er extend s to th e target p op ula-
tion . Th e ch ild ren are th e ‘p ullin g’ force and
th em e p arks are often d ep icted as a children
paradise. Howeve r, th e ad ults are th e ones
wh o p ay and therefo re th ey too are
imp licated .
 A them e park in a cultural straitjack et 47

Ch ildren are a cr itical elem ent also, b e- b oth form th e contents of its th eme p ar ks ,
cause in advanced indu str ial societies, only wh ich in tu rn sup p or t th e p op ularity of th eir
ch ild ren are p erm itted to ind ulge them - Ž lms an d associated m erch and ise (Gro ver,
selves in unrestrained , spontaneous o ut- 1991) .
bur sts of exc item ent. Ad ults are socialized
into emotional restrain t th at extend s to th eir DECONSTRUCTING THE DISNEY
leisure activities (Elias and Dunning, 1986). FORMULA
To create a ‘p ar ty h at’ atmo sp h ere, with
visitors sp or ting th eir newly acq uired Un derneath all, ind ividuals,
Mickey Mouse ear s or cowb oy h ats, th e I swear not hing is go od t o me now t hat
ignores individ ua ls,
ch ild ren’s p resence is crucial, as th ey need
th e American compact is altoge ther with
to set th e tone and p rovid e th e legitimacy
individ ua ls,
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for exc itement. th e only go vernment is t hat wh ich m ake s

Ad ults, in ad d ition to th eir ro le of pay minut e with individuals . . . (Walt Whitman,
master s, assum e th e h eavy b urden of mak- By Blue Ontario’s Shore).
ing th e ‘m ake b elieve’ wor k. A sm iling and
. . . t he peop le smile. Actually th ey smile
hap p y ad ult make s it easier for oth er ad ults
more and more, th ou gh neve r to oth er
to join in th e fair y tale fantasy. Conve rsely, a
people, always to t hemselves (Baudrillard,
non-sm iling ad ult with a som b re fa ce sp ells 1988) .
disaster. Th at sh ould exp lain wh y th e ke y
ch ar acteristic emp h asized in recruitment is . . . t he h istor y of recreat ions , of play, of
‘to know h ow to work with a sm ile’8 and wh y enjoyments is t he hist or y of wo rk and of
th e serious side of life (Georg Simmel,
sm iling is elevated to a ph ilosoph y of wor k
Infélices Possidentes).
and life ‘. . . th e Disney smile is not a rictus.
It’s just a sign of natur al cour tesy, a sign of Th e b usiness ch allenge wh ich an y Disney
knowing th at you’re p ar t of a winning team , th em e p ar k fa ces is Ž rst, h ow to b r ing th e
doing th e b est for your guests, sharing th e custom ers to th e p ark, second , h ow to m ake
sam e goals, speaking th e sam e language’ th eir stay a wor th wh ile exp erience (i.e. h ow
(from th e training m anual). It is th e Ž rst to make th em sp end as m uch as p ossible 9)
tr aining (p r actice a fr iend ly sm ile) that em - and, th ird, h ow to lure th em b ack.
ploye es receive. Th e Ž r st ch allenge no d oub t is a q uestion
In oth er word s, th e passport (Disney sp eak for m ar ke ting. Th e th ird ch allenge h inges o n
for entrance ticke t) to happiness h inges on a th e second – th e m agic experience – wh ich
r ath er tigh t form ula. It is tigh t, Ž rst, b ecause th e following analysis will now attem p t to
o f th e interd ep end ence of its constituent d econstruct.
p ar ts and , second, b ecause th e values they Alth ough th e Disney fo rm ula exten ds of
tr ansm it are culturally constr ued (s ee th e co urse to th e en tire resor t (h otels, th e
following). Tigh tness is of cour se th e hall- sh op ping/restaurants arcad e), th e following
m ark of the Disney b usiness em pire: th e way an alysis will b e conŽ ned to th e p ar k itself.
th e selling of its Ž lms reinforces th e selling Th ere are th ree ke ys to th e m agic experi-
o f Disney-cop yrigh ted merch and ise and ence: infantilization – a ch ild ren-like m ilieu,
8
‘Mê me si vo us n’avez p as d e form ation sp éc ialis ée ou n e p ratiq ue z p a s les lan gues, sach ez q u’à Eu ro Disney nou s
a vons 1,200 m étiers d iffé rents et les op p or tunit é s so nt e t se ront nom b reuse s pour ceux qui savent sourire en
travaillant’ from a recruitmen t ad ver tisem ent in Le Monde, 27 Ap ril 1994, p . 85. Smiling is the only attribute
required.
9
Fjellman (1992) p rovid e s Ž gures wh ich sh o w th at in th e case of Disn ey Wor ld Flo rid a, th e incom e from th e sales
o f fo od s, me rch and ise a nd h o tel nigh ts are m uch b igge r th an in com e from entra nce fees.
 48
‘fun’ Am er ican style and a safe
environment.
