What if Euro Disney was built in Italy instead of France?

[Elijah Abrams]

Hi again. I know Germany wouldn't have worked out for Euro Disney, but what if said park was built in Italy instead of France? I found out that The Walt Disney Company's Italy division has been around since 1938.

 

[Schneewittchen37]

The staff would always be on strike maybe? Everything shuts down at 1:30 pm for the afternoon nap. All the things are dirty and or broken. And swarming pick pocketing urchins.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Hi again. I know Germany wouldn't have worked out for Euro Disney, but what if said park was built in Italy instead of France? I found out that The Walt Disney Company's Italy division has been around since 1938.

What about Spain, Portugal or Belgium?

 

[NotUrsula]

I've always thought Spain or Portugal would have been a much better location, particularly to draw in all those vacationing British. Big hospitality foundations with package tours, beaches, warm weather, lots of hotel rooms already built. Either would have made more sense than suburban Paris.

I'm sure that a big part of the argument at the time was government stability and possible corruption. American businesses tend to have a nasty subliminal prejudice against investing in so-called "latin" countries.

 

[bcla]

About half the visitation is from France. Not sure there would have been this level elsewhere. I guess the language might be an issue too.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1116650/tourist-attendance-disneyland-paris-france/

 

[dvcgirl67]

The staff would always be on strike maybe? Everything shuts down at 1:30 pm for the afternoon nap. All the things are dirty and or broken. And swarming pick pocketing urchins.

You must have gone to a different Italy than one I've been to.

 

[NotUrsula]

Spain recorded 82.8M visitors in 2019, and more than 80% of that traffic were headed to the beaches, including 18.1M UK visitors to those destinations. DLP's total attendance for 2019 (including locals) was 14.9M.

Somehow I think that if the park were placed somewhere between Zaragoza-Barcelona, in day-trip distance of the most popular beaches, and weekend-trip distance of Madrid, I think that the numbers would be just as good or better. Most European families who go to the beaches stay for at least 2 weeks and often a full month. Breaking up the trip with a bit of theme park action would be a natural.

 

[ChrisFL]

About half the visitation is from France. Not sure there would have been this level elsewhere. I guess the language might be an issue too.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1116650/tourist-attendance-disneyland-paris-france/

Yeah, it would be weird to build the park in Italy and all of the attractions are in French!

 

[MillauFr]

I've always thought Spain or Portugal would have been a much better location, particularly to draw in all those vacationing British. Big hospitality foundations with package tours, beaches, warm weather, lots of hotel rooms already built. Either would have made more sense than suburban Paris.

I'm sure that a big part of the argument at the time was government stability and possible corruption. American businesses tend to have a nasty subliminal prejudice against investing in so-called "latin" countries.

It would far more difficult for the visitors from the UK. The high speed rail station at Euro Disney east of Paris makes it easy to get to.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I would totally go if it was Italy!

I don't have an issue with France, per se, but don't want anything to do with spending money anywhere that doesn't want me and I've never had the vibe the this country is welcoming towards Americans. It always hit me as a peculiar choice for an American cornerstone, I have a totally different impression of Italy.

 

[NotUrsula]

It would far more difficult for the visitors from the UK. The high speed rail station at Euro Disney east of Paris makes it easy to get to.

Yes, if directly from the UK, but for those already on holiday, if it was somewhere on the route between Madrid and Barcelona, there is a high-speed train there as well, and on the north side of Zaragoza it would just be a hop from their beach holiday destinations (less than 3 hours on the AVE train either direction.) With the usual UK holiday-maker style, I can see more people adding a theme park to a longer holiday than taking a short holiday just to visit a theme park.

 

[Planogirl]

From my experience (no numbers) many Europeans love visiting Spain but France is more centralized and Italy is a bit out of the way. Language barriers wouldn't be a big problem.

 

[tcufrog]

I would totally go if it was Italy!

I don't have an issue with France, per se, but don't want anything to do with spending money anywhere that doesn't want me and I've never had the vibe the this country is welcoming towards Americans. It always hit me as a peculiar choice for an American cornerstone, I have a totally different impression of Italy.

