Walt Disney World: History of the Parks

Walt Disney World: History of the Parks

Walt Disney World: History of the Parks

Prepared for
Jenell Barnard-Keller
COM/BUS 338 Professor

Prepared by
Rene Burson, Madison McCrum, and Haleigh Fischer,
University of Michigan Flint

November 6, 2016

MEMORANDUM
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:

Professor Barnard, COM 338

Group 11
November 6, 2016
Disney: A Fortune 500 Company

Here is the report of research-based analysis of the fortune 500 company, Disney, you requested.
The purpose of this study was to examine what makes, and made, the Disney parks such a
success both in the United States and internationally. To accomplish this we did the research in
two portions; the first portion focused on the history of the Disney parks and the cultural impacts
surrounding them. The second portion of the research was on the economic history of the Disney
parks.
The research and data collection for this study is comprised of secondary sources. Haleigh began
with finding the basic history of the American Disney parks, mainly when the first was opened
and the main attractions to the park. Rene followed up on this and researched the history of the
international Disney parks and the impacts they had on local cultures. Finally, Megan examined
the economic history of the Disney Parks internationally and in the United States. The three
worked together to synthesize this information and produce recommendations for the future
success of the Disney Parks.
While conducting the research, a number of interesting things were found. First, it was
discovered that Walt Disney did not have an easy time getting the funding for the original
Disneyland in California; he suffered from many addictions and personal demons. After the park
was established though it was enough of a hit for a secondary American park. It was also found
that the first international park was built in response to the number of Japanese guests visiting the
two American locations; this spurred the creation of four international Disney parks locations.
Culturally though, these parks were not up to par, and this presented problems for the
international parks with the number of guests and profits. Large changes had to be made to many
of the international parks to make up for the lack of cultural insight.
In closing, we would like to thank you for your support with this assignment. Everyone should
be recognized for their hard work and their willingness to do some extra work when needed. The
group did a great job and worked well together.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
1. Introduction......1
2. History of Disney Parks in America....1
a. Disneyland First Decade of Growth............2
i.
Figure 1....2
b. Disney Parks Main Attractions.......2-3
i.
Figure2.3
3. History of International Disney Parks..3-4
a. Disneyland Paris......4
b. Hong Kong Disneyland....4
c. Shanghai Disneyland....4-5
4. Cultural History of International Disney Parks.......5
a. Tokyo
Disney....5-6
b. Disneyland Paris...6-7
c. Hong Kong Disneyland......7-10
i.
Figure 3....8
d. Shanghai
Disneyland..........11
i.
Figure 4......11
5. Economic History of Disney Parks....11
a. Figure 5......11
b. Helping Floridas Economy.......12
c. For the Love of Liquor.......12
i.
Figure 6......12
d. A Failed Disneys America....13
6. Conclusion and Recommendations..13-14
7.

References...15-18

List of Illustrations
FIGURE

PAGE

1. Disneyland opening day on July 17, 1955...2

2. Disney Parks Opening Day Main Attractions..3
3. Mickey and Minnie with Vivienne Tam, fashion
designer, in Hong Kong Disneyland....8
4. Mickey mouse in red Tang Chinese Suit at
Shanghai Disneyland.........10
5. Walt Disney and his Academy
Awards..10
6. Front Door of Club 33....11

Introduction
Disney has been household name for many year, and quite likely will be for many years to come.
People all over the world know Disney in one way or another, and have some relationship with
it. It is a huge company encompassing many aspects of media and consumerism in may regions
of the world. Though there are many well known portions of the Disney company: the television
channel, movies, characters, products, etc., they have built a name centering around their theme
parks, the happiest places on earth.
Disney currently has six theme parks around the world; two parks in the United States, one in
Japan, two in China, and one in France. The Disney parks have become a major destination for
people all over the globe, and the place where dreams come true for many children, and adults
alike.
The parks have only been around for 61 years; the international parks have only been around for
roughly 34 of those years. In a short period of time, the Disney corporation took one park in
California, and expanded to six parks worldwide, all being in the top ten most visited theme
parks around the world; Disney parks consist of seven of the ten top parks globally.
The purpose of this paper is examine the history of the Disney theme parks, evaluate the cultural
impacts these parks have had on people around the world, and suggest ways that Disney could be
more culturally accepting, both in the United States and in other countries.
In preparing this report, we analyzed past issues with the American theme parks being placed in
other countries and the United States, and the financial history of the parks, since the first one
opened in 1955.