Infantilization (Cultural Statement 3)
Infantilization is m an ifested th ro ugh out th e
th em e p ark: in th e fa ntasy th em es (th e
land s), th e attractions (r id es), in th e food s,
th e m erch and ise. Th e leitmotif is universal
accessib ility and therefo re a stress on th e
lowest comm on d enominato r (ch ild ren) is
u navoid able.
Of interest here is Go rer ’s (1948) p or traya l
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o f Am er ican ch ild ren. Th is classic account
re ects th e prevalent con ven tions of Wh ite
m idd le America, at a time wh en Disney (a
m idd le America m an h imself) for m ulated h is
p lans for th e m agic k ingdom .
Th ree of Go rer’s (1948) ob ser va tions are
o f p ar ticular releva nce. Fir st, th e p ercep tion
th at ‘th e ch ild is b orn fa ultless . . . . and any
defe cts wh ich sub seq uently d evelop are th e
fa ult of uncontrollab le circum stances, or of
th e ignorance or m alice of its p arents wh o
mar wh at sh ould other wise b e a perfect, or
at least p erfectly adjusted, hu man b eing’ (p.
50). Th e m yth o f ch ild h ood as th e realm of
th e inn ocent and p ure – merely a step away
from th e kingd om of fa ir y tales and m agic, is
central to th e con str uction of Disney’s
th em e park.
Second , an emp h asis in early ch ildh ood
on feed ing to a sch ed ule an d an op p osition
to ind ulged nutrition, th e u se of food as
reinforcer for good b eh aviour (and foo d
withd r awal for b ad b eh aviour), with a result-
ant neurotic attitud e toward s food satiation.
Pr actically all food s in th e Disney th em e
parks are fa st food s. Th ough th e fast p ar t of
the food s is imp or tant, of interest h ere is th e
ch ild -like q uality of th e food s on offer. Th ese
are mostly processed and thereb y easily
digested, p or tioned (for a ch ild ’s gr asp ),
taste enh ancers are ad d ed (to suit a ch ild ’s
palate) and altogeth er th ey are r arely sat-
isfying (th erefore necessitating freq uent
breaks).
Altm an
Th ird , th e em p h asis on rearing to ind e-
p en dence, master y of skills and calculated
risk taking, from an early age. ‘As soon as a
child h as acquired sufŽ cient p h ys ical ind e-
p en dence to b e let out of d oor s alone –
cer tainly b y th e age of three, and oft en
ear lier – it will leave its fa mily and sp end
m ost of its time with its co mp etitor s and
rivals in th e imm ediate neigh b ourh ood . . .
(the m other) sh ould b e ash amed of keep ing
a constant eye on th e ch ild , keep ing it
p er m anently tied to h er ap ron strings . By so
d oing, sh e would risk com mitting th e great-
est crime wh ich an American p arent can
comm it: sh e would risk tur ning h er ch ild
into a sissy’ (Go ve r, 1948, p p . 61–2).
Th e Disney th eme park provid es th e d ecor
fo r an illusion of ind ep end ence. Rid es are
d esigned for tod d ler s (age 3 ye ars onward s),
you ng ch ild ren can exp erience the th rill of
d riving a car o n ‘real’ road s and teenager s
are ch allenge d to d are enter a h aun ted
m ansion or ride th e fa mous Big Th und er
m ountain tr ain. It is an all-win gam e. By
m erely joining th e r id e, one is assu red of
comp leting th e task successfully.
Since th e th em e p ar k is b ased on th e
lowest comm on d enom inator – a ch ild ’s
world – the und erlying assum p tion h as to b e
th at ad ults can join in with ch ild ren. Th at is,
d ad d y and junior can b ecome p als for th e
d ay. This is a cultu ral statement. It may b e
correct for m ainstream Am er ica. It may not
b e correct for mainstream France. In fa ct,
what we know ab out French h olid aying is
th at it is based on the p rem ise of ch ild ren
joining in with th e ad ults (that is, p ar ticipat-
ing in th e ad ults world) or b ein g sep ar ated
from th e ad ults (as in Club Med fo r
instance).
American ‘Fun’ (Cultural Statement 4)
‘Fun’, d enoting a p leasant exp erience, is a
key term of Am erican ever yd ay life. ‘Having
fu n’ is to leisure what ‘h aving a nice d ay’ is
to wo rk. SigniŽ cantly, th e two – work and
leisure – are not opp osites. Th e com m on
 A them e park in a cultural straitjack et
saying of cor p orate America ‘we wor k hard
b ut we also p lay hard ’ manifests th is
linka ge .
De egan (1989) in h er stud y on Am erican
leisure, considered ‘fun’ a typical leisure
experience, a by-prod uct of m od er nization,
wh ich h as th e app ear ance of p layfulness and
‘m ay h elp th e ind ivid ual fe el at one with a
select group of oth er s: for exam p le, fa mily,
friends, th e in-group , or the team’ (p . 26). It
is an escap e from th e mu ndane of ever yd ay
life, b ut it p ro vides only a p ar tial and limited
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relief (conŽ ned by time, sp ace and costs,
am ong oth er s).
