Euro-Disney Culture Shock

The differences between American and European, particularly French, cultures and spending habits were two of the largest contributing factors to the initial failure of Euro-Disney. With its grand opening during a 1992 economic recession, Euro-Disney failed to garner expected revenues despite achieving its projected amount of yearly visitors. For example, Americans spent money on Disney supplied lunches while the French brought their own. Americans accepted and appreciated the no-alcohol policy of the theme parks, but the French were appalled at having that freedom restricted. Not taking into account these types of behavioral differences during the planning phase of Euro-Disney proved to be a costly and time-consuming mistake that took roughly two years to correct (Hartley, 2005).

Perhaps the best method to use in terms of understanding and being able to compensate for cultural differences would have been to use a questionnaire prior to making decisions about food, expected revenues other than park admission, and the like. The questionnaire could have been given to potential employees of the park during their interviews before the park opened. This would have tapped into a fairly large pool of potential visitors without much effort. Asking open-ended questions such as "Would you buy souvenirs during your visit? How much would you anticipate spending on them?", "How long do you think you would spend visiting the park?" or "What types of foods and drinks would you like to see offered at the park?" might have helped bring certain problems to light during the final planning stages.

Source:

Hartley, Robert F. 2005. Management Mistakes and Successes. Eighth edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.