History of Disney Parks in America

First Disney Park Introduced in America
The first Disneyland was opened in America on July 17, 1955 (History.com Staff, 2009). Walt
Disney used his experience as a commercial artist to create cartoons such as Snow White,
Pinocchio, Dumbo and many more. The first park was opened in Anaheim, California on 160
acres of land. The original park was created with $17 million. In the grand opening event
invitations were sent out to a select group of investors. Unfortunately, the invitations were
compromised and copies were made and sent out to mass amounts of people. This resulted in the
grand opening being unsuccessful. The park was not ready for the mass amount of visitors who
attended; they ran out of food and drinks. Rides were destructed and one woman even got her
shoe stuck in the still wet pavement. Even with the disaster of the grand opening, Disneyland
went on to bring in enormous amounts of profits. The organization today now averages bringing
in 14 million visitors a year, who spend roughly $3 billion a year (History.com Staff, 2009).

Figure 1
Disneyland opening day on July 17, 1955
Source: Disneyland: Then and Now
By: Janey

Disneyland First Decade Growth

Within the first decade Disneyland was opened, they saw mass amounts of growth in the
company. Attractions like Snows White Adventure, Space Station X-1, Jungle Cruise and many
more continued to bring in families time after time (History.com Staff, 2009). The park used
special events and continued to create state-of-the art equipment to keep the business of returning
guest. Exactly ten years after the opening of Disneyland in California, work began on the new
theme park in Orlando, Florida in 1965 (History.com Staff, 2009). Walt Disney passed away in
1966 and Walt Disney World was opened in his honor on October 1, 1971 (History.com Staff,
2009).
In the Walt Disney World grand opening 10,000 people commuted to the park. The Magic
Kingdom was the only theme park at the time at Walt Disney World. The Magic Kingdom
consisted of Adventureland, Fantasyland, Frontierland, Liberty Square, Tomorrowland, a Main
Street USA, and 5,500 character cast members (Tallarico, T, September 30, 1971). The park was
placed on 107 acres (Tallarico, T, September 30, 1971). Walt Disney World also consisted of
two hotels at the grand opening, the 15-story Contemporary Resort and the 12-story Polynesian
Village Resort, which were connected by a monorail system (Tallarico, T, September 30, 1971).
At the end of October in 1971 the total guest attendance was roughly 400,000 people. On
November 26, 1971, the day after Thanksgiving, an astronomical amount of 50,000 people had
entered the Magic Kingdom (Tallarico, T, September 30, 1971)!
Disney Parks Main Attractions
All of the Disney parks have had mass amounts of steady attendees from their grand openings.
This is in account to their many attractions that they offer for not only children, but adults as
well. Disneylands opening day attractions included Adventureland Jungle Cruise (Strodder, C,
2012, pg. 40). Fantasyland which was home to Canal Boats of the World, King Arthur
Carrousel, Mad Hatters Mad Tea Party, Mr. Toads Wild Ride, Peter Pan Flight, and Snow
White Adventures (40). Frontierland had the Golden Horseshoe Revue, Mark Twain Riverboat,
Mule Pack, and Stagecoach (40). Main Street had the original attractions of Main Street Cinema,
Main Street Vehicles, and Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad (40). Finally, the last attractions on

the opening day at Disneyland were in Tomorrowland. These included Autopia, Hall of
Chemistry, and Space Station X-1 (40).
When Walt Disney World opened in 1971 they had similar opening day attractions with some
variety. These included Walt Disney World railroad attractions such as Walter E. Disney, the
Lilly Belle, and Roger E. Broggie locomotive. Town Square was the home to the Town Square
Cafe (Tallarico, T, September 30, 1971). Main Street accompanied many attractions such as
Market House store, House of Magic Shop, Penny Arcade, Crystal Palace Restaurant and many
many more. Adventureland had Adventureland Veranda Restaurant, Jungle Cruise Restaurant,
and Tropical Serenade (Tallarico, T, September 30, 1971). Country Bear Jamboree also brings
in many guest. In Frontierland you can visit the Frontierland Shooting Gallery, Frontier Trading
Post Shop, and the Mile Long Bar. Liberty Square has the Haunted Mansion attraction, Hall of
Presidents attraction, and Heritage House Shop. Tomorrowland is home to the Skyway to
Fantasyland attraction, Grand Prix raceway attraction, Mickeys Mart Store, and Tomorrowland
Terrace Restaurant. And of course, probably one of the most iconic Disney symbols,
Cinderellas Castle (Tallarico, T, September 30, 1971).
In years to come, Walt Disney World continued to add attractions to their theme parks. Epcot
Center, Disney-MGM studios, and Animal Kingdom were added later on. Walt Disney World
continues to be Floridas premium tourist destination (History.com Staff, 2009).