Th e Disney th em e p ark in its role as a
sanctu ar y and b y p rovid ing an infantilizing
environment, is a suprem e m anifestation of
a ‘fun’ environm ent. In th at resp ect th e
Disney th em e p ar k was ge nuinely revolu-
tionar y for its time and was m et with scep ti-
cism from th e p rofe ssionals.
Th e centr al fe ature of th e p ark are th e
r ides (attractions) wh ich m ay conveniently
b e d eŽ ned h ere as ‘fun’ m ach ines. A ‘fu n’
m ach ine is based on p rovid ing a mostly
sensual stimulation in an imaginar y land-
scape. It is strictly comm od iŽ ed in time
(m ost r id es take b etween two and th ree
m inutes), sp ace (all are ind ividu alized ) and
m ovem ent (one is con Ž ned to a seat and
u sually b elted for th e d uration o f th e ride).
Th e image r y m ay b e rich , b ut it is static and
str ictly regulated: all p ass through th e sam e
routine. No va riability is p ossib le.
‘Fun’ Disney style is b eing recep tive to
exter nal stimuli. It is fa st, it is concrete and
th e p oin t is in ‘do ing it’. Do ing m ore of it,
p resum ably is good va lue for m oney.
Th e emp h asis on fast and concrete extend s
to oth er aspects of the p ar k. Th e food on
o ffer is fa st food – th e accent is on consum-
ing. DLP reluctantly intro duced mo re sp aced
restaurants and eve n alcoh ol, to p lacate th e
French (Europ ean). These h oweve r stand in
o pp osition to the wh ole concept of th e p ar k.
Th e p oint in h aving alcoh ol with yo ur m eal
is not th e dr ink per se b ut th e op p or tunity to
49
relax. Th ere is no id le sp ace to b e found ,
wh ere visitors m ay relax. Space is com mod i-
Ž ed to rides, food and merch and ise. Th e
totality of th e d esign allows no escap e from
th e fantasy. To enjoy Disney one need s to
co nsu me, in all m anners. There is no relief:
th e b ackground m usic p enetrates eve n th e
p ub lic toilets.
‘Fun’ Disney style is a stimulating, not
relaxing exp erience. It is h ard work.
A Safe Environment
(Cultural Statement 5)
Sa fe ty, in th e p syc hological sen se, is centr al
to th e Disney th em e park. It is m anifested
Ž r st and foremost in its arch itectur al land -
scap e. On entering th e p ar k, passing th rough
Main Street Station, one walks d own Main
Street USA, a p er fe ct, mock-up , idealized
m id -West town h igh street fro m around th e
turn of th e centur y: a reassuring fa ntasy to
an Am erican m ind . ‘Th e idea of th e sm all
town h as come to function in US culture as
th e h om e of nostalgia for a p re-urb an Amer -
ica. It is th e p lace wh ere h ar assed p eop le in
a d ange rou s, imp ersonal, and unfr iend ly
wor ld can sym b olically locate fr iend ship,
ord er, intimacy, innocence’ (Fjellman, 1992,
p . 170). Th e genius of Disney was to use th is
b enign image, with wh ich all strata of soci-
ety (b ut in p ar ticular th e lower m iddle
classes) could identify and turn it into a
‘land scap e of p ower’ (Zukin, 1991). Main
Street USA is th e visual cond uit th rough
wh ich visitor s b egin to realize th e licence
(for wh ich th ey p aid) to enjoy th em selves:
‘ad m ission tickets h ere are called p assp or ts,
an d with good reason, because you’ll b e
crossing a b ord er to get inside, the on e th at
sep arates th e real world from th e realm of
th e imaginar y’ (The Guide to Euro Disney,
1992, p . 53).
Th e inevitab le q uestion is, d o th e non-
Am er ican visitor s interp ret Main Street th e
sam e way? Fur th er more, are th ey as alien-
ated and d o th ey h ave as much need for
 50
reassurance as d o th e urb an d weller s of
m od ern day Am erica?
The m agic kingdom is surround ed b y a
r am p , d om in ated b y th ree mini d iesel fuel-
b ur nin g steam locom otives from th e sam e
b enign er a, wh ich p ull op en b ench car riage s
n am ed aft er ear ly Am er ican cities. Once
again one is left wond ering wh eth er th ese
Ž ne d etails are n ot lost on th e clientele.
Th e rail track th us for ms a natural fence,
wh ich sep ar ates th e m agic kingdom from th e
world outside. Th is em ph asis on not allow-
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ing th e outsid e in, is reinforced b y th e
p lanning of th e surround ing area in a way
wh ich d oes not allow th e outside scener y to
b e seen from inside th e p ar k. The (ob -
sessive) cleanliness of th e resor t, th e p erfect
ga rd ens, th e p roh ibition on d ogs, th e effec-
tive ban of p eanuts, all are d esigned to
create a fantasy sanctuary.
