Is Galaxy’s Edge the new Euro Disney?

[GingerGirl3]

Disneyland Paris is stunningly gorgeous. I could happily walk around it for hours without going on any rides. Its Frontierland and Fantasyland are two of the most amazing lands out of all the Disney Parks I’ve been to.

Really? It didn’t impress me but given I took a train over for a day trip from Paris it had a lot to compete with. If I wasn’t living there I wouldn’t have bothered. Have they done much of a renovation to it?

I never understood the idea of putting it outside of Paris. Tourists have much better things to do and locals keep their indulgence of American things on the dl. It’s so close and easy to get to by train that there’s no reason to stay there.

 

[shortstop]

Really? It didn’t impress me but given I took a train over for a day trip from Paris it had a lot to compete with. If I wasn’t living there I wouldn’t have bothered. Have they done much of a renovation to it?

I never understood the idea of putting it outside of Paris. Tourists have much better things to do and locals keep their indulgence of American things on the dl. It’s so close and easy to get to by train that there’s no reason to stay there.

This doesn’t do it for ya? I agree it’s light on rides, but in terms of scenery, I think it’s tough to beat.

DLP doesn’t try to compete with the city of Paris. It serves all of Western Europe as its “local crowd”, not just Paris/France.

 

[eddie104]

Disneyland Paris is stunningly gorgeous. I could happily walk around it for hours without going on any rides. Its Frontierland and Fantasyland are two of the most amazing lands out of all the Disney Parks I’ve been to.

I absolutely love their castle it's my favorite out of all the castle parks. Also whoever did the landscaping deserves multiple awards and needs to bring some of that to the states.

 

[splashspacethunder]

EuroDisney's failure is different. It failed because of all those hotels and marketing. Galaxy's Edge hasn't even opened in Florida, and neither has Rise of the Resistance. I think expectations were definitely not met, but it isn't the same level of failure. My problem with Galaxy's Edge is that it's a created world. It's not Tatooine, it's not Jakku, it's a made up land that doesn't make me feel like a jedi. There's no Luke, no Leia, no original Han, nothing. I'm not one of those people that despises the new Star Wars movies, but they can't compare. They should have done something different.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Yes, Disney just bought it out and will invest $1 Billion.

$2 billion Euro on the Studios alone, not including ongoing renovations and improvements elsewhere to Disneyland, the Village and hotels.

And Disney has also raised prices on everything since taking over complete control. They're not wasting time or taking chances with the resort's profitability, and it's working.

 

[DisneyAndUniversalFan]

As others have said on here, Disneyland Paris is truly beautiful. I’d say maybe the 2nd most beautiful Disney park in the world (right behind TDS and tied with DAK). Their versions of Main Street, Adventureland, and Frontierland are stunning and are some of the best lands Disney’s ever made. The park is also so magical with each land especially their Fantasyland being so fantastical and I absolutely love the real fairytale theme the park has. It’s a gorgeous park.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

It would seem that Euro Disney is the new Galaxy Edge.

 

[ParkFan550]

I like how this thread has just became about how beautiful Disneyland Paris is and how it’s such good park rather than talking about comparing the failure of Euro Disney in the 90s with the possible current failure of Galaxy’s Edge

 

[Phroobar]

They are two completely different scenarios.

 

[GingerGirl3]

This doesn’t do it for ya? I agree it’s light on rides, but in terms of scenery, I think it’s tough to beat.

DLP doesn’t try to compete with the city of Paris. It serves all of Western Europe as its “local crowd”, not just Paris/France.

I really wasn’t impressed with it and I can’t even picture the castle much less the landscaping which is why I was wondering if they did a lot to the park since I went many years ago. I’ll have to look it up. I know it was never meant to be to Parisians what Disneyland is to locals but Europeans are a very different crowd. A beer garden or a soccer match can get them more excited than a Disney park. Heck even bicycling can hold their interest more than an amusement park. It’s just going to be harder to get them excited about a castle when they have real ones all over.

 

[donsullivan]

They are two completely different scenarios.

Exactly. The challenges faced by Euro Disney Resort when it opened where not about the popularity of the resort or the quality of what it was delivering. The biggest challenge they had was Eisners decision to seriously overbuild hotels at the opening way beyond what they needed with only one park. Parc Disneyland in Paris has always been the most beautiful Castle park Disney has ever built and it continues to be that today. I was there on opening day and back again on the 25th anniversary 2 years ago and it is still the most beautiful castle park.

They had so much excess hotel capacity they started closing Newport Bay for the winter each year to try and balance inventory. That excess hotel development resulted in a massive debt that had to be repaid and the cost of that debt prevented them from doing nearly everything else they wanted to do. They had 10M guests through the turnstiles opening year which is the same as Epcot and more than DHS had that same year and DLP was only open 9 months that year.

They certainly had a few cultural misses they needed to adapt to but those were relatively easy fixes. Fixing the debt situation took a very, very long time to resolve and the park began to decline over that time in lack of additions as well as maintenance all because Eisner wanted to extend his architectural patronage and spent way too much money on hotels.

 

[ParkFan550]

They are two completely different scenarios.

