Term Paper on "Disney Culture"

Term Paper 13 pages (3648 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Disneyland Expansion

Recent history has seen significant strides in globalization. Whereas the other side of the world seemed like the other side of the universe at one time, it is now only a click of the mouse away. As the world continues its globalization efforts the business world has begun to expand as well. Many manufacturing plants are leaving the constraints of America and taking their operations overseas where there are less expensive options.

The entertainment industry is also on the move. Films and television shows are being-based throughout the world whereas they used to only come from California or New York. Singing artists travel globally now to share their music. In light of the changes that the globalization movement has caused many large scale businesses have recently begun to cash in on the worldwide interest in their products. Disney, which has had a stronghold on the United States theme park industry for many decades has begun to build parks around the globe.

While Disney is a universally American idea, it has not always been as well received in other parts of the world. Some experts believe it is because Disney refuses to adapt its parks and ideas to the cultures in the areas that it moves to.

The Disney culture is so dominated by American values and interests that to adapt to other cultures would be a significant task but one that could be undertaken. As long as Disney refuses to adapt itself to local cultures it should not expand its parks to foreign nations.

HISTORY

Before one can understand why it is a mistake to expand parks to foreign nations one must understand the history and culture of Disney itself.

The Disney Corporation began in the 1930's with the first recorded song on screen being sung by Mickey Mouse in 1934.

In 1937 RCA entered into a broad-based contract with Disney. Under this agreement, RCA released the English Gramophone soundtrack records in the United States, as well as "El Raton Volador," a Spanish-language version of Disney's "The Flying Mouse," on the RCA Bluebird label. Finally, RCA signed on as the exclusive producer of Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphony records, a license they held for a dozen years (Disney history (http://disney.go.com/disneyrecords/history/)."

Disneyland was a later vision. Walt Disney decided he wanted to create a place where children and parents could have a fun time tighter. This was long before the term "quality time" came into existence with regards to family life. Disney envisioned a magical park with lights, rides, fun food and shows. His vision was about more than a park, it was about creating a separate culture (Disneyland (http://www.justdisney.com/disneyland/history.html).

The original plans for the park were on 8 acres next to the Burbank studios where his employees and families could go to relax. Although, World War II put those plans on hold. During the war, Walt had time to come up with new ideas, and creations for his magical park. It was soon clear that 8 acres wouldn't be enough (Disneyland (http://www.justdisney.com/disneyland/history.html)."

In 1953 a survey was commissioned for a 100 acre site just outside of Los Angeles, California and the site was approved. His dream was to build castles, moon rockets, gigantic teacups that people would ride in and other things that the imagination could see but thus far had never become reality.

He chose the land that it was built on because of its accessibility to the freeways of Los Angeles, its cost factors and the number of acres available that would allow expansion and dreams to come true in the future as well.

Anaheim California was to become the home of the first Disney theme park and it would set the stage for the birth of a separate and new culture. He decided to name it Disneyland and construction began.

The final purchase included 160 acres of land. Walt had to go to television producers and directors for the capital because the banks did not believe that his idea for a fun filled family theme park was going to be profitable (Disneyland (http://www.justdisney.com/disneyland/history.html).

With nothing but his cartoon and song success as collateral he approached the producers and found his financial backing.

Walt once said "I could never convince the financiers that Disneyland was feasible, because dreams offer too little collateral (Disneyland (http://www.justdisney.com/disneyland/history.html)."

When the real designing came around, Walt was met with inevitable questions. How do you make believable wild animals, that aren't real? How do you make a Mississippi paddle ship? How do you go about building a huge castle in the middle of Anaheim, California? So, Walt Disney looked to his movie studio staff for the answers. The design of Disneyland was something never done before. There would be five uniquely different lands (Disneyland (http://www.justdisney.com/disneyland/history.html)."

The park included Main Street, Frontier land, Fantasyland and other areas that would take the mind to places of happiness and magical times.

Tomorrowland was created as a look at the "marvels of the future." Walt said:

Tomorrow can be a wonderful age. Our scientists today are opening the doors of the Space Age to achievements that will benefit our children and generations to come...The Tomorrowland attractions have been designed to give you an opportunity to participate in adventures that are a living blueprint of our future (Disneyland (http://www.justdisney.com/disneyland/history.html)."