Figure 2
Disney Parks Opening Day Main Attractions
Source: Opening Day to Today: Original Disneyland
Opening Day Attractions Then and Now
By: ADMIN

History of International Disney Parks

Tokyo Disneyland
The first international Disney Park was built in 1983 in Tokyo; the park was opened to the public
on April 15, 1983 (Parker, 2016; Tang, 2012; Vaux, n.d). Disney built this park after noticing
how many of the visitors to the two United States location were Japanese (Vaux). The land for
the park came from the Oriental Land Company; Disney licenced the land for the park to be
built, but the park is owned and operated by the Oriental Land Co (Vaux, n.d; Disney article).
Tokyo Disneyland features two parks, three hotels, and a shopping district. Tokyo Disneyland's
main park is a Magic Kingdom-like park with seven lands, five of which are identical to the

parks at the United States Anaheim location (Vaux, n.d; Tokyo disney fact sheet). The second
park, opened in 2001, is Tokyo DisneySea. This park also has seven lands, called ports of
callto stick to the nautical theme. The rides in DisneySea are geared more towards adults and
are faster and more intense than the family style rides of the main park (Vaux, n.d).
Tokyo Disneyland is the third most visited theme park in the world, behind only the two Disney
parks in the United States (Tang, 2012). The success of the Tokyo Disneyland prompted Disney
to open more overseas parks, including one in Paris, Hong Kong, and most recently, Shanghai.
Disneyland Paris
The second international Disney park to open was Disneyland Paris; the park was opened to
guests on April 12, 1992 (Parker, 2016; Tang, 2012; Vaux, n.d). The park was initially named
EuroDisney was but later changed to Disneyland Paris in 1995.
Similar to Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris features two parks, however Paris also features
seven hotels and two golf courses (Vaux, n.d). The first of the parks in the Disneyland Paris
features five lands based off of the Anaheim park in the United States. The second park is Walt
Disney Studio Park and features a cinematography theme (Vaux, n.d). The park offers stunt and
special effects shows, rides featuring Disney characters, and like in the United States parks, a
Rock n Roller Coaster which plays Aerosmith music.
Disneyland Paris soon became a top attraction in Europe, and by 2008 it had become the number
one tourist draw on the continent (Vaux, n.d).
Hong Kong Disneyland
Hong Kong Disneyland was the third international Disney park to open; the park was opened to
the public on September 12, 2005 (Parker, 2016; Tang, 2012; Vux, n.d). Hong Kong Disney is
smaller than the original Disneyland in California, as well as the rest of the Disney parks. Due to
its smaller size though, the park has much lighter crowds than the others.
Hong Kong Disney features only one park, but it also contains a pair of hotels and an artificial
lake (Vaux, n.d). The Hong Kong Disney park features seven themed lands, three of them having
opened recently between 2011 and 2014 (Hong Kong disney resort fact sheet; Vaux, n.d).The
artificial lake offers guests paddleboat rides, and also features a jogging track around the
perimeter of the lake (Vaux, n.d).
Even for its small size, Hong Kong Disneyland has entertained more than 50 million people from
Hong Kong, mainland China, Southeast Asia and further since opening in 2005 (Hong Kong
disney resort fact sheet).

Shanghai Disneyland
The fourth international, and sixth overall, Disney park to open was Shanghai Disneyland on
mainland China. This is the most recent park, opening to the public on June 16, 2016 (Shanghai
disney resort fact sheet).
Shanghai Disneyland features a single park, two themed hotels, a large shopping, dining, and
entertainment district, a Broadway-style theater, a Wishing Star park, and other outdoor
recreation areas (Shanghai disney resort fact sheet; https://aboutdisneyparks.com/about/
around-the-world/shanghai-disney-resornghat). The Hong Kong Disneyland park contains six
lands, all unique to the Shanghai location and not found in any of the other locations; keeping
with the unique themes for this location, the hotels are themed as Toy Story and Shanghai
Disney.

Cultural History of International Disney Parks

Disney had to do a lot of work when it came to putting parks in other countries, not just for the
obvious building it requires, but to cater to the different cultures. For each of its global
Disneyland parks, the Disney company has tweaked each park to be able to satisfy the different
local cultures and tastes. In doing so, when going to the different international parks, there is
subtly different foods, rides, and layouts to make the visitors feel at home.
Tokyo Disneyland
From the original park in Anaheim, California, the largest physical difference is the castle at the
center of the park. In California, the main castle is Sleeping Beautys, however, at Tokyo
Disneyland you will see Cinderellas. This was done because the princess quality of duty and
strong work ethic was thought to deeply resonate with the Japanese Culture (Tang, 2012).
The food is also a large difference at Tokyo Disneyland, though this is to be expected since each
culture has a very unique set of foods and diets. The food selections at Tokyo Disneyland infuse
American and Chinese flavors with traditional Japanese cuisine (Tang, 2012). For example, at
Boiler Room Bites, a restaurant in one of the lands of Tokyos main park, you can order steamed
buns, a Chinese food, in the shape of Mickey Mouses head, with the ears filled with teriyaki
chicken. Another example, which features more of the American tastes, is the Donburi offered in
the park. This is a traditional Japanese dish, but at Tokyo Disneyland, you can get this dish
served with taco meat, creole chicken, or even shrimp patties; it is then topped with cabbage and
an egg, which is part of the traditional Japanese dish (Tang, 2012). Popcorn is another food that
has been tweaked to meet the cultural demands of this international park. The snack is served in
flavors such as soy sauce and butter, Japanese curry, milk tea (a sweet, southeast Asian blend of
tea and a milkshake; also commonly known as bubble tea), black pepper, and soda (Parker, 2016;
Tang, 2012). Food is a huge part of any culture, so Disney made sure to incorporate many of the
local foods and traditional dishes at the park, though making sure to offer it in a way that is
uniquely Disney.

