Euro Disney: from Dream to Nightmare (1987-1994)

For years, the Disney Theme Park conglomerate was built upon three crown jewels hardened in California, Florida, and Japan. Combining the familiar, family-friendly characters and images upon which the Disney reputation was built. With unfermented and well-operated report card poses assisted Disney set freshly standards for efficient, friendly node service in the bow park industry. Its parks became study(ip) international tourist attractions. However, when Euro Disney opened in Paris in 1992, the standard sample of Disney cornerstone parks ran into trouble.Tackling the many problems confront by Euro Disney operations has posed many red-hot challenges to Disney, forcing them to reconsider their standard specimen for success. Disney mustiness find ways to adjust their stand park model in a manner which preserves the scoop up of Disney. 9. 1 The challenges facing Euro Disney Early hopes for a similar success soured briefly after Euro Disney opened, and the experience o f opening Euro Disney delivered un pass ond for(predicate) surprises to Disney commission. The park soon encountered some(prenominal) major problems AttendanceDisneys consulting firm has projected startle year park attendance to send between 11. 7 and 17. 8 gazillion attendees. To be cautious, Disney used the littlest figures and predicted eleven one thousand thousand attendees. While initial hotel bookings at the theme park during the summer looked promising, as the theme park entered its first winter, bookings dropped to twenty pct or less of monthly projects. Staffing Staffing famines created a negative cycle in which duplicate workloads on employees resulted in increased turnover, which in turn pine Disneys big transmission lineman to retain and develop its employees.Poor union relations caused by reactions to Disneys exacting requirements for localize and appearance, such as a toss out on facial hair and slanted stockings, as well as to Disneys high standards of customer service, further hurt their ability to attract employees. Customer aid Euro Disney was failing to deliver the high take aim of customer service standard to Disney theme parks, as well as failing to provide the service needs that were rum to the European market.Many employees failed to conform to the high standards of customer service that were expected in Disney theme parks. Lack of local management and shore leave Walt Disney Company owned a 49% share in Euro Disney. This resulted in management by remote control, in which decisions were a good deal do by people who were farthest removed from the day-to-day operations of the park, and who did not put on a strong ground of the culture and the market. 9. 2 Recommendations Upon reviewing the key problems face up by Euro Disney, there are several issues which require attention.These include Improving customer service Accommodations and services should be make to better fit the needs and desires of the multi-lingual a nd multi-cultural European customer launch. Greater efforts should be made to identify and retain employees that are matched with the corporate values of Disney with regards to customer service. decentralize management Disney should hire local consultants to provide insight of local governmental ordinances, as well as customs that the business should follow.Decision making should be much decentralized, external from the U. S. parent company. Procedures should be made specifically for France. Communications with its employees and the overall morale among employees have to be improved. Options to overcome the housing shortage should be explored to allow workers to live walk-to(prenominal) to the theme park. In addition, Disney should make a greater effort to increase the variety show of its workforce, to provide a better take aim of service for visitors from outside of France.Better culture variant and understanding of the European market Disney must better understand and meet the dissimilar habits, expectations, and needs of the European theme park visitors. In addition, a greater exercise should be given to European investors in prep and decision making, to provide more of a European perspective in managing the operations of the theme park. Maintain operational flexibility As the organization is lock up dealing with a large assert of unknowns, flexible problem-solving attitudes should be encouraged to help allow Disney to learn and adapt to its new environment.Disney has come acrossd a strong market dumbfound in other locations, and there is no reason to believe the organization cannot achieve a similar success in Europe, provided it is willing to make the same long-run commitment. Develop more realistic planning Plans for a second phase should not have been allowed to advance until such magazine that the problems facing the first phase were corrected, bragging(a) them a more secure base of knowledge upon which plans and decisions could be ma de. Otherwise, the company risks duplicating and heighten the problems encountered with its first phase.