Insid e th e sanctuar y, Main Street USA
lead s to th e centr al fantasy land m ar k –
Sleep ing Beauty Castle. It encap sulates well
th e ideology of fa ntasy. Sleep ing Beauty
represents ad venture, th e str uggle b etween
good and evil and a hap p y ending. Entr y into
th e castle is also a conŽ r matio n th at one is
at the hear t of th e m agic k ingdom : h aving
Ž rm ly left the outside, one may now p roceed
safe ly to th e d ifferent magic lands, wh ich
r ad iate from Sleep ing Beauty’s Castle. Th e
centrality of Sleep ing Beauty Castle in th e
th em e p ark’s narr ative is re ected in th e
concentr ated effor t to French ize it. It is one
o f th e fe w attractions wh ich are form ally
p resented in th eir French name – Le Ch âteau
d e la Belle au Bois Do rm ant – and a long
stor y is woven around it attem pting to
convince us that its d esign was in uenced
b y a French med ieva l m anuscript and even
‘th e h eavened -sp iralling architecture of
Mont-St.-Mich el, a well-known French land -
m ark, was also a major in uence’ (The Guide
to Euro Disney, 1992, p . 17).
Th rough out th e ad venture, one’s safety is
continuously reafŽ rm ed b y th e fr iend ly man-
n er of th e hosts (cast m em bers) and actively
Altm an
p rotected b y th e som b re young m en with
ear p lu gs wh o p atrol th e scene.
Th e n arr ative is clear and consistent. But
d oes it m ake sense in a Europ ean m ilieu and
to a Europ ean clientele?
LEISURE AS A CONSUMPTION EVENT
To take the d iscourse a step fur th er, I would
like to p osition DLP on th ree p ossib le sce-
narios of leisure con sum p tion events. I call
th em passive, interactive and participatory
leisure consumption.
Passive Leisure
Th is is th e least comp licated (d ifferentiated )
level of leisure consum p tion. It d enotes a
simp le, d irect, one-to-one relationsh ip
b etween consum er and ob ject. This would
b e the case with , for instance, m ovies, m aga -
zin es, fa sh ion, food s, includ ing Am erican
classical icons th e likes of Westerns, com ics,
McDo nald’s, Levi’s and Coca-Cola.
Th e consum er h as a clear idea of wh at to
exp ect b ased on p ast exp erience, th e visibil-
ity of th e p rod uct (wh o d oes not know a
Western, McDo nald’s, Levi’s or Coca-Cola?)
and its speciŽ city: a m ovie, a snack, a p air of
trousers or a refresh ment. Th e guarantee of
consisten cy, emb ed d ed in the p rod uct’s
image , ad d s to th e simp licity and efŽ ciency
of consum p tion. It is a tr ivial eve nt in tur n-
of-th e-cen tur y Wester n society.
Interactive Leisure
A th eme p ark is a m ore co mp lex for m of
leisure consum p tion, not th e least b ecause it
is not h ab itual in th e way th at p assive
consump tion may b e. A fam ily tr ip to a
Disney th eme p ark is a p lanned, intentional
and infreq uent occur rence.
More imp or tantly, leisure consum ption in
a th em e p ark is an interactive exp erience. It
enga ge s th e custom er in a h and s-on exp eri-
ence in a way th at is essential in m aking the
show work. Th e customer’s cultur al and
societal assum p tions and exp ectations m eet
 A them e park in a cultural straitjack et
th ose rep resen ted b y th e p ark’s facilities, its
arch itectu ral landscap e and th e opp or tun -
ities (or imp ositions) th ese p resent.
Anoth er ch aracteristic of th is form of
leisure is th at it is person centred. In th e
th em e p ark, th e inter fa ce is a p er son to
o bject experience, which in th e case of
Disney is m ostly a m ach ine of a kind – or a
m ach ine-like h um anoid. Staff of course are
n ot simp ly ser vice p rovid er s, they are cast
m em be rs in a gr and sh ow. Th eir role is
sp eciŽ ed in m inutiae, in p ar ticular th e Dis-
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n ey ch aracters, who like m ech anical toys
m ay only m ove (b ut not talk) in a pre-
p rogr am m ed manner.
Wh ile a visit to a Disney them e p ark is not
a d aily event, it is tr ivial in th at it b uild s on
th e m aterials of eve r yd ay life – r id es (attrac-
tions) can b e found in any fa ir, fast food on
eve r y street corner and Disney merch and ise
is as comm on. Th e Disney them e p ark sim-
p ly p rovid es m ore of th e sam e in a con -
d ensed form for efŽ cient consum p tion. It is
an engrand isement of d aily life – th e ep ito me
o f ‘h ave a nice d ay’ à la Am ericaine (Altm an
and Jones, 1992).