Lilo and Stitch is a favorite of the Japanese audience. Knowing this, Disney incorporated Stitch
into Tokyo Disneyland more than the other parks (Parker, 2016). Since this is a favorite
character of their primary audience when building the park in Japan, Disney wanted to make sure
everyone felt as comfortable and happy as they could; since it is, in fact, the happiest place on
earth.
Disneyland Paris
When Disneyland Paris opened, it was quite disappointing to many of the guests, who felt like
they were being force-fed American culture. After this disappointing beginning, Disneyland
Paris was forced to change their corporate philosophy, practices, services, attractions, and
products to adapt to the local culture and European tastes (Matusitz, 2010, p. 227). Disney had
tailoring to do, to link and understand European and French culture.
It was originally thought that Disneyland Paris had to be a true mixture of American and French
culture, and thus the employees of the park were turned into American clones (Matusitz, 2010,
p. 227). The main things that Disneyland Paris had to change in the park included the price,
implementing more French culture into the shows and settings, changing the food, menus, and
eating habits, and changing the employee customs, no more American culture clones
(Matusitz, 2010, p. 228).
When the park was opened in Paris, Europe was still amidst an economic recession; the high
admission prices were thus a turnoff to many Europeans (Matusitz, 2010, p. 228). This was only
heightened by the high cost of merchandise and food in the park. Research showed that many
French were unwilling to spend over 200ff (French francs) for an adult ticket for the park
(Matusitz, 2010, p. 228). Due to this finding, the American chief executive of the park was fired,
and a new French executive was hired in, who lowered the admission prices to the park
(Matusitz, 2010, p. 228). Before this, the admission price to the Paris park was higher than that
of both the American parks; in 1995 the prices were cut and in 1996 the number of visitors
increased by 33% (Matusitz, 2010, p. 228). Another price that had to be cut was the price per
night at the hotels in the park. When the park opened in 1992, the price per night was $300.
When the name of the park changed in 1995, the prices had been cut (Matusitz, 2010, p. 228).
Disney misunderstood how the European population planned vacations. Unlike many Americans
who will book directly with Disney, Europeans will book through travel agents. Disney made
changes that reflected this as well, resulting in more bookings at the park.
The average French citizen is actually an avid consumer of Disney products, and quite familiar
with the Disney characters such as Mickey and Minnie,Goofy, Donald Duck, etc. Long before
the opening of the Disney theme park, French and European citizens had widely experienced
with Disney; there was a pre-existing context for Disney in France (Matusitz, 2010, p. 228).
However, the perceptions of these characters in France is much different than in America. For
example, in France, Mickey is more cunning and has more intelligence than what is depicted in
America; the American Mickey mouse is seen tiresome in France (Matusitz, 2010, p. 229).