I didn't have any issues when my family went to France. My parents had someone be rude to them when they were buying Metro cards. Another Parisian though saw what happened, and proceeded to yell at the rude person in French. She then offered in English to help my parents and insisted on buying the cards for them.

 

[mikalkwin]

Yes, if directly from the UK, but for those already on holiday, if it was somewhere on the route between Madrid and Barcelona, there is a high-speed train there as well, and on the north side of Zaragoza it would just be a hop from their beach holiday destinations (less than 3 hours on the AVE train either direction.) With the usual UK holiday-maker style, I can see more people adding a theme park to a longer holiday than taking a short holiday just to visit a theme park.

As far as I know, not a lot of British go to Portaventura (only a third of visitors are international). Paris attract a lot more tourists than the spanish coast. And people who like/love Disney will not hesitate to add 1 or 2 days at DLP (44% visitors are French and 53% of DLP visitors ar British/Dutch/Germans - Britsh only represent ~15% of DLP visitors).

 

[LuvOrlando]

I didn't have any issues when my family went to France. My parents had someone be rude to them when they were buying Metro cards. Another Parisian though saw what happened, and proceeded to yell at the rude person in French. She then offered in English to help my parents and insisted on buying the cards for them.

That was really very nice, shouldn't have been necessary but nice someone intervened, this is the reputation the place has though & many other countries have this same reputation for oozing disdain, won't catch me or my money at any of them.

In contrast, some countries strike me as warm, welcoming and gracious, Italy is one of them so I wish Disney was there.

 

[dvcgirl67]

I would totally go if it was Italy!

I don't have an issue with France, per se, but don't want anything to do with spending money anywhere that doesn't want me and I've never had the vibe the this country is welcoming towards Americans. It always hit me as a peculiar choice for an American cornerstone, I have a totally different impression of Italy.

Have you been to France? I've visited twice....and never once felt that vibe. In Paris, you might feel a bit of aloofness from some....no different than the vibe you can get away from the super touristy areas of NYC. In other parts of France, say...Normandy in particular, there's a real love for Americans...been there twice, and it's palpable. I remember....years back, during that time when we were calling French Fries..."Freedom Fries" in this country....for a reason so dumb that I can't remember it and won't bother googling it.....my in-laws had booked a trip to London and Paris. They actually cancelled the trip over this "uproar"...don't even know what else to call it. My FIL was adamant that he wouldn't spend his money there. Well...they never made it to Paris or London....time got away from them, and now they're too old and frail to make a trip like that. Having been twice....their loss for sure. Italy is my favorite European country overall....but for all the places I've been so far, Paris is hands down the most beautiful city in the world.

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

France is sophisticated and easy to get to for Brits and neighbouring countries, but the winter weather in Paris sucks. I would have picked southern Spain where the weather is more reliable and the land cheaper; Disney could also tap into the local parks there too as they do with Universal in Orlando.

 

[Moliphino]

I don't have an issue with France, per se, but don't want anything to do with spending money anywhere that doesn't want me and I've never had the vibe the this country is welcoming towards Americans. It always hit me as a peculiar choice for an American cornerstone, I have a totally different impression of Italy.

Most of the people you meet in France (even Paris) are perfectly lovely. The French don't hate Americans, there's actually some camaraderie since they helped us in the Revolution and then we helped them in WWII (this is from an actual conversation with a French colleague). You run into the occasional rude person, as you do in any large city, but my experiences there have been overwhelmingly positive. Greet any shopkeepers or restaurant workers with "Bonjour" when you come in, to be polite, and they're very friendly. I'm leaving for Paris tomorrow, actually.

 

[mikalkwin]

France is sophisticated and easy to get to for Brits and neighbouring countries, but the winter weather in Paris sucks. I would have picked southern Spain where the weather is more reliable and the land cheaper; Disney could also tap into the local parks there too as they do with Universal in Orlando.

While I agree for the weather, it really was an economic choice to not chose Spain. Look at average monthly or annual income of Spain vs France, Germany or UK... Airport capacity was also a concern. Disney want to attract tourists that have money and will spend it. In Europe, this is definitely not Spain or Portugal. Italy could have been considered though. I always wonder what made them chose Paris over Milan for instance (if Milan ever was interested to host a Disney park).