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Coordinates: 48°52′15″N, 2°46′45″E Disneyland Resort Paris Disneyland Park Walt Disney Studios Park Disney Dineyland Paris Village Resort hotels Disneyland Hotel Disney's Dinseyland Paris Hotel New York Disney's Newport Bay Club Disney's Sequoia Disenyland Paris Lodge Disney's Hotel Cheyenne Disney's Hotel Santa Fe Disney's Davy Disneyalnd Paris Crockett Ranch Euro Disney S.C.A. Disneyland Resort Paris is a holiday Diseyland Paris and recreation resort in Marne-la-Vallée, in the suburbs Disneylan Paris of Paris, France, featuring two theme parks, Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park. It was the second Disney resort to open outside the United States (following Tokyo Disney Resort). With 12.4 million visitors in 2004 [1], it is one of Europe's main tourist destinations. It is owned and operated by the French company Euro Disney S.C.A., a public corporation of which 39.781% of the stock is held by The Walt Disney Company, 10% is held by the Saudi Prince Alwaleed and other shareholders hold 50.22%. The park is run by Chairman and CEO Karl Holz. Contents 1 History 1.1 Controversy 1.2 Opening 1.3 Changes 2 The Resort 3 Timeline 4 Photo Gallery 5 References 6 External links History Following the success of Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, in the United States, plans to build a similar European theme park emerged in 1972. Initially, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom were considered as possible locations. The United Kingdom and Italy were quickly eliminated as they both lacked a sufficiently large expanse of flat land suited for the resort. By March 1985, they had narrowed the options down to four possible locations; two in France and two in Spain ("Monsieur Mickey or Señor Miqui?: Disney Seeks a European Site." — BusinessWeek, July 15, 1985). Both countries saw a Disney destination's potential of boosting their economies and competed by offering Disney attractive financing deals, free land and more. Both Spanish sites were located near the Mediterranean Sea and offered a friendly climate similar to Disney's parks in California and Florida. However, the site in the Alicante area was abandoned when it was discovered that strong Mediterranean Mistral winds troubled that region for several weeks each year and Spain itself was deemed to possess an inferior infrastructure to other European nations. Disney had also shown interest for a site near Toulon in Southern France, not far from Marseille. The pleasing landscape of that region as well as its friendly climate made this spot one of the top competitors for what would be called Euro Disneyland. But thick layers of bedrock were discovered beneath the site which would have made construction unfeasibly difficult. Finally, a site in the rural town of Marne-la-Vallée was chosen because of its close proximity to Paris and its central location within Western Europe. This location was estimated to be within 4 hours of driving for 68 million people and within two hours of flight for a further 300 million. Michael Eisner, Disney's CEO at the time, signed the first letter of agreement with the French government for the 20 square kilometre site in December 1985, and the first financial contracts were drawn up during the following spring. Construction began in August 1988, and in December 1990 an information center named Espace Euro Disney was opened to show the public what was being constructed. Then, in September 1991, a casting centre was opened to recruit the hundreds of Cast Members that would be required to operate the park and surroundings. Plans for a theme park based on showbusiness next to Euro Disneyland, Disney-MGM Studios Paris, quickly went into development, scheduled to open in 1995 with a construction budget of US$2.3 billion. Controversy The prospect of a Disney park in France was met with much controversy. France's intellectual community, particularly of the Left, voiced especially harsh criticisms. They decried what they considered to be the "cultural imperialism" of Euro Disney and felt it would encourage in France an unhealthy American brand of consumerism. For others, Euro Disney became symbols of America within France. On June 28, 1992 a group of French farmers blockaded Euro Disney in protest of farm policies the United States supported at the time. French author and critic Jean Cau dubbed Euro Disneyland, "a horror made of cardboard, plastic, and appalling colors; a construction of hardened chewing gum and idiotic folklore taken straight out of comic books written for obese Americans." Ariane Mnouchkine, a Parisian stage director, famously named the concept a "cultural Chernobyl" [1]; a phrase which would be much repeated in the media and grow synonymous with Euro Disney's initial years. In response, French philosopher Michel Serres noted, "It is not America that is invading us. It is we who adore it, who adopt its fashions and above all, its words." Euro Disney S.C.A.'s Robert Fitzpatrick responded, "We didn’t come in and say OK, we’re going to put a beret and a baguette on Mickey Mouse. We are who we are."[2] Opening Euro Disney Resort's initial cast members line up On April 12, 1992, The complex officially opened as Euro Disney Resort, its first theme park as Euro Disneyland. The local police was on alert in case of considerable traffic jams as a maximum of 500,000 guests were expected on opening day. Approximately 20,000 people turned out. In May of 1992, entertainment magazine The Hollywood Reporter notably reported that about 25% of Euro Disney's workforce — more than 3.000 men and women — had resigned their jobs because of unacceptable working conditions. It also reported that the park's attendance was far behind expectations. Euro Disney S.C.A. responded in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, in which Robert Fitzpatrick claimed only 1.000 people had left their jobs. Fitzpatrick ordered that the Disney-MGM Studios project would be put on hiatus until a further decision could be made. Prices at the hotels were being slashed dramatically to convince guests to stay longer. Despite these efforts, on July 23 1992, Euro Disney had to announce an expected net loss in its first year of operation of approximately 300 million French