Disneyland Paris & Legoland - Essay Example

Theme Parks: Disneyland Paris and Legoland Theme Parks: Disneyland Paris and Legoland Visitor attractions can easily be considered as one of the main economical and social matters in the world today, and this is speaking of theme parks especially particularly; Disneyland Paris and Legoland are two of the most recognized and well known theme parks in the world, and so in order to be able to understand the purpose and reasoning behind theme parks in general, as well as how these two in particular work and what they are all about, there are several questions in particular that need to be answered fully and thoroughly: 1. What is the historical development of Disneyland Paris and Legoland? 2. What is the range of current position in the field for Disneyland Paris and Legoland? 3. How does the management and ownership and levels of provision work in Disneyland Paris and Legoland? 4. What is the market for theme parks in general and what is its potential for expansion as a market? 5. What are the key operational management issues? 6. What are some present and future trends and other key related issues that are involved here? By thoroughly and rather elaborately answering these questions, we will not only be able to come to a much more knowledgeable and understanding viewpoint on the subject matter at hand altogether, but as well, we will be able to understand theme parks as a whole in general, and furthermore, we will be able to see how they actually work, what type of market they refer to, what the issues are if any, and what trends are in relation to them; therefore we will obviously be able to truly and fully understand the matter of theme parks completely, in particular, that of Disneyland Paris and Legoland. What is the Historical Development of Disneyland Paris and Legoland? In regards to the historical development of a theme park such as Disneyland Paris, this is one of great length and detail; after all, you simply cannot have a theme park that is this popular and advent, without having some sort of an amazing historical past. For more than eight decades now – which is already a staggering amount of time in all actuality – the name Walt Disney has been truly and earnestly preeminent in the field of family entertainment; truly no one can think of having more fun than going to a Walt Disney theme park or something of the sort, and so Walt Disney the man and the company itself have truly brought to the table something that has never been done before – not even remotely. Really, what took place historically is that from extremely humble beginnings as a ‘mere’ cartoon studio in the early 1920s, the Walt Disney Company has now grown into a vast and expansive global corporation, and the Walt Disney Company now continues to proudly provide that of quality and respected entertainment for every member of the family, and in many various ways at that. Since its actual founding in the year 1923, the Walt Disney Company has truly and quite seriously remained duly faithful in its commitment to producing that of unparalleled entertainment experiences, basically based on that of its rich legacy of quality and amusing content, and exceptional storytelling. As well, “Today, Disney is divided into four major business segments: Studio Entertainment, Parks and Resorts, Consumer Products, and Media Networks…and…Each segment consists of integrated, well-connected businesses that operate in concert to maximize exposure and growth worldwide.” (Disney, 2006). In regards to the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, they are truly considered as being the overall staple of the company in today’s world, and so they are absolutely one of the most integral parts of the Walt Disney Company altogether. When discussing the historical background of the Walt Disney Paris theme park, there is one factor that absolutely cannot be integrated, and that is Walt Disney himself. Walt Disney was a man who was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, visionary, and philanthropist – among many other things as well – and he is particularly noted for being a film producer as well as a popular showman, and these are the two aspects that he was not only most well known for but also most respected for. In his time, he was nominated for a staggering 48 Academy Awards and 7 Emmys, and he still to this day holds the record for the most Oscar nominations. It was during the year of 1949 when Disney and his family moved to a new home on an incredibly large piece of property in the Holmby Hills district of Los Angeles, and it was there and with the help of some of his friends that he developed the blueprints and then immediately set to work creating the reality of his dream. It was actually on a business trip to Chicago in the late 1940s when he actually started putting the idea of Disneyland into motion, and “As Walt Disney Productions began work on Disneyland, it also began expanding its other entertainment operations…By the early 1960s, the Disney empire was a major success, and Walt Disney Productions had established itself as the world’s leading producer of family entertainment.” (Wikipedia, 2006). In regards to the historical development of Legoland, it opened in 1999 as Lego’s first park in the United States, and this was looked upon as a brilliantly new and innovative means in regards to a theme park idea altogether; Legoland is actually a chain of Lego themed theme parks, and the chain actually has four parks in total, which are as follows: Legoland Billund (Billund, Denmark), Legland Windsor (Windsor, Berkshire, England), Legoland Deutschland (Gunzburg, Germany), and Legoland California (Carlsbad, California, USA); however out of the four, Legoland Billund is the oldest, as it opened in 1968, before any of the others. Furthermore, “A concise definition of ‘Legoland’ is an area of space that is variable yet inherently definable, that contains within it an amount of unpackaged hydro-carbon derived pieces that are best interchanged with each other that may be contained within a variable yet inherently definable area of space by a sum greater than 2 standard deviations. The variable yet inherently definable area of space is usually used for the purposes of entertainment within the physical realm and has a mandate of virtue by providing a service to charge a fee upon entry into the variable yet inherently definable area of space.” (Wikipedia2, 2006). The parks in Legoland are basically split up into various different areas, and this is for many different purposes, primarily for the fact that this way, depending on how old you are and how large your group is, and so on, you will be able to easily determine which area of the park you should go to. All of the rides in all of the parks are themed, and many are even made to appear as though they are built out of Lego bricks; however they tend for the most part to be based on one particular line of Lego. For example, if there is one popular ride at one of the parks, or at all of them – for instance the Dragon Coaster – then it will be based on a relative set of Lego, in this case, loosely based on the Knights’ Kingdom Lego sets. What is the Range of Current Position in the Field for Disneyland Paris and Legoland? In regards to the matter of the range of current position in the field for the Disneyland Paris and Legoland theme parks, this is an issue which must be taken incredibly seriously into consideration. For instance, when we take Disneyland Paris into consideration, we can see that there is a much more broad range of current position, obviously