A new place for Euro Disney

[JJohnson]

Instead of in France, let's say that Germany held its eastern territories and a peaceful plebiscite Anschluß with Austria, and is not an international boogeyman of any kind. Where, from Alsace-Lorraine to East Prussia, would be the best place for a Euro Disney park be in this Germany?

 

[NCW8]

Instead of in France, let's say that Germany held its eastern territories and a peaceful plebiscite Anschluß with Austria, and is not an international boogeyman of any kind. Where, from Alsace-Lorraine to East Prussia, would be the best place for a Euro Disney park be in this Germany?

You'd probably want to attract visitors from France and the Benelux countries as well as Germany, so probably somewhere in western Germany with good transport links. If the Elsass is part of Germany but still has a strong bilingual culture then just outside Strassburg might be a good choice.


Cheers,
Nigel.

 

[Zheng He]

You'd probably want to attract visitors from France and the Benelux countries as well as Germany, so probably somewhere in western Germany with good transport links. If the Elsass is part of Germany but still has a strong bilingual culture then just outside Strassburg might be a good choice.


Cheers,
Nigel.

I was thinking something similar. I guess another question is could you have two Euro Disney Lands like their are now three in Asia? Probably not....

 

[yulzari]

I suppose a marsh on the Marne seemed a good idea at the time. Alsace would combine the German ambience with French language.

 

[Dalriadan Archangel 21]

Or perhaps the only English speaking country in the region?????

 

[Magnum]

Somewhere in the Rhineland, perhaps Köln/Cologne - it's reasonably close to the Benelux countries and France, but also to Britain via a short ride up the Rhine from Rotterdam, which is itself a short trip by ship from London.

OTOH, Strasbourg is much farther from London, only ~50km closer to Paris, and being close to Switzerland doesn't really count for much in terms of revenue.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

Before settling for Paris, Disney had three other candidate sites, all three of them in the opposite direction of Germany: Toulon in Provence and two sites in Catalonia close to the Mediterranean sea. What they all had in common was a warm, stable climate similar to those of Florida and Southern California. The Toulon site was discarded because it was a difficult terrain to build in, and both spanish sites were judged too peripheral (in the late 80's infrastructure wasn't what it was today: ironically if they had waited 10 years Disneyland Barcelona would have sounded like a winning proposition), so Paris was chosen as a compromise due to its allegedly central location, a choice that Disney has regretted since, apparently due to the climate and specially having the city of Paris itself being an obvious competitor for visitors. If Disney had decided for somewhere other than Paris they would have probably chosen any place in Southern France, Northern Italy or the spanish mediterranean coast, but it is unlikely that they would have gone with Central Europe.

 

[NCW8]

Or perhaps the only English speaking country in the region?????

You mean Grand Fenwick ?

Cheers,
Nigel.

 

[dave_r_gilbert]

With the exception of France pretty much all of them are English speaking.
Not necessarily as a first language.

 

[greenbay2014]

Disneyland Paris opened in 1992, so if you want a different place for the same time period... how about Moscow?

• No Hollywood blockbuster or automobile could spread American consumerism faster than a Disneyland
• Nothing says "We Won The Cold War" better than putting a Disneyland in Moscow
• Snow White's seven dwarfs do seem (at least to me) suspiciously communist, so there's likable characters for the locals already
• Historically, Vladimir Putin might become more of a peaceful, heartwarming guy if he just had a Disneyland nearby to let of some steam
• Peter Pan just might be Vladimir Lenin's autobiography through allegory

 

[Galba Otho Vitelius]

Re Dr. Strangeglove's comment, I remember reading about Disney's decision on where to put Euro Disney in the early 1990s, and at the time I thought the decision to put thing thing near Paris was really strange. There was even mainstream media commentary to that effect. Of course the parks belong in Mediterranean or subtropical climates. As for the infrastructure, Disney basically created Orlando, so the infrastructure would follow.

It was just a really bad decision. I have thought of a "WI Euro Disney in Spain" but it wouldn't be very interesting, the park would just be more successful and get more visitors and make the company more money.

 

[Kammada]

In 1992, there is neither market nor adequate infrastructure for the Disneyland in Russia. It would have to operate at a terrible loss, with the operating costs being bigger than for Disneyland Paris, and the admission fees much lower.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

Re Dr. Strangeglove's comment, I remember reading about Disney's decision on where to put Euro Disney in the early 1990s, and at the time I thought the decision to put thing thing near Paris was really strange. There was even mainstream media commentary to that effect. Of course the parks belong in Mediterranean or subtropical climates. As for the infrastructure, Disney basically created Orlando, so the infrastructure would follow.

It was just a really bad decision. I have thought of a "WI Euro Disney in Spain" but it wouldn't be very interesting, the park would just be more successful and get more visitors and make the company more money.

Rumor has it that the main reason the park wasn't set up in Spain was that Disney and the spanish government couldn't reach an agreement on tax status for the park.

And don't be so sure about this new park being a success. Another park (Port Aventura) was set up in 1995 in the exact spot Disney had selected 100 km south of Barcelona and it has been in life support for decades despite being one of the largest theme parks in Europe in the middle of a tourist hotspot popular with europeans.