As it b uild s on social structures and con-
ventions, leisu re consum p tion th e Disney
way reinforces wh at De egan (1989) called
‘th e core codes in Am er ican culture’: sex,
class, b ureaucracy and com m od iŽ ed time.
Since th ese are essentially d ivisive (differ -
entiating peop le on th e b asis of gend er,
class, age, h ealth , r ank, etc.) th e inter active
experience is essentially a p er sonal exp er i-
ence extend ed to like-mind ed oth er s.
Participatory Leisure
Th is is a more d em and ing for m of leisure
consum p tion, as it req uires a dep ar ture from
th e estab lish ed cu ltur al and societal nor ms
wh ich gove rn d aily b eh avio ur, consumer
b eh aviour includ ed. It stand s in op p osition
to interactive leisure and d iffers from inter -
active con sum p tion in th at it is group cen-
tred . SigniŽ cantly it h as th e p otential of
51
creating ‘real p lay’ as op posed to ‘fun’ (Dee-
gan, 1989). Par ticipator y leisure is open to
all, in th e sense th at, ideally, it is non-
d iscriminator y and th ereb y h elp s b reak th e
b ar rier s (core codes) b etween p eop le.
Par ticipator y leisure has th e p otentiality
of transform ation and in this resp ect is eman-
cip ato r y: as a p ersonal asp ect o f p layful-
ness, relaxation (as op po sed to ‘fun’) and b y
creating union and recip rocity in a wid er
comm unity context . Institutions of p ar tici-
p ator y leisure are com m on. Th e English
street corner p ub (p ar ticularly in its latest
ve rsion, incorp orating wom en and ch ild ren)
comes readily to mind as d o its continental
counter par ts – the south Ger m an Bier stube,
th e French café as well as th e American b ar.
Other exam p les include simp le outd oor
gam es – th e French P étanq ue (Boules) th at
can b e p laye d anywh ere – or m ajor calend ar
even ts – th e var ious Mard i Gras car nivals
and religious events like siestas and
p ilgrimage s.
Alth ough it allud es to it, th e m agic experi-
ence is no t tr ansfo rm ational. It cannot b e,
for two reasons. First, as outlined , th e Dis-
ney th em e p ark’s d esign and mo de of opera-
tio n are a series of stimulator y p erson-
m ach ine interactions. Th ey m ay b e ‘great
fun’ b ut actually are h ard work. Second ,
b ecause from wh at we know ab out Walt
Disney’s p ersonality and th e d ecisive imp act
h e h ad on his p ar k, it is h igh ly unlikely th at
th is obsessive–comp ulsive ge nius would
h ave intentionally created an emancipator y
even t. In fa ct, Wallace (1985) asser ted th at
‘h e [Disney] q uite consciously str ipp ed
away th e h onky-ton k legacies of the carnival’
(p. 40).
Th e m agic experience may b e an exh ilarat-
ing event, b ut it is not a lib er ating one.
The Magic Experience is in the Detail
(Cultural Statement 6)
The ch allenge DLP faces is clear. It cannot
count on its custom er s ap p roaching it as
 52
p assive consum er s. Ne ith er can it b e ex-
p ected that custom er s will actively create an
ench anted exp er ience, with th e m ater ials
p rovid ed to th em . Th e m agic experience is
constructed on engagin g visitor s in inter -
action with th e mach iner y of th e park. It
th erefore, as Walt Disney d estined it, h inge s
on p erfecting th e d etail of th ese
interactions.
DLP will sur vive or fail on th ose d etails.
Th e need to ser ve a m ultinational clientele
m ake s th e manage ment of d etails not only a
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m ulticultu ral and multilinguistic effor t, b ut
n ecessarily a comp lex one.
Th e ch allenge, m ore sp eciŽ cally, is two-
fold. First, to m aintain an environm ent
wh ere th e d etails m ake (tech nical) sense
linguistically and culturally, e.g. signs, notes,
n am es and term s (Altm an and Jones, 1992) .
Se cond , to ensu re th ey m ake sense con-
ceptually and m etaph or ically – b y valid ating
th at th e m agic experience cor respond s to
th e term s of reference of a Europ ean-b ased
clientele.
Th e imp er fe ct detail faults th e m agic. Not
for th e ch ild ren wh o are far less d iscerning,
b ut for th e ad ults, wh ose role in th e p ar k
(from a Disney view) is as p ay master s. A
d isillusioned ad ult m ay stop reve llin g in th e
m agic and star t assessing th e exp erience on
its merits. A d isillusioned adult will b e care-
ful in p ar ting with mon ey. Th is is b ad for
b usiness.
DISNEYLAND PARIS AND THE FRENCH
It was suggested earlier th at for DLP to
succeed it h as got to attract th e French
p op ulace in larger num b er s th an ach ieved
h ith er to. An und erstan ding of wh at p re-
vented th e French from resp ond in g favour -
ab ly to th e them e p ark is th erefore a
p rereq uisite.