Their are actually more similarities than you think. Both had lots of potential but were executed poorly. With Euro Disney being in Paris, many thought it would've been smarter for Disney to put it in Southern France or Spain as they would’ve had much less to compete with tourism. Also the climate was much warmer there as well. With Galaxy Edge being themed to a planet that no one has ever heard of like Batuu, many thought it would’ve been better for them to theme it to Tatooine from the OT. Both Euro Disney and Galaxy’s Edge were met with backlash from its target audience. Euro Disney was met with backlash from many Europeans and French who thought that Disney was Americanizing France. Galaxy’s Edge was met with backlash from many Star Wars fans who hate the sequels the land was based off of, and hate the direction the franchise is going. Disney had huge expectations for them as they thought that both were going to be hugely successful and extremely crowded. They both however ended up empty when they first opened and were complete disappointments as many types of news outlets started talking about how Disney failed with their investments.

 

[Phroobar]

I think Euro Disneyland's failure was because they overbuilt on the hotels. Europeans don't go to hotels but instead go to hostels or boarding houses or friend's houses where staying is cheap to free. There was no way they would pay Disney's hotel prices. This ended up with massive debt.

Galaxy'd Edge opened with years of internet rumors the place would be packed and to stay away. It also opened to record high ticket prices and missing it's signature attraction. Everyone is waiting until the land is completely open. Galaxy's Edge in Florida will be different because tourists are trapped at WDW and they will ride everything to maximize their vacations. It has nothing to do with disappointing fans.

 

[GingerGirl3]

And both had less far less crowds than were expected and both gave the same excuse as to why people stayed away. It’s funny the way crowds only scare people away from certain things.

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

I hear you and agree - Galaxy’s Edge needs a high speed coaster with sharp drops and stops themed to flying through space.

and a ramp

 

[Robbiem]

Another similarly is the cost of visiting. When Euro Disney opened it was eye wateringly expensive, so much so that for a short break these the average European could have a two week stay in Florida. Food & hotels were very expensive. Growing up in London in the 90s we went to WDW but never visited DLP until after the post 9/11 slump. Now it looks like the stateside parks have got to the point where they are really pushing the price up to the point where people go elsewhere

 

[ThemeParkTraveller]

Now it looks like the stateside parks have got to the point where they are really pushing the price up to the point where people go elsewhere

Good point regarding the price point. In comparison to other Disney resorts worldwide (One-Day Adult, Single Park):

DLR- $104-$149 depending on calendar
WDW- $109-$159 depending on calendar
TDR- $69
DLP- $62-$97 depending on calendar
HKDL- $82
SDL- $58-$97 depending on calendar

 

[Phroobar]

And both had less far less crowds than were expected and both gave the same excuse as to why people stayed away. It’s funny the way crowds only scare people away from certain things.

They stayed away from the Disneyland Resort entirely while Knotts, Magic Mountain and Universal are packed.

 

[Darkbeer1]

Disneyland ticket prices have increased more than 5,000% since 1955 opening, study finds

Disneyland admission cost $2.50 in 1955 compared to a $129 ‘regular’ park ticket today, an increase of 5,060%, according to the study.

www.ocregister.com

>>A study from the United Kingdom-based Play Like Mum mommy blog looked at the rising costs of admission tickets over the past six decades at Disney theme parks around the world.

Disneyland admission cost $2.50 in 1955 compared to a $129 “regular” park ticket today, an increase of 5,060%, according to the study. Disneyland admission today costs more than 50 times as much as it did on opening day, the study found.<<

>>The 1955 Disneyland admission price was based on an adult “Deluxe 15” ticket book that included admission to the park and 15 attractions.<<

>>The study found that admission prices have risen steadily at Disney theme parks around the world. Magic Kingdom ticket prices have increased more than 3,000% since the Florida park opened in 1971 at Walt Disney World, according to the study. Admission prices are up 76% at Tokyo Disneyland since 1983, 140% at Disneyland Paris since 1992 and 83% at Hong Kong Disneyland since 2005, the study found.<<

 

[Disney Irish]

Disneyland ticket prices have increased more than 5,000% since 1955 opening, study finds

Disneyland admission cost $2.50 in 1955 compared to a $129 ‘regular’ park ticket today, an increase of 5,060%, according to the study.

www.ocregister.com

>>A study from the United Kingdom-based Play Like Mum mommy blog looked at the rising costs of admission tickets over the past six decades at Disney theme parks around the world.

Disneyland admission cost $2.50 in 1955 compared to a $129 “regular” park ticket today, an increase of 5,060%, according to the study. Disneyland admission today costs more than 50 times as much as it did on opening day, the study found.<<

>>The 1955 Disneyland admission price was based on an adult “Deluxe 15” ticket book that included admission to the park and 15 attractions.<<

>>The study found that admission prices have risen steadily at Disney theme parks around the world. Magic Kingdom ticket prices have increased more than 3,000% since the Florida park opened in 1971 at Walt Disney World, according to the study. Admission prices are up 76% at Tokyo Disneyland since 1983, 140% at Disneyland Paris since 1992 and 83% at Hong Kong Disneyland since 2005, the study found.<<

This is slightly disingenuous, and cherry picked for effect. The article does go onto state that when adjusted for inflation, which by the way plays a big factor in pricing even at Disneyland, its only 335% increase. Which while still high doesn't have the same "WOW" factor as saying a 5K% increase, which in reality its not.

By the way the cumulative rate of inflation between 1955 and 2019 is a whooping 855.8%.