The French and Europeans are content with their culture, and thus desire more local content
implemented in the park. French guests thought that the park was too American; it was to
American for them to celebrate Halloween, a very American holiday. Upon realizing this, the
management of Disneyland Paris placed more emphasis on events that were familiar to
Europeans (Matusitz, 2010, p. 229). Euro Disney (before Disneyland Paris) was perceived to be
too American, too cowboy, and too simplistic; in France the theme parks needs to be
exceptionally cosmopolitan, reflecting many nations like in Disney Worlds Epcot (Matusitz,
2010, p. 229).
Proper modifications were made to the theme park to reflect what the French had wanted. The
settings in Disneyland Paris are different than what they were in Euro Disney. The theme park
looks less glittering and more authentic (Matusitz, 2010, p. 229). American products have been
downplayed, and gift shops have smaller Disney logos on their apparel (Matusitz, 2010, p. 229).
Shows, attractions, and exhibits have been more Europeanized. For example, Tom Sawyer's
Island was removed and replaced with a unique version of Tomorrowland influenced by Jules
Vernes novels featuring an Orbitron ride (a rocket ship ride) in a style proposed by Leonardo Da
Vinci and Les Mystres de Nautilus (an attraction that allows guests to walk through the rooms
of Captain Nemos submarine) and many more (Matusitz, 2010, p. 229; Tang, 2012).The park
also created another European-specific attraction based, again, on Vernes stories that is a history
movie show and science fiction tour (Matusitz, 2010, p. 229; Tang, 2012). Minnie was given a
more French makeover; she was transformed into a French star very reminiscent of Josephine
Baker and others of the Moulin Rouge, and is frequently seen dressed in flashy dresses and
garters (Matusitz, 2010, p. 229).
Buildings in Disneyland Paris were painted with less American/ U.S Disney colors compared to
that of Euro Disney; before it featured large amounts of purple (like in the U.S), however in the
Catholic church, purple is considered a symbol of death and crucifixion (Matusitz, 2010, p. 230).
Disney had to take into account the religious differences in Europe from that of America, and
even the different superstitions believed by Europeans. When walking through the park, it is easy
to see that the building too, were changed to look more European; most all of the stores and
buildings in the park are based off of the movie Beauty and the Beast, a movie that took place in
France (Tang, 2012; Parker, 2016). Sleeping Beautys castle was also given a European
makeover, being designed and built in a very European manor, something Europe has always
been renowned for (Parker, 2016).
The biggest change that was made in Disneyland Paris was adding the option to have alcohol
with meals; previously, in Euro Disney, like in all other Disney parks, alcohol was not served on
any site. Many visitors to the park complained about not having wine or other alcohol with their
meals, since this is something many of the visitors were habituated to; having wine with meals is
part of the French culture and not offering wine was considered a culinary faux pas among the
French, even an insult (Matusitz, 2010, p. 230, Tang, 2012). Additionally, the French do not
share the same habit of grazing or eating some while walking, that Americans do. French
people enjoy sitting down to a large meal with a glass or two of wine.

Once alcohol was introduced to Disneyland Paris, Disney attempted to appease visitors by
offering more French foods and a more international menu in restaurants. Replicating what
people ate in Disneyland California or Disney World Florida did not work in the European theme
park. More sit-down restaurants were added to the park because of the French eating habits; and
contrasting the American customer always right attitude, the French waiters advised visitors
of their choices (Matusitz, 2010, p. 230).
Though many precautions and much thought was put into designing Disneyland Paris , when it
was opened it was heavily criticized by French intellectuals for not incorporating more of the
local culture. Even ten years after opening the park (2002), Arane Mnouchkine called
Disneyland Paris a cultural chernobyl (Tang, 2012). If one is not a fan of American culture,
this would be true. As a result, this criticism led Disney to take extra care when adding any
culturally specific elements to their parks.
Hong Kong Disneyland
When Hong Kong Disneyland first opened in 2005, it had failed to demonstrate an understanding
of the local Chinese customs, as well as their food preference, meal times, and the conception of
how much should be spent, or not, on tickets to the park (Matusitz, 2011, p.667). Along with
these, Disney had failed to capture the notion of how they view Mickey Mouse and other Disney
characters, what the settings and backgrounds should look like, and what shows and events were
attractive to them; their employee customs and labor policies were also not met (Matusitz, 2001,
p. 667). Guests from mainland China were not familiar with both the Disney characters and the
Disney culture; they also had no idea how to behave or what to enjoy at the park (Matusitz, 2001,
p. 667). After a while, Disney realized that they had not sufficiently catered to the local customs
and would need to undergo serious adjustments to the local culture in order to become more
popular among the Chinese and Hong Kong visitors.
The main challenge for Disney at this point was finding a way to keep the Disney theme intact,
while also tailoring its philosophy and attractions to the local Chinese culture, environment and
mindset (Matusitz, 2001, p. 671). Disneys main goal was to avoid cultural backlash and
problems of customs and traditions, similar to what happened with critics at Disneyland Paris.
The first thing Disney did was a reduction of prices and admissions into the park. When it had
opened in 2005, the area had not fully recovered from the late 1990s Asian financial crisis, and
in the beginning, the admission prices for the park were too high for local visitors (Matusitz,
2001, p. 671). The park also sold the tickets to be used on any day, with no regard to Chinas
holiday schedule. Disney soon realized that they needed to adapt the ticket prices to fit the
nations low-income levels and holiday schedule. Prices, in 2009, were about HK $295, or about
$38.00 US, for adults during the weekdays; prices do elevate on weekends and holidays
(Matusitz, 2001, p. 671). Disney has also recently implemented a lower price for seniors as well
due to the family-oriented culture in Asia (Matusitz, 2001, p. 671).
The biggest challenge Disney faced was adapting to the local customs of its visitors. People from
mainland China have very different expectations than those from many other places in the world;