A num b er of key fa ctor s will b e d iscussed ,
th ough the scop e of th is p ap er d oes not
Altm an
p er mit an exh austive cove rage of all relevant
asp ects.
French Leisure Institutions
(Cultural Statement 7)
To und er stand th e French reaction to DLP it
is necessar y to Ž nd b ench -m arks for com -
p ar ison. For th at p ur po se three sets of
institutions will b e exam ined : ad ve nture/
amusement p arks (in p ar ticular Futuroscop e
and Parc Ast érix), th e m ost p op ular tr ad i-
tio nal leisure site outsid e Paris (Mont-St-
Mich el) and the m ost estab lish ed p acka ge
h olid ay form ula (Club Méd iterr an ée).
Adventure/ am usem ent park s
It was only in 1987 th at a leisure p ar k with
amb itions to attract custom ers on a nation al
scale op ened , by d esign, in France (th at is,
only Ž ve ye ars p re-DLP). A d irect comp ari-
son, h owever, sh ould be taken with caution
as DLP is in a d ifferent league. Of its com -
p etitors, only two attract m ore th an a m il-
lion visitor s p er annum – Futuroscop e and
Parc Ast ér ix – th e ab solute m ajority of
wh om are French (comp ared with some 10
m illion visitor s to DLP, wh o are m ostly non-
French ). Of th e two, only one – Futuroscope
– is p roŽ tab le. Am ong th e French ad ve nture/
amusement p ar ks it would th erefore ser ve
as th e most adeq uate b ench -mark for DLP
(for lack of a b etter one). Marlière (1992)
p ositioned th e French leisu re p arks into two
d imensions: ‘th em atic–ge ner al’ and ‘ed uca-
tio nal–am usem ent’, th us creating four cate-
gories; see Fig. 1.
Futuroscop e is p ositioned in the th ematic/
educational q uadr ant, wh ile Parc Ast érix is
p ositioned in th e th em atic/am usem ent cate-
gor y. In th e op inion of th e auth or th e correct
p ositioning for DLP is in th e Ž rst qu ad rant:
generalist–am usem ent. Th e com b in ation
th em atic–ed ucatio nal seem s to b e th e one
p refe rred b y th e French p ub lic.
All p ar ks are b ased on a one d ay visit and
signiŽ cantly, th e sp end ing p er cap ita in th e
French leisure p ar ks was negligib le: 22Ff in
 A them e park in a cultural straitjack et
amusement
Parc Astérix
Club Med
thematic
Futuroscope
Mont-St-Michel
educational
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Fig. 1. ClassiŽcation of leisure institutions on the basis of product emphasis (after
Marlière,1992).
Parc As t érix and 30Ff for Futuroscop e (Ž g-
u res for 1992; ACFCI Com m ission d u Tour -
ism e, 1993) .
Le Mont-St-Michel
Oth er p ossib le bench-m ar ks are trad itional
n ational sites, of wh ich Versailles near Par is
and Mont-St-Mich el on th e b ord er of Nor -
m and y with Brittany, are th e b est known. Of
th e two, Mont-St-Mich el h as som ewh at
closer afŽ nity with DLP (as will b e ex-
p lained ) and will ser ve as com parison.
Le Mont-St-Mich el, la m erveille de l’Occi-
dent, steep ed in French histor y since th e
b eginning of th e eighth centur y, h as b een a
site of mass visit (p ilgrimage) for th e p ast
200 years. Situated on an island of natural
rock it also enjoys th e magniŽ cent views of
th e stro nge st tid es in Europ e. Last year
(1994) it was visited b y som e 2.5 m illion.
Visitor s are not req uired to p ay on en-
tr ance (to th e med ieva l town), thou gh p ar k-
ing is not free. Th ere is a fe e for entering the
‘m ain attraction’ (th e ab b ey and its gar -
d ens). All other ‘attractions’, sh ows , m ini
m useums, guid ed tours and amusement ar -
cades, are op tional. Th ere are numerous
restaurants, m ostly ser ving th e local cuisine,
includ ing som e ‘Mont-St-Michel sp ecialities’.
Th ere are seve ral h otels and guest ho uses. A
visitor to Mont-St.-Mich el may th erefore
com b ine any of th e following: a visit to a
53
DLP
general
h istor ical p lace of m ajor national imp or -
tance, a religious p ilgr image , geological site
seeing and a culinar y experience, as well as
enter tainm ent. Th e strengt h of th e venue is
in its comp osite, va ried offer ings . If p laced in
association with th e aforem entioned th eme
p ar ks , Mont-St-Mich el would b e p ositioned
in th e th ematic–ed ucational q uad rant (Fig.
1).
Club Méditerra n ée
Club Med , as it is fond ly known, the veteran
French comp any for p ackage d holid ays , is
th e m ar ke t lead er in Fr ance. Th e similarities
– and d ifferences – with th e Walt Disney
Co mp any are illu minating.
