Walt Disney Company is world renowned for its animated characters, feel-good films and theme parks. Disney's mascot, Mickey Mouse, has become more than just a symbol of American culture, in the hearts of children (ages 0 to 90, as Disney Co. would put it). As if gifted with the Midas' touch, Michael Eisner was able to turn the company around in the 1980s when the company experienced financial difficulties, through his decisive venture to export Disneyland to Tokyo. This venture turned out to be a smashing success. Eisner wanted to recreate the success of Tokyo Disneyland in Europe. However, with the launch of Euro Disney, it had seemed that Eisner's luck had run out, and Euro Disney may very well be the first major disaster of Disney.
Case Problem .
Given the numerous issues confronting Euro Disney, what can Michael Eisner, CEO of Disney Co. do to solve these problems and turn this latest venture around? .
Case Analysis.
A. Walt Disney's Strategic Entry.
The theme park has several historical antecedents, including the ride-based amusement parks of the early 20th century America and the garden parks of Europe. The birth of the modern theme park, however, is commonly recognized as occurring with the opening of Disneyland about 30 years ago. The theme park industry has witnessed a fairly rapid international expansion in recent years. Growth has been focused mostly in Europe and Japan. It is instructive to compare industry development in the US with where other world markets stand.
Disney in Japan.
The Japanese theme park industry at present has about 29 large parks with annual attendance over 1 million persons and 30 moderate-scale parks with attendance between 500,000 persons and 1 million persons. The watchwords for Disney's entry to Japan are selective growth and short term retrenchment.
Since the recovery from the post-war period, a substantial amusement park industry has been established in Japan.