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Disneyland Paris

Disneyland Paris, originally Euro Disney Resort, is an entertainment resort in Marne-la-Vallée, a new town located 32 km (20 mi) east of the centre of Paris. It is the most visited theme park in Europe. It is owned by The Walt Disney Company through subsidiary Euro Disney S.C.A.

The resort covers 4,800 acres (19 km²) and encompasses two theme parks, many resort hotels, a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex, and a golf course, in addition to several additional recreational and entertainment venues. Disneyland Park is the original theme park of the complex, opening with the resort on 12 April 1992. A second theme park, Walt Disney Studios Park, opened in 2002.

History

Disneyland's success in California (USA), opened in 1955, forced Walt Disney to look for new places to create other "Magic Kingdoms." This led to the opening of amusement parks in Florida in 1971 and Disneyland-Tokyo (Japan) in 1983.

The implementation of the Disney project in France began in 1970. However, due to various difficulties, negotiations were delayed until the 1980s. Subsequently, a list of 1200 possible places for Euro Disneyland was drawn up. In 1984, two countries competed for the construction right: Spain and France. In the end, on the eve of Christmas in 1985, President of the Walt Disney Company Michael Aysner and the French government and Ile-de-France signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The territory was chosen for construction in the municipality of Chessi (Seine and Marne).

Paris Disneyland opened on April 12, 1992. Occupies an area of ​​1945 ha, but an agreement to expand to 2230 ha has been signed. It consists of two theme parks, Disneyland Park (since 1992), and Walt Disney Studios Park (since 2002), the Disney Village Amusement Park, Golf Disneyland Golf Course, and shops, restaurants and hotels.

The Paris Disneyland is managed by the French company Euro Disney SCA, which owns 39.78% of the shares of the Walt Disney Company, 10% of the Saudi Prince Alvalide and 50.22% of the other shareholders.

The complex was the subject of disputes during the negotiations and construction in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Opening the park has created great hopes for reducing unemployment in France. But for the public, he gradually turned into a symbol of American management. It is often identified with difficult working conditions, social insecurity, and low wages. The works were interrupted by protests organized by French trade unions. After the park's opening, further failures, in particular, low attendance, low occupancy of hotels, small profits. The situation has improved since July 1995.

On March 16, 2002, the second Walt Disney Studios Park theme park was opened.

According to financial results of 2007, Disneyland's profit amounted to $ 1.22 billion.

On August 12, 2008, the park greeted its 200 millionth visitor.

In 2009, Paris Disneyland was recognized as the most visited tourist destination in France and Europe.

Name changes

Disneyland Paris and its assets have been subject to a number of name changes, initially an effort to overcome the negative publicity that followed the inception of Euro Disney. Euro Disney was renamed Disneyland Paris in order to help locate the theme park more easily on the map.

In 2002, Disney's CEO noted,

As Americans, the word 'Euro' is believed to mean glamorous or exciting. For Europeans it turned out to be a term they associated with 
business, currency and commerce. Renaming the park 'Disneyland Paris' was a way of identifying it with one of the most romantic and 
exciting cities in the world.
                                                                                                             — Michael Eisner

Resort Names

• 12 April 1992 – 31 May 1994: Euro Disney Resort
• 1 June – 30 September 1994: Euro Disney Resort Paris
• 1 October 1994 – 15 March 2002: Disneyland Paris
• 16 March 2002 – 3 April 2009: Disneyland Resort Paris
• 4 April 2009–present: Disneyland Paris

The complex

Parks

• Disneyland Park, opened with the resort on 12 April 1992 and is based on the original Disneyland in California and the Magic Kingdom in Florida.
• Walt Disney Studios Park, opened on 16 March 2002 celebrating showbusiness, films, and behind-the-scenes.

Shopping, dining, and entertainment

• Disney Village, an entertainment district containing a variety of restaurants, entertainment venues and shops.
• Val d'Europe, a shopping centre including a variety of outlet shops and large department stores with a huge Disney Store.

Other recreation

• Golf Disneyland features 9-hole and 18-hole courses.

Rides and attractions

According to the Disneyland Paris website the theme park's top five attractions are It's a Small World, Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain (formerly known as Space Mountain: Mission 2), Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters.It's a Small World, located in Fantasyland, takes visitors on a musical tour of world attractions; Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain is a roller coaster in Discoveryland; Big Thunder Mountain is a mine train roller coaster in Frontierland; Pirates of the Caribbean is located in Adventureland; and Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, located in Discoveryland, was inspired by the Disney/Pixar film Toy Story 2 and features people shooting lasers at targets to earn points.

The park is approximately 4,800 acres (1,942 ha), and is divided into two main parks that each hold separate attraction areas within them. The park receives around twelve million visitors a year which makes it the most visited place in Europe.

In 2018, Disneyland Paris announced a multi-year expansion project. It is expected to be completed by 2024 in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Transport

Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy station, view to the platform area A railway station, Marne-la-Vallée–Chessy, is located between the theme parks and Disney Village. It opened on 1 April 1992 and is notably served by regional express line RER A which provides a direct connection with the centre of Paris.

The railway station is also served by long-distance high-speed TGV and Ouigo trains offering direct services to many cities across France. Thalys does not any longer operate from the station. There are daily services from and to London St Pancras on the Eurostar.

Free shuttle buses provide transport to all Disney hotels (except Disney's Davy Crockett Ranch) and Associated Hotels. The yellow shuttle buses go to the main Disney hotels while the pink shuttle buses go to the other hotels further away but still in the Disneyland area.

Backstage Disney

Disneyland Paris has strict rules designed to prevent guests from seeing backstage areas of the park. Photography and filming are strictly forbidden in all backstage areas. The edges of the parks are lined with ride buildings and foliage to hide areas that are not for the public to see. Numerous area gates allow entrance into the park for cast members, parade floats, etc. When area gates around the park are open, anything that can be seen through them is considered to be on-stage and part of the Disney Magic. Therefore, from the moment the gates are open, all of the cast must be in character and in place to 'perform'. As the complex is so big, shuttle buses take cast members to different parts of the parks via service roads located around the perimeter of the parks.

Many attractions are housed in large, soundstage-like buildings called "show buildings", some of which are partially or completely disguised by external theming. Generally, show buildings are painted a dull green colour in areas not seen by guests; this choice helps to disguise them among the foliage and make them less visually obtrusive. Walt Disney Imagineering has termed this colour "Go Away Green." Most show buildings have off-white flat roofs that support HVAC units and footpaths for maintenance cast members. Housed inside show buildings are the actual attractions, which include hidden walkways, service areas, control rooms, and other backstage operations.