 

[greenbay2014]

In 1992, there is neither market nor adequate infrastructure for the Disneyland in Russia. It would have to operate at a terrible loss, with the operating costs being bigger than for Disneyland Paris, and the admission fees much lower.

But imagine a Disneyland without any safety regulations whatsoever. There would be considerable less cost in terms of maintenance. Imagine a Disneyutopia, where - yea sure sometimes ppl fall off the rides and injure/die - but there's a ride for anyone without all the silly safety regulations. Think of the Hammer & Sickle Fights, or the Stalingrad Simulator, or the KGB Interrogation Game, think of the gulag rides

 

[MrP]

Instead of in France, let's say that Germany held its eastern territories and a peaceful plebiscite Anschluß with Austria, and is not an international boogeyman of any kind. Where, from Alsace-Lorraine to East Prussia, would be the best place for a Euro Disney park be in this Germany?

If Alsace-Lorraine is part of Germany, we're talking about a POD before 1914, but if there's an Austria to have an Anschluss with, we're talking about a POD after 1918. You should make up your mind about that.

Now if you just mean this as a thought experiment, I'd say somewhere in the south, where the milder climate allows for a longer period of outdoors activities. People don't want to go to a theme park when it's raining. So, Stuttgart, Munich or Vienna.

 

[Zheng He]

Before settling for Paris, Disney had three other candidate sites, all three of them in the opposite direction of Germany: Toulon in Provence and two sites in Catalonia close to the Mediterranean sea. What they all had in common was a warm, stable climate similar to those of Florida and Southern California. The Toulon site was discarded because it was a difficult terrain to build in, and both spanish sites were judged too peripheral (in the late 80's infrastructure wasn't what it was today: ironically if they had waited 10 years Disneyland Barcelona would have sounded like a winning proposition), so Paris was chosen as a compromise due to its allegedly central location, a choice that Disney has regretted since, apparently due to the climate and specially having the city of Paris itself being an obvious competitor for visitors. If Disney had decided for somewhere other than Paris they would have probably chosen any place in Southern France, Northern Italy or the spanish mediterranean coast, but it is unlikely that they would have gone with Central Europe.

When I visited Disneyland Paris it was in November and it was cold but I have been to Disney World when it was just as cold (seriously no kidding). The crowd seemed a little sparse but I have been to Disneyland in Anaheim when it was downright empty (the week LA and Orange County Public Schools started up after summer).

 

[Dan1988]

All I remember from Euro Disney was a satirical song from the Capitol Steps' 1994 album Lord of the Fries, called "Euro Pest" (using the same tune as "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the Beast) and all about the problems facing the theme park (or, as Allmusic puts it, "where two arrogant Frenchmen chase off tourists from the rather unsuccessful EuroDisney park"). Surprisingly, though, anything from that album is hard to find, which is a shame - I thought it was funny. I'm sure that if Euro Disney was placed elsewhere, it would not have been such a target of jokes.

 

[Electric Monk]

Rumor has it that the main reason the park wasn't set up in Spain was that Disney and the spanish government couldn't reach an agreement on tax status for the park.

Eisner picked Paris because of his wife. That's the Hollywood legend anyway.

 

[NCW8]

OTOH, Strasbourg is much farther from London, only ~50km closer to Paris, and being close to Switzerland doesn't really count for much in terms of revenue.

Europa Park is Germany's largest theme park and is just over the border from Strasbourg. It's been around since 1975 and seems to be doing pretty well - they celebrated their 100 millionth visitor last year.

Cheers,
Nigel

 

[JJohnson]

If Alsace-Lorraine is part of Germany, we're talking about a POD before 1914, but if there's an Austria to have an Anschluss with, we're talking about a POD after 1918. You should make up your mind about that.

Now if you just mean this as a thought experiment, I'd say somewhere in the south, where the milder climate allows for a longer period of outdoors activities. People don't want to go to a theme park when it's raining. So, Stuttgart, Munich or Vienna.

It's mostly a thought experiment. I hadn't come up with a fully fledged timeline as of yet. I was thinking of several scenarios and wondering where would be a good place for such a park:
1. 1871 borders: probably near Munich or Stuttgart, like you said; maybe between Lengenwang, Buchach, Steinbach, and Sulzschneid, or east of Frost in the larger Brandenburg? East of Frost could easily give you about 17.5 mi2 to use, and close to Ratiborhammer gives two sites with about 16-18 mi2 to use.
2. 1871+German Austria: Maybe Vienna, or possibly Burgenland near Wieselburg (Moson Komitat)? Between Vienna and Leopoldsdorf in Marchfelde looks promising.
3. 1871+South/New East Prussia: still Munich or somewhere in south Bavaria, Wurttemberg
4. 1871+German Austria+Lower Syria, Carniola, Trieste, Pflaum (basically, Slovenia): perhaps on Trieste, east of Kurjavici, and west of Terveis?

My concern with locating a park in Germany is all the little tiny villages that would be affected, and finding a spot where they wouldn't be.