generally visitors here will travel on package tours which include group dinners (Matusitz, 2001,
p. 672). Due to ticket prices and small size, when Hong Kong Disneyland first opened it could
not accommodate for the large groups or offer adequate commissions for the tour operators.
Therefore, few of these tour packages were including Hong Kong Disneyland (Matusitz, 2001, p.
672). Recently, Disney has significantly improved its relationships with the tour companies;
Disney has also been training Asian travel agents (Matusitz, 2001, p. 672). To improve
attendance to the park, Disney added local attractions and entertainment offerings; these included
Disneys Haunted Halloween, A Sparkling Christmas, and Disneys Chinese New Year to
celebrate Chinese festivities (Matusitz, 2001, p.673). In addition to the festivities, Disney has
added large, extravagant fireworks displays, since it is not unknown that fireworks and black
powder were invented in China (Matusitz, 2001, p. 673).
For a long time China was under Communist rule, and because of this, it made sense that the
main Disney character, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, were given a communist makeover
(Matusitz, 2001, p. 673). Mickey was put in a bright red Mao suit and Minnie sported a
cherry-blossom red dress in an attempt to appeal to the Chinese tourists (Matusitz, 2001, p. 673).

Figure 3
Mickey and Minnie with Vivienne Tam, fashion
designer, in Hong Kong Disneyland
Source: Peoples Daily Online

In an attempt to show that Disney could adapt to the local culture, brochures and maps were
printed in traditional and simplified characters, Japanese and English (Matusitz, 2001, p. 673).
Disney will also implement and perform a Hong Kong Disneyland version of Its a Small
World featuring a lady doll in traditional Chinese opera costume and specially designed Hong
Kong scenery (Matusitz, 2001, p. 673). Along with this performance, Hong Kong Disney added
a Jungle Cruise with features designed specifically for China. These include the skippers
commentary in Cantonese, Putonghua and English, jokes being tailored to the local culture,
Cambodian ruins to float past and an unruly pack of hippos (Matusitz, 2001, p. 673).
The next issue Disney had to tackle was the food; Hong Kong Disneyland tried to make
adjustments to local eating habits and food preferences. A challenging decision on this front,
included the choice to add a very expensive, but traditional, item to the menu: sharks fin soup
(Matusitz, 2001, p. 673); though this was soon removed due to the controversy of getting the
necessary items needed to make the soup. The restaurants in Hong Kong Disneyland primarily
serve Chinese food. For weddings and special events, the park offers roast suckling pig and
sliced abalone (Matusitz, 2001, p. 674). The park also added 700 seats to the parks dining areas
upon noticing that the guests took, on average, ten more minutes to eat that guests at the U.S
parks (Matusitz, 2001, p. 674).

A change in dcor and settings was another important change Disney had to make at the Hong
Kong park; this included adding some significant changes and incorporating Feng Shui into the
parks design (Matusitz, 2001, p. 674). Feng Shui is the balance of elements wood, earth, fire,
metal, and water to create positive energy. Hong Kong Disneyland exhibits many instances of
Feng Shui and Chinese elements into the design of the park to attract more guests from the
mainland, and create an environment that would be culturally acceptable in Hong Kong.
The main gate of the park was shifted 12 degrees so that it was facing a north-south direction for
good fortune (Matusitz, 2001, p. 674). A sharp bend was also added in the walkway from the
train to the gate to keep the qi (energy) from flowing into the South China Sea (Matusitz, 2001,
p. 674). Rocks, in Chinese culture, represent stability and prevent luck from flowing away; in
light of this, large boulders were positioned at the entrance to stop energy from flowing out of
the park. Water also has significant meaning in this culture, representing wealth and fortune, thus
the park is filled with lakes, streams, and ponds; there is also a large fountain at the front
entrance of the park featuring many Disney characters.
thisThe Chinese culture is also filled with superstitions about numbers. One number with
powerful meaning is 888; this number is very important when it comes to wealth. Due to the
importance of this number, the main ballroom of Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel is exactly 888
square meters (Matusitz, 2001, p. 674). On the hotels Crystal Lotus Chinese restaurant, there are
2238 crystal lotuses adorning it. This number, 2238, is significant in the Chinese culture because
in Cantonese it sounds like the phrase to easily generate wealth (Tang, 2012). Another
important number in the Chinese culture is 4; it is considered an unlucky number because in both
Cantonese and Mandarin, it sounds like the word death. As a result, to take careful
consideration of this being an unlucky number, the hotels in Hong Kong Disneyland have no
fourth floor, and thus the day elevators will got from three to five; this is similar to the American
superstition surrounding the number 13 (Matusitz, 2001, p. 674; Tang, 2012). Wealth and death
are very powerful and meaningful in the Chinese culture, and Disney made sure, that when
designing the park, it took careful consideration to abide by any cultural norms surrounding
these.
A less common, but still important, way that Disney tweaked the Hong Kong park to the Chinese
culture is expressed in the gift shops. In Hong Kong Disneyland gift shops there are no clocks for
sale; this includes watches and all other forms of clocks; in Mandarin and Cantonese, Giving a
clock sounds like going to a funeral (Tang, 2012). As mentioned when talking about
numbers, death is a sensitive and culturally significant aspect of Chinese culture, so clocks have
been omitted from gift shops, this way no one is offended or uncomfortable in the happiest place
on earth. Also in the gift shops, there are no green hats; this is because there is a Chinese
expression that any man wearing a green hat is cheating on his wife (Tang, 2012). So, there are
no Peter Pan hats being sold in Hong Kong Disneyland, because this would be offensive to the
culture. In the park though, there is a lot of red since this is considered a lucky color in Chinese
culture.

