A new place for Euro Disney

[JJohnson]

Continuing the thought experiment a little further, let's say the park opens somewhere in Germany in 1992-ish, and there's room to expand. What would they place there to start off? What would they add, and which parks would they add later?

I was thinking something like Disneyland (Munich*) featuring:
*MainStreet USA - early 20th century, small town America with working shops and functional buildings. Has Hall of Presidents, a vintage late 17th, early 18th century restaurant with old-style foods
*Frontierland - wild west, showcasing that period in American history: Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain; Cowboys and real American Indians would play the parts here. People could really learn about American Indian culture - Cherokee, Apache, Seminole, Cree, etc.
*Tomorrowland - futuristic, showcasing modern and futuristic tech: Carousel of Progress, Space Mountain, features solar paneling for power; in an alternate world where Disney didn't buy Star Wars, this could house Star Trek themed rides through licensing with Paramount to celebrate the 25th anniversary. If Disney does buy Star Wars, an annex here could lead to Star Wars Land
*Fantasyland - Sleeping Beauty Castle starts the visitor off into the world of storybooks, featuring fairy tale rides from Grimm's and other European folklore from across Europe, and It's a Small World
*Adventureland - Exotic locales like the Caribbean (Pirates), Asia, the Middle East (Aladdin), Africa (Lion King), and the sea (Little Mermaid)
*Liberty Square - Colonial America recreation, showing what many Europeans would've encountered in the 18th century visiting America, includes the 13 colonial flags, Liberty Bell, and copies of America's founding documents.
*Castle Courtyard - place for concerts and parades, central to the park, with landscaping and design like many European palaces have
*MAYBE: Treasure Cove - a Pirate-themed land like Shanghai Disney will have, and house Pirates of the Caribbean, have a stunt show, pirate restaurant, the works.

*Replace Munich with wherever the park ends up, depending on weather and available land that doesn't disrupt existing villages.

If this does well, how about a Euro EPCOT? It could feature some of the stuff Disney wanted in the original EPCOT, perhaps, but also include the whole 'World's Fair' stuff that Orlando Epcot has:
*Countries around the world:
**England
**Ireland
**France
**Netherlands
**Germany
**Greece - rides based on mythology; Poseidon roller coaster with splashes, going underwater into an aquarium, etc.;
**Spain
**Portugal
**Italy - looks like a mediaeval Italian renaissance town; an annex could open up to the Roman Empire
**Switzerland
**Australia and New Zealand
**South Africa
**USA (more 18th/19th century, not stereotypical burgers/fries strip mall stuff)
**Austria
**Iceland - looks like a mini-Icelandic village, with authentic cuisine
**Russia - traditional Russian architecture
**China
**Mexico
**Colonial America (older style American food, maybe Thanksgiving foods, etch)
**Scandinavia (with Norse and Viking rides, and Icelanders speaking Norse, since it's close to their language)
Rides: Spaceship Earth, test track, universe of energy, etc.
With a Euro EPCOT, there may not be a Europa Park in this timeline, or EPCOT would be a serious competitor for it.

 

[JJohnson]

And, if that goes well:

Walt Disney Movie Studios (MGM Studios / Hollywood Studios) - celebration of cinema, including European, like the movie Metropolis; Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Star Trek, Muppets, Tower of Terror, etc.
Animal Kingdom - lands for each continent, featuring animals from around the world, a zoo with rides, plus a Dino Land featuring dinosaurs of all kinds as animatronics, and a Mythology land with dragons and other mythical beasts.
Disney Village - shopping, restaurants, night life, with a European feel to it. Downtown Disney, but feeling more like a little downtown of a real European town. It would have Earl of Sandwich, Rainforest Café, LEGO store, Planet Hollywood, Cinepark 24 (24-plex movie theater), Saturn (tech store), Mayersche with a large Disney book section, and more

All that if Disneyland itself does well, which it likely would. Which resorts (hotels) could you see Disney opening in this Germany Disneyland? Which kinds of themes? And which kinds of rides would you see at any of these parks that would make them unique as opposed to the US parks?