For opening day Disneyland sent out more than 6,000 invitations. Imagine their surprise when by mid-day there were more than 28,000 park goers using counterfeit tickets. While it was disappointing to discover people's willingness to use counterfeit tickets it was encouraging to know that Walt Disney's vision had been real, he had built a park that would appeal to the masses.

Within the first 10 years of its existing more than 50 million visitors came through its gates and enjoyed the magical wonderland called Disney.

CULTURAL EXPANSION

For several decades Disneyland and Disneyworld have dominated the nations theme park industry. Billions of dollars have been generated by manufacturing products inspired by Disneyland including stuffed animals, toys, games and clothing.

Following several decades of success Disneyland's executives realized that many visitors to the park were coming from overseas and bringing their families. It gave them the idea that a theme park might work in another country for those who could not afford the time or money for an overseas extended trip but would take the time and money to take the family to a local Disneyland (Travel Weekly; 10/24/1994; Godwin, Nadine (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.02/disney.html).

When it opened its first overseas park near Paris they named it Euro Paris. After several years of disappointing revenues they changed the name to Disneyland Paris so that potential visitors would realize just how close to Paris the park was located and be more inclined to make the trip.

The name change dovetailed with a new emphasis on marketing the entertainment facility more aggressively in the U.S. And other points outside Europe."

The name change did not change the disappointment in revenues and marketing executives began to look for the cause of the declining sales at the Paris park. Research was conducted, advertising changed, and discounts given but it still did not succeed in lifting the popularity of the park. Eventually the executives began to look at attitudes of visitors both in Europe and in America and decided the problem was with the cultural perception of Disney goers and Disney itself (Travel Weekly; 10/24/1994; Godwin, Nadine (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.02/disney.html).

Widely publicized Euro Disney losses led to speculation that the operation might even shut down; then came a white knight in the spring, a Saudi prince who provided cash and some breathing room to let Disney get its house in order (Travel Weekly; 10/24/1994; Godwin, Nadine (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.02/disney.html)."

In the effort to change the face of Disneyland Paris several marketing ploys were included. One was that the pricing structure was completely redone and there were no more single year round rates. Instead the park began to offer a seasonal rate not only for its park but also for the hotels that were owned by the park.

30% discounted rate during the off season was offered in the hopes of increasing interest.

Another move that was made that only served to illustrate the refusal to adapt to local culture was the decision to bring in more United States-based tour operators. Instead of locating and training locals who would understand the ins and outs of the local culture and be able to dovetail the tour accordingly, the park hired Americans and brought them overseas. This was a mistake because all it did was further alienate those who were not particularly fond of American culture and were already leery when it came to spending time at Disneyland Paris because of its American ties (Travel Weekly; 10/24/1994; Godwin, Nadine (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.02/disney.html).

However, those firms are much more focused on America's Disney sites, Murro said, while "I have to make a special effort to get new partners in the U.S. To focus on Europe's Disney (Travel Weekly; 10/24/1994; Godwin, Nadine (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.02/disney.html)."

The Disney organization worked hard… READ MORE

How to Reference "Disney Culture" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Disney Affects on Children American Cultural Research Paper

Disney

The Affect of Disney Culture on American Society

Disney is more than a name. It is a brand. In fact, Disney dominates the consumer market and has socially, economically,… read more

Research Paper 5 pages (1794 words) Sources: 5 Topic: Child Development / Youth / Teens

---

Disney What Do You Think That Motivated Term Paper

Disney

What do you think that motivated Disney to set up parks abroad, and what might be the pros and cons from the stand point of the Walt Disney Company?… read more

Term Paper 3 pages (977 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Business / Corporations / E-commerce

---

Disney Global Strategy Term Paper

Disney Global Stategy

The Disney Company was founded in 1923 by renowned Walt Disney and however it had a slow start, today it is the epitome of success. Structured into… read more

Term Paper 6 pages (2050 words) Sources: 5 Style: MLA Topic: Business / Corporations / E-commerce

---

Disney and Diversity: The Disney Corporation Thesis

Disney and Diversity: The Disney Corporation and Its Role in the 21st Century Global Marketplace

More than one-third of America belongs to a minority group -- including, of course, the… read more

Thesis 3 pages (982 words) Sources: 4 Style: APA Topic: Race / Ethnic Studies / Racism

---

Walt Disney Company Term Paper

Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company is well-known around the world for its cultural products and especially for the various characters, animated and otherwise, created for various film and television… read more

Term Paper 7 pages (2914 words) Sources: 6 Style: Harvard Topic: Business / Corporations / E-commerce

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>