Making these changes and adaptations to the local culture have turned Hong Kong Disneyland
into such a successful venue, that in May 2007 it managed to accumulate a double-digit
percentage growth among mainland Chinese visitors (Matusitz, 2001, p. 676).
Shanghai Disneyland
This is most recent of the Disney international parks and was created over the span of five years
(2011-2016); Disney worked to create a park that is authentically Disney and distinctly Chinese.
Disney created new experiences for this park tailored specifically for the people of mainland
China (Shanghai disney resort fact sheet).
At the groundbreaking ceremony in 2011, there was traditional Chinese drum music and even
Mickey Mouse dressed in a traditional Red Tang Chinese Suit, as shown in the figure below
(Tang, 2012).

Figure 4
Mickey mouse in red Tang Chinese Suit at
Shanghai Disneyland
Source: USA Today

Economic History of Disney Parks

Finding Funding
lthough the Great Depression devastated the nation, Walt Disneys studio still employed many
A
animators. As they all began to create the first feature-length animation, Snow White and the
Seven Dwarfs (1937), they wondered if it would even be a hit (Krasniewicz, xi). The movie was
a huge success and even landed Disney an Academy Award! Snow White created a huge boom
at the studio. Money was pouring in for the next year as it played world-wide. The movie funded
a new studio, new animators, and more staff in general. Later on, movie by movie, dollar by
dollar, Pinocchio, Bambi, Fantasia, and Dumbo helped build the Disney Co. empire. Business
was quickly picking up pace until 1941 when World War II had started. This caused a stir within
the company. Workers went on strike, demanding more consistent rules, better working
conditions, etc. (Krasniewicz, xi). In Europe, right at the beginning of World War II, markets had
been shut off that were critical for the company and their animation. This was the first economic
devastation for the company (Krasniewicz, xi).
Figure 5
Walt Disney and his Academy Awards

Source: The History Channel magazine

After years of proving to everyone that he was a self-made animation phenomenon, Disney was
still unhappy. When Walt Disney first started his career, he did not create Disneyland
immediately, but tinkered with the idea of opening an amusement park. Walt Disney had a friend
that owned a very small childrens amusement park in California. Disney met with several
investors and discussed possible financing options for what would become Disneyland.
Reluctantly, Walt Disney agreed to do some animations/productions in return for the funding of
Disneyland (Gabler).
With previous europioneers failing at the amusement park establishment, investors were lacking
confidence in Walt Disneys plans of creating a theme park. This forced Walt Disney to become
creative with his funding. Walt borrowed against his own life insurance policy to help fund the
park. His wife often joked that if anything were to happen to him, he had already taken her
money (Gabler). This was the last piece of the puzzle in financing one of the biggest successes in
history.
Helping Floridas Economy
During the 1950s, most of United States wealth was largely notable in the midwest and east
coast states. With few exceptions, the southern and western states did not hold much monetary
value until Disneyland (and Walt Disney World) was created (French, 61). The opening of Walt
Disney World in 1971, restated the importance of tourism in the southern region (French, 61). In
return, this generated thousands of jobs, dollars, and tourists were directed into Floridas
economy.
For the Love of Liquor
It is no secret that alcohol is a big factor in any profit margin anywhere its sold. In the early
1960s, a mayor near Disneyland, raised the issue of alcoholic beverages being sold to visitors
and how he despised the idea. The vice president of Disney theme parks, at the time Donn
Tatum, restated that alcohol was not to be sold, dispensed, or consumed on Disney Co. grounds.
It was acceptable to sell liquor in adjacent facilities, but not on the Disney premises
(Foglesong, 1). Years later, Walt Disney accepted the idea to very strictly (not available to your
day-going customer) serve alcohol at Club 33 to test the waters and see if a profit could be
turned. Much to his surprise, alcohol was a big success driving in much more revenue than
anticipated (Foglesong, 4). Today, in Walt Disney World, you can purchase alcoholic beverages
in several of their parks. There are even maps to specific parks telling you which rides to go on
and which drinks are nearby to consume! However, Magic Kingdom only serves alcohol at Be
Our Guest during dinnertime hours (Rosner).
Figure 6