 

[NCW8]

I think that the location of this German Disneyland is going to depend a lot on the state of Europe as a whole. For example, if Germany has carved Eastern Europe into a group of prosperous client states, then a more easterly location would be chosen - maybe Dresden or Breslau. OTOH if Eastern Europe is in anarchic chaos or in the grip of a Communist Dictatorship then a more western location is more likely.

As for content - IOTL when Eurodisney was being built, Disney quite coincidentally made a couple of films with a French background, Beauty and the Beast and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. You might see something similar ITTL. Assuming Disney's film production ITTL has been similar to OTL, then they will already have adapted some of Grimm's fairy tales. They might adapt other German stories, such as Baron Munchausen. Mind you, a more confident, nationalistic Germany might be more defensive about its culture and resent the Disneyfication of its literature.

Finally, while Europa Park might not exist ITTL for other reasons, it's worth noting that it was built in the Seventies. If this German Disneyland is being built in the Nineties, then it is going to face competition from other theme parks. That is also going to influence its location and content (for example if, in spite of butterflies, Europa Park exists ITTL, you're less likely to have a Euro-Disney World's Fair if that could be seen as playing copycat).

Cheers,
Nigel

 

[Ramontxo]

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.[/QUOTE]

Not so much to import revenue, but surely it does if you are thinking of exporting it ...
(so sorry couldn’t resist the joke.)

 

[Archibald]

Wow, this thread has turned into a reposite of anti-French sentiment. Nice. Reported.

Take a map, a compass and draw a circle around Paris. There are something like 80 millions people living in that circle - Northern France (Paris, Lille), most of former West Germany (before 1992) Benelux, Southern Great Britain (London). That's the reason why they put Disneyland there in the first place.

 

[Kammada]

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

Too bad there's no dislike button.

 

[Dunois]

Wow, this thread has turned into a reposite of anti-French sentiment. Nice. Reported.

Take a map, a compass and draw a circle around Paris. There are something like 80 millions people living in that circle - Northern France (Paris, Lille), most of former West Germany (before 1992) Benelux, Southern Great Britain (London). That's the reason why they put Disneyland there in the first place.

Plus there's more airport capacity around Paris for visitors coming from further afar than there is in Munich or elsewhere in Europe bar London too!

 

[greenbay2014]

Too bad there's no dislike button.

You're exactly right, that's another bonus to a Moscow Disneyland - nobody could criticize it if they're incapable of taking humor! It'd truly be a utopia for the ages.

 

[Dalriadan Archangel 21]

Wow, this thread has turned into a reposite of anti-French sentiment. Nice. Reported.

Take a map, a compass and draw a circle around Paris. There are something like 80 millions people living in that circle - Northern France (Paris, Lille), most of former West Germany (before 1992) Benelux, Southern Great Britain (London). That's the reason why they put Disneyland there in the first place.

You have to draw a pretty big circle to get London included.

I would also expect there to be a bit more than 80 million in an area that includes the regions you mention.

 

[Kammada]

You're exactly right, that's another bonus to a Moscow Disneyland - nobody could criticize it if they're incapable of taking humor! It'd truly be a utopia for the ages.

You do understand that the gulag jokes are the same grade as the Auschwitz ones, don't you?

 

[greenbay2014]

You do understand that the gulag jokes are the same grade as the Auschwitz ones, don't you?

I'm happy you figured out that it was a joke! Your concerns about the infrastructure of Moscow had me quite worried.

 

[JJohnson]

Wow, this thread has turned into a reposite of anti-French sentiment. Nice. Reported.

Take a map, a compass and draw a circle around Paris. There are something like 80 millions people living in that circle - Northern France (Paris, Lille), most of former West Germany (before 1992) Benelux, Southern Great Britain (London). That's the reason why they put Disneyland there in the first place.

At least for me, no original intent to be "anti-French" here. Im just wondering where a Disney Park would be in various Germanies, and what all it could have in it. It's an interesting idea.

 

[NCW8]

You have to draw a pretty big circle to get London included.

It's a bit of a simplistic measure really, especially if the region includes a large obstacle to travel, such as the English Channel. The Channel Tunnel has improved the situation (and was a good reason for selecting Paris as the site for Euro-Disney), but it's still easier and cheaper to travel from western Germany to Paris than from southern England.


Cheers,
Nigel.