francs. Changes On October 1, 1994, Euro Disneyland and Euro Disney Resort became Disneyland Paris (after the opening of the Walt Disney Studios Park in 2002, Disneyland Paris was given its current name, Disneyland Park, and the entire Resort became known as Disneyland Resort Paris). As a result of the name change, the addition of more attractions, and the retooling of the entire complex to better appeal to European tastes, Disneyland Resort Paris finally turned a profit in 1995. But profits for the park has been small, when it has been profitable at all. citation needed] On 16 March 2002, Disneyland Resort Paris introduced its second theme park, Walt Disney Studios Park. The tenth Disney theme park in the world, Walt Disney Studios Park opened with the aim of keeping visitors to the resort on property for more days, but the park was criticised for not having enough attractions and having insufficient theming. citation needed] The park is the smallest Disney theme park in the world. With the expansion of the resort, four new hotels, not managed by Euro Disney S.C.A., opened within the complex. These hotels are connected to the RER/TGV station with a free shuttle service. That same year, Euro Disney S.C.A. and the Walt Disney Company announced another annual profit for Disneyland Resort Paris. But it has incurred a net loss in the three years following, and the park is approximately US$2 billion in debt as of 2007. Disneyland Resort Paris has plans to expand over the next few years with addition of several new rides: a new land, Toon Studios, will open at Walt Disney Studios Park in 2007, and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror will open at Walt Disney Studios Park in late 2007/early 2008. These new rides are in addition to The Legend Of The Lion King Show that began in 2004 and Space Mountain: Mission 2, a 2005 revival of the popular roller coaster. In 2005, the Walt Disney Company agreed to write-off all debt to the Walt Disney Company made by Euro Disney S.C.A., to improve the financial performance of the resort. Disneyland Resort Paris is visited by approximately 12 million visitors each year and has seen over 150 million since its opening day. The Resort Disneyland Park (theme park) Walt Disney Studios Park (theme park) Disney Village (shopping/entertainment district) The Disneyland Resort Paris hotels: Disneyland Hotel and Disney's Hotel New York (four-star hotels) Disney's Newport Bay Club and Disney's Sequoia Lodge (three-star hotels) Disney's Hotel Cheyenne, Disney's Hotel Santa Fe, and Disney's Davy Crockett Ranch (two-star hotels) Golf Disneyland - 9-hole and 18-hole courses. Six resort hotels not managed by Euro Disney SCA: Marriott's Village d'lle-de-France and Radisson SAS Hotel(five-star hotels) Holiday Inn Hotel, Vienna International Dream Castle Hotel(four-star hotels) MyTravel's Explorers Hotel (three-star hotel) Kyriad Hotel (two-star hotel) Timeline March 24, 1987 - The French government and The Walt Disney Company sign an agreement for the creation of Euro Disney Resort. March 31, 1992 - The Marne-la-Vallée/Chessy RER station is inaugurated. April 12, 1992 - Euro Disneyland and the Euro Disney Resort are officially inaugurated. May 19, 1994 - The Marne-la-Vallée/Chessy TGV station is inaugurated. October 01, 1994 - The Euro Disney Resort is renamed Disneyland Paris. May 31, 1995 - Space Mountain: From The Earth To The Moon opens at the theme park. April 12, 1997 - Disneyland Paris celebrates its 5th anniversary. May 1997 - A Gaumont multiplex movie theatre is opened at Disney Village. March 28, 1999 - Honey I Shrunk The Audience opens at the theme park. October 24, 2000 - The Val d'Europe international shopping centre opens for business. January 10, 2001 - Disneyland Paris receives its 100 millionth guest. March 16, 2002 - The Walt Disney Studios Park officially opens its doors, its sister park is renamed Disneyland Park and the resort is renamed Disneyland Resort Paris. April 12, 2002 - Disneyland Park celebrates its 10th anniversary. July 5, 2003 - Fantillusion, from Tokyo Disneyland, begins running at Disneyland Park. June 24, 2004 - The Legend of the Lion King show opens at Disneyland Park. April 09, 2005 - Space Mountain: Mission 2 opens at Disneyland Park. April 2005 - Disney Village expands with the addition of an IMAX theater and PanoraMagique, the world's largest tethered balloon. April 08, 2006 - Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast opens at Disneyland Park. Photo Gallery Disneyland Park Main Street, U.S.A. X-Wing fighter from Star Wars Internal shot of Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast The downtown area of Disneyland Resort Paris References ^ ORTIF - "Chiffres clés du tourisme 2004 en Île-de-France", page 5 ^ "Robert Anthony, "Euro Disney: The First 100 Days" Pub. Division, Harvard Business School, 1993. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Disneyland Paris Disneyland Resort Paris (official site) Euro Disney S.C.A., operating company of Disneyland Resort Paris (official site) DLRP Magic! - Disneyland Resort Paris at the click of a mouse! DLRP Wiki - A special Wiki dedicated to DLRP How Euro Disney was financially funded Photos Magiques (fan photos website) WDSfans (fan site dedicated to the Walt Disney Studios Park) Studio One Photos - Disneyland Resort Paris Through A Lens (fan photos website) dlrp.co.uk - Your magical guide to Disneyland Resort Paris Hotels near the magic Disneyland Resort Paris (fan website in spanish) Everything you need to know about Disneyland Resort Paris Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Disneyland Resort: Disneyland | Disney's California Adventure Walt Disney World Resort: Magic Kingdom | Epcot | Disney-MGM Studios | Disney's Animal Kingdom Tokyo Disney Resort: Tokyo Disneyland | Tokyo DisneySea Disneyland Resort Paris: Disneyland Park | Walt Disney Studios Park Hong Kong Disneyland Resort: Hong Kong Disneyland Disney Cruise Line: Disney Wonder | Disney Magic | Castaway Cay Disney Regional Entertainment: ESPN Zone Disney Vacation Club | Adventures by Disney | World of Disney Walt Disney Imagineering: Walt Disney Creative Entertainment Search Term: "Disneyland_Resort_Paris" Categories: Articles with unsourced statements | Visitor attractions in Paris | Disneyland Resort Paris