Front Door of Club 33

Source: Orlando, Floridas official site.
A Failed Disneys America
November 11, 1993 was an exciting day for (then) Disney CEO, Michael Eisner. He was
announcing the new project/mini theme park to be called, Disneys America. It was to have
been in Virginia, right outside of Washington, D.C. The park was to have a Colonial
Williamsburg persona, and it was even said that there was going to be a slavery experience
(Renfro). Obviously this was a big upset with the public and a public relations nightmare for the
company. The park never opened and was one of Disneys biggest failures known to the public.
Ridiculing and harsh critiques, Disney was forced to shut down the operation, losing a couple
million dollars in the process. After a short 13 months, Disneys America was nothing more than
an idea once upon a dream (Renfro).

Conclusion and Recommendations

Today Disney is a household name all over the world, though that was not always the case.
Originally focusing on animation, Walt Disney longed for Disney to be bigger and better. He
opened the first Disney park in 1955 in Anaheim, California. From the opening of this park, he
experienced many ups and downs, and at one point found himself and Disney to be struggling
both economically and with the popularity of the park. Despite these setbacks, Disney managed
to open several other parks, in the continental U.S as well as in two other Continents; short of the
parks success, Walt also won an Academy Award for his work.
The success of the parks can be tied to many things, but it really comes down to Disneys pursuit
of perfection in its parks. Upon opening many of the international parks, there was an unsettling
American culture shock for guests which drove down the popularity of the parks. Disney
managed to fix this, and rebuilt the parks, tuning into the fine details of each local culture.
Though in the present day it does not seem that the Disney parks are struggling with popularity
or financials, at one point they relied heavily off of funding from the Disney animations and
Walt Disneys life insurance policy. With the success of the parks came an influx of funding for
all thing Disney.
Disney is a worldwide name now and has established itself in many of the Worlds largest and
most renowned cities. However, based on the research we have done, it is thought that Disney
should be able to continue growing its business in amusement parks by taking into consideration
these important notes:
1. Perform cultural research before building. As seen in the examples of Disneyland Paris
and Hong Kong Disneyland, cultural expectations were not met when the park was open
to guests. People felt as though they were being forced into American culture, and this

was a great turnoff for many guests. Due to the complaints and poor business resulting
from this, Disney had to essentially rebuild the two brand new parks. Disney should focus
on carefully researching the local culture of their next park location to assure that guests
will enjoy their time there, and that the park will be successful. Researching the culture,
or hiring someone who is part of said culture to help with planning, demonstrates that
Disney cares about the local culture and wants to insure that all needs are met, rather than
trying to force feed American culture to guests at international parks. Doing the research
prior to opening the park will also save the Disney company from having to rebuild or do
pricey construction in order to attract guests in the future.
2. Expect the unexpected. When Disneyland had their grand opening, they had a few major
setbacks. They ran out of food and drinks, they did not have enough staff members to
occupy the rush of guest that came to the opening, and they also had many rides break
and shut down do to the mass amounts of excited visitors they had that day. My
suggestion would have been to double if not triple the amount of food and drinks they
thought they would need for the amount of guest. It is always better to have too much
than too little. Also, be sure to have enough employees present. Nothing is worse than
not having the support your guest need to enjoy the experience.
3. Importance of confidentiality. The complications with Disneylands grand opening
would not have happened if their limited amount of invitations would not have gotten
leaked to the public. When the public got their hands on it, copies were made and the
amount of guest tripled by the day of the grand opening. If the invitations would have
been only given to their expected recipients, the opening would have most likely been a
success.
4. Listen to the media. Initially, Disney Co. had the media in their hands. The media loved
the fact that Disney Co. was diving into yet another adventure, Disneys America.
However when it caught wind that Williamsburg was going to be the main theme of
this park, the general public started to stray away from the thought. To make matters
worse, it was leaked to the public that there would be some references to slavery
throughout the park. This was one of the biggest blows to the company at the time.
Having opened EuroDisney just the year before, the public saw this opportunity as a way
to create jobs, have fun, and get a taste for The Happiest Place On Earth. Sadly due to
the release of taboo topics to the media, Disneys America never ended up opening. A
recommendation would be to be conscientious of the world around you. Slavery is a
touchy subject to anyone. However, planning on opening the next big thing that
involves said topic, Disney Co. should have realized they were going to be right outside
the nations capitol and that was less than ideal. Also, no formal press release was ever
made defending their company. Another recommendation would have been to have the
CEO (at the time), Michael Eisner, go before the press and state the companys stance on
slavery allegations, how Disney Co. does not stand for slavery or anyone who has
anything to do with it. This would have left the then bad taste of Disney out of peoples
mouths. Since then, Disney Co. seems to have made a good comeback.

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