Form ed in th e 1950s, with th e em ergence
of a p ost-war af uent m id d le class and th e
afford ab ility of m ass transp or t, it h as b een
led b y a fath er and son, Gilb er t and Serge
Tr igano, wh o h ave acted as fa th er Ž gures in
th e b est tr ad ition of French CEOs. On th e
fa ce of it, Gilb er t Tr igano and Walt Disney
seem to h ave m uch in comm on (th ough
Tr igano’s contribu tion to leisure p ales of
course in com p ar ison to Disney’s). Both
were the creative mind s and op erational
d ynamo s in introd ucin g a new concep t, de-
ve loping a m ar ke t and estab lish ing a fa mily-
run Ž nancial emp ire. Both m en were
effectively and visib ly in control. But h ere
 54
th e resem b lance end s. Disney r an h is emp ire
as an ego trip. Trigano was th e fa th er Ž gu re
o f wh at star ted as a not-for -p roŽ t club of
friends. Club Med is run as a fa mily b usi-
n ess, b ut th e fa m ily d oes not own th e
com p any. Th e Walt Disney Com p any is pr i-
vately owned.
Th e key d ifferences b etween th e two com-
p anies is manifested in th eir resp ective
p acka ge s. Disney’s m agic experience, situ-
ated in a m agic kingdom is a concentrated
packa ge of simulated fun experiences. Club
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Med ’s m axim ‘because life’s too short!’ al-
lud es to a different kind of exp er ience wh ich
takes p lace in a self-sufŽ cient village (Club
Med speak for h olid ay cam p ). Th e enter -
tainment accent is on com m unality and
gro up-b ased h ap p enings – alongside th e
‘keep Ž t’ facilities with a b ias toward s water
sp or ts. Wh ile child ren d rive th e show in
Disney th eme p arks , Clu b Med is an ad ults
fan tasy (ave rage customer age, 38 ye ars).
Ch ild ren m ay b e looked aft er sep arately
from th e ad ults.
Th e h olid ay ideology of Club Med , p ar tic-
u larly in its form ative p eriod d uring th e
1950s–1960s, h as b een a go od ap p roxim a-
tion of a p ar ticipator y leisure eve nt. Th e
idea was to sh ut out th e world for a week or
so: no r ad ios, no television, living in rela-
tively simp le str aw h uts, sh ar ing facilities,
sp end ing time togeth er as a ‘village ’ com mu-
n ity b y th e sea. SigniŽ cantly, Club Med ’s
ap p roach is in line with what the aver age
French fam ily does d uring Les Grand es
Vacances.
In relation to th e leisure institutions m en-
tioned ab ove , Club Med would b e po sitioned
o n th e amu sem ent–th em atic q uad rant (Fig.
1).
The Love–Hate Relationships with
America (Cultural Statement 8)
Since at least d e Tocq ueville’s Dem ocracy in
Am erica (1835), th e French h ave looked to
Altm an
th e US with a mixture of ad m iration and fear.
Howeve r, from th e m id-1980s onward s it
wo uld not b e an exa ggeration to say th at
Fran ce h as considered itself to b e und er
Am erican cultural siege. Th e op ening of th e
Ž r st McDo nald’s in Par is was m et with a one
m inute stand -still p rotest b y all restaurants
(within a ye ar, th ough , 400 b ranch es op ened
th rough out th e countr y). By 1990 Am erican
Ž lms and music albums were d om inating th e
French m ar ke t. By 1993 th e d efence of
French culture reach ed th e national age nd a:
rad io stations were instructed to m aintain a
Ž xed ratio b etween French and English
songs. Th e following ye ar, th e gover nment
agreed on a Ž ve ye ar em ergency initiative
to h elp exp or t French cultur al p rod ucts and
an attemp t was m ad e to p ass a law ‘p rotect-
ing th e French language ’ from English
inŽ ltr ation.
Still, th e above were not the only m an ifes-
tations. Th e fa ct th at Am er ican p op ular
culture h as m ad e consistent str id es into th e
French marke t is of course a manifestatio n
of attr action, not rejection. The estab lish -
m ent itself h as exp ressed mixed fe elings .
Th e same Jack Lang, wh o as a m in ister of
culture was am ongs t th e loud est p rotesters
aga inst American cultu ral p enetr ation, d ec-
orated Ž lm star Silvester (Rocky) Stalone
with an h onor ar y title. Th e p resent culture
m inister Jacq ues Toub on, wh ile b attling th e
increasing use of English , decorated French
p op m usic veteran Joh nny Ha llyd ay at th e
time th e singer p ub lish ed h is Ž r st all-English
alb um . Imp or tantly, the Walt Disney Com -
p any cam e to France in th e Ž r st p lace
b ecause of th e ge nerous gr ants and sp ecial
rights accord ed to it b y th e French
estab lish ment.
It is against th is b ackground that the
French reaction to DLP sh ould be assessed .
