Theme Parks in France

Machines de L'lle

I was going through the news stories on BBC NEWS and the article “Nantes' theme park economics at Machines de L'lle ” caught my eyes. France used funds from the regional government and the European Union to build a theme park in the city of Nantes.  The amount invested in the French theme was over $13 million.

I think the concept of this park is pretty unique. For example, the theme of the park is based around just giant mechanical animals. Both the partners in the project were convinced that this theme could be an appealing success to all. It also seems that they are trying to take a different route when it comes to theme park.  One of the partners in the project, Pierre Orefice said, "In the Disney and Asterix parks, the parents are spectators, they don't have the same emotion as their kids” and "We were sure there should not be separation from the world of children and adults. It was very important that a parent could enjoy the experience as much as the children."

It seems that the attraction is paying off by attracting many customers, but despite it’s popularity the park can’t cover its costs. It’s no surprise because according to BBC News one of its mechanical elephants requires 2,000 liters of oil to operate smoothly. The cost for that much oil in that elephant runs up to over $200,000 a year!

I was more surprised to find out that local officials are more than happy to keep investing in the park. The argument is that the park has created highly skilled workers in the workshop and in the gallery. Also, they claim that the tourist revenue compensates for losses endured by the park.

Even though, this park is operating at a loss I oddly hope it remains in business for years to come. I would like to personally go and take a trip to Machines de L'lle in France. Apparently, this summer they are set to unveil their latest creation. The name of the attraction will be The Carousel of Marine World. This attraction will have three levels of elaborate mechanical sea life.

Disneyland Paris

The article triggered my memory to a case that I remembered reading in one of my international business courses. The case was on how Disney wasn’t able to be as successful as they had hoped when they decided to build a park in France.

After finding success outside of the U.S., like Tokyo, Japan, Disney decided to start searching for a place in Europe to build a theme park. The heads of Disney's theme park division finally came up with a list of 1,200 possible places. In 1985, the list was lowered down to two countries either France or Spain.

Both places had a sub tropical climate and were located near the Mediterranean Sea. Disney’s final decision was on a site in the rural town of Marne-la-Vallee in France.  The location was chosen because it was in the central location of Western Europe and had a close proximity to Paris. Disney had estimated it was a four-hour drive to for over 60 million people and a two-hour flight for over 300 million.

Construction began in 1988 after the French government had given the Disney Company clearance to start building.  The construction budget of the Disney theme park was $2.3 billion.

The park opened up its doors to the public in 1992 under the name Euro Disneyland.  But opening day turned out to be a disappointing one. The parking lot was half full and attendance was below 20,000.

People tried to defend the loss by blaming external factors that were occurring in France. The country was experiencing a recession and unemployment. You would think having a Disney theme park would decrease unemployment, but it didn’t.  The Hollywood Reporter reported that almost 3,000 people had resigned their positions at Euro Disneyland.

So why would people quit their jobs at the theme park when there is an unemployment crisis? I believe that Disney didn’t do their homework well when they decided to go into France.

Many employees claimed they left because of unacceptable working conditions. Disney tried to impose the same codes it requires here in the U.S. As reported by USA Today "Rules governing fingernails (neutral polish, no more than one-quarter inch beyond the fingertips for women or tip of the finger for men), eyewear (conservative color and style) and body alteration (no "visible tattoos, brands, body piercing other than traditional ear piercing for women, tongue piercing or splitting, tooth filing, earlobe expansion and disfiguring skin implants". Recently, Disney let men have beards or goatees. The French citizens didn’t like the idea of being told to keep up with a dress code appearance. The French labor unions protested saying that it was an attack on individual liberty. There was also controversy around the staff being told they needed to speak English in meetings. Others were also concerned that Euro Disneyland would influence the French public with unhealthy American consumerism.

Disney shouldn’t try to impose their “Disney culture” to everyone. Here in the U.S. workers at the Disney theme parks don’t agree too much with the codes, but they still follow them. In the past years Disney has tried to turn around Euro Disneyland.  For example, they found that the name Euro Disneyland didn’t sit well with the locals.  Mike Eisner, the CEO at the time, 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.”

Disneyland Paris celebrated its 20^th anniversary this year, but it’s still not “out of the woods”. There are still controversies concerning the park like the ones reported on The Independent and last year they reported a financial loss. The Guardian reported Disneyland Paris lost €55.6million which is over $73 million in U.S. dollars.

 Not sure really what to think about this because both parks are operating at a loss. At first I blamed it on the fact that Disney was an American company not willing too fully comply with French culture. But Disneyland Paris gets an overwhelming amount of tourist visiting the park each year. I can only assume that it's pretty difficult to keep a park in France operating efficiently. 


As much as I loved Disneyland growing up as a little girl, I hope that Machines de L'lle is able to operate for a long time in France. The concept is a unique one unlike Disneyland, which usually has the same outputs in their locations around the world.