In conjunction with oth er fa ctors, th is m ay
exp lain wh y pub lic op inion (which h as b een
m ixed ) ad d ed its weigh t to a lu ke warm
recep tio n of DLP.
 A them e park in a cultural straitjack et
CONCLUSION
‘So wh at’s th e b ottom line?’ will the anxiou s
DLP sh areh old er ask and th e d iscerning
acad emic m ay second .
Th is account was not intend ed to p rovid e
th e d eŽ nitive d iagnostic statem en t o f all th at
went wrong with th e m uch p ub licized case
of Disneyland Paris. Actually, th e Walt Dis-
ney Comp any h ad some good reasons to op t
for Marne-La-Vallée as its ch osen site for a
th em e p ark (Altm an and Jones, 1993) and in
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th e longer r un it m ay well get it righ t.
Rath er, th is p ap er h as d emonstr ated h ow
recour se to a cultur al interp retation is rele-
vant, p erh ap s cr ucial in und er stand in g a
cur rent b usin ess p rob lem. In d oing so, it
prop oses a m etho dological ap p roach for
such an interp retation.
Th e pr in cipal lens emp loye d for re ecting
on DLP h as b een a co nsu mer p ersp ective.
An eq ually imp or tant task would b e to con-
textu alize the h uman resource m anagem ent
and op erational asp ects of th is enterp rise:
recru itm ent, training, rem uneration, ap-
pr aisal, as well as process contro l and m ain-
tenance functions.
Of releva nce is to exp lain th e p henom enal
success Disney had with its Ž r st foreign
th em e p ar k, Tokyo Disneyland . Th ere are
interesting va riants h ere. Wh ile Tokyo Dis-
neyland insist th ey are a p erfect cop y o f th e
Am erican original, the d ifferences in fa ct are
many and signiŽ cant (Br ann en, 1992). DLP
on th e o th er hand , h as em p h asized from its
incep tion its d istinctiveness as a Europ ean
th em e p ar k and lately as a French one.
Howeve r, it is m uch clo ser to th e original
Anah eim mod el th an Tokyo Disneyland eve r
was. A closer exam inatio n may reve al th at
contrar y to accep ted wisd om , America and
Jap an h ave m ore in com m on th an m eets th e
eye . Fur th er stud y m ay also d elineate th e
differences in exp er iences Europ ean visitors
have at Disney th eme p arks in th e US as
com p ared to DLP.
55
DLP’s troub les do not seem to h ave d is-
courage d th eme park deve lop ments in Eu-
rop e. A major new th em e p ark op ened in
Ap r il 1995 on Sp ain’s Costa Do r ad a and
War ner Bros. are rep or ted to b e b uild ing a
Ž lm stud io th em e p ar k near Düsseld orf.
What th en can we lear n from th e case of
DLP? First, if th ere is a ‘b ottom line’ m es-
sage , it is th at in crossing b ord ers one
sh ould watch the b asic assum ptions an d b e
careful with b usiness ob jectives. Mar ke ts
are p erh ap s b eco ming glob al and b usiness
m ay b e converging, b ut there are sufŽ cient
localized inter ve ning var iab les to m ake
th ings go wrong. Relying on Ž nancial, eco-
nom ic or m ar ke ting analysis will not d o: one
need s to p ay attention to societal and cul-
tural issues as well. Th ey d o m atter. Second ,
leisure consum ption is sub jected to cultur al
exp ectations and societal norm s. Even a
seem ingly ‘universal’ for mula m ay b e found
fund am entally  awed when crossing b or -
d er s. Perh ap s th ere is comfor t in th e
th ough t th at we are not all the sam e, after
all.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Disneyland Par is h as b een an ongoing inter -
est for m e since its opening in Ap ril 1992. In
th e course of th e p ast two and a h alf ye ar s
m any assisted in ga thering d ata and generat-
ing ideas. In p ar ticular I would like to men-
tio n th e Centre for Manager ial Stud ies at
CUBS, wh o p rovid ed m e with th e time to
carr y out th is research , m y stud ents on the
Evening MBA at CUBS wh o stud ied different
asp ects of DLP (Th om as Yeoh , Rich ard Arn-
Ž eld , Alex Dale, Angus Forb es, Iain To rrance,
Maeve Ga llagh er, Kath Red d y, Do uglas
Lyons, Joh n Maloney and Pam ela You), Le
Centre d e Do cum entation at ESC Lyon an d in
p ar ticular Florence Go zzi for th eir sup p or t,
Tr acy Jon es from CERAM, Nice wh o collab o-
rated with m e in two ar ticles on th e subject,
Ed Mer vosh (at the time with Th e Econom ist
Intelligence Un it) wh o sup p or ted me with
 56
fund s, Ireen Es m ann fro m Clu b Med , Ph il-
ipp e Sar nin and two anonym ous reviewers
for th eir com m ents and th ose p ast and
p resent em p loyees of DLP wh o h elped m e
with inva luab le insigh ts.
Any errors, as b y conve ntion, are mine.
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