due to the fact that Disneyland parks overall are more well known and have been around for longer than Legoland, for instance, and so this almost fully explains why there would be a more vast and wider ranger of current position in the field at this company, especially when compared to any other. There are so many different positions that can be filled for either theme park; for the most part on both accounts however, the range spreads for the majority over services such as food and drink, and matters of the like. This is because other positions, such as more superior ones, are either filled by seniority rules, or by other likelihoods, and so the basic range would include the more ‘minor’ duties, and this is open to the general public. How Does the Management and Ownership and Levels of Provision Work in Disneyland Paris and Legoland? This is another serious issue on all accounts, and this is speaking in regards to both the Disneyland Paris and the Legoland theme parks; for instance speaking of Disneyland Paris in particular, they have an immaculate and extremely qualified management and ownership team, and they understand fully in regards to the fact that the management, ownership, and advertising skills that a company has are what will truly not only propel them to notoriety, but is also what will help them to stick around for the long run, which is truly the goal of any good and proper business. They understand this fact to the full extent, and this is why they are constantly striving to make their teams as best as they possibly can, without fail, and without amiss. In regards to how the management actually works in Disneyland Paris, basically, there are two major sections, which are: the corporate and the business unit. Each has their own list of employees who work for that section, and there are numerous different positions inside of each of these sections: with the corporate unit, there is the president, senior executive vice president, general counsel and secretary, executive vice president and chief human resources officer, senior vice president, security, executive vice president, corporate strategy, business development and technology group, executive vice president, corporate finance and real estate and treasurer, executive vice president, corporate communications, executive vice president government relations, senior executive vice president and chief financial officer, and the senior vice president, planning and control; with the business unit, there is the co-chairman, Disney media networks, president, chairman of the Walt Disney Studios, president of ABC radio, president of ABC owned television stations, chairman of Disney consumer products, chairman of Walt Disney parks and resorts, co-chair of Disney media networks and president, and finally the president of the Walt Disney Internet group. Corporate governance is another issue that would be included in this discussion, and as George Mitchell, chairman of the board said: “We have established governance as high priority at Disney for one simple reason – it’s the right thing to do. By investing in Disney, shareholders are placing their trust in the board to help shape the overall course of the company’s business and to hold management accountable for its performance. In the end, governance is all about creating an environment that promotes informed, objective decision-making in the interests of all shareholders.” (Disney, 2006). People put their trust in Disney as a company in regards to both a managerial and ownership standpoint due primarily to the fact that they have shown a commitment right back to them and also because they overtly and constantly speak of how they alone are truly responsible for upholding their excellence and also for maintaining their integrity overall all else. In regards to Legoland in this same respect, they too have many of the same policies and beliefs; for instance, they are truly and earnestly sincere about the fact of making sure that there is as broad of a range of management and a respected level of provisions at all times; when dealing with issues such as theme parks, these are truly some of the most essential and determining factors overall, and Disneyland Paris and Legoland have both unduly realized this, and it is obvious in the way that both of their management and ownership teams work, as well as in how they work out their level of provisions; as provisioning basically means to provide telecommunications services to a user or a customer, we can then see that both of these theme parks work wonders in this specific area among others, and that this is one issue that relates directly to the popularity of both of these theme parks in general. What is the Market for Theme Parks in General and What is its Potential for Expansion as a Market? In regards to the issue of the actual market for theme parks in general, including the matter of the potential – if any – for expansion as a market overall, first of all it is important to note that with a matter such as theme parks, the market is sure to only grow and expand even more as time goes on – as we can see from looking thoroughly at the history and workings of theme parks in particular such as Disneyland Paris and Legoland. In fact, in order to speak more specifically, “Since…1994…rollercoaster construction and theme park competition in general has been gathering pace.” (Market Research, 2006). However at the same time, although we can see that in places such as the UK the market for theme parks is on the rise, the surprising factor is that a place such as Disneyland Paris has actually gotten itself into a bit of trouble in regards to the market factor; while places in the UK were expanding at a surprising – and positive for them – rate, “Unfortunately, for the Walt Disney Company this did not materialize. The first sign of problems was when French locals started holding protests – due to concerns the park was going to damage and dilute the proud local culture. These protests partly led to crowds in the opening year falling drastically lower than predictions…in fact…EuroDisney also had to deal with the problems of an excess of under-populated hotels which had ran drastically over budget.” (Market Research, 2006). Then all of this, combined with the fact that there were high prices that actually led to the closure of hotels during the winter, and then by the start of 1994 EuroDisney was in fact in a serious financial dilemma, and press speculation at that time said that it was assumed that the park was on the verge of bankruptcy. This was surprisingly for many to hear, especially considering the popularity and wonder of theme parks all over the world, especially one such as Disney. Even Legoland, which is incredibly popular today, went through its own troubles as well, and although typically every business will have its ups and downs, when you have one of your parks having to close down areas of the park due to financial troubles, then that is when there are real problems that need to be dealt with, if they can. Therefore, in regards to the issue of the market for theme parks in general, although there is a great market available, there is also the matter that needs to be remembered and that is that although location is key – and theme parks in general will spend forever simply trying to decide where the best area would be to place their own theme park – the public is tricky, and you never know what is going to come, and so for instance, although California and France have been the hotspots for theme parks since the idea even first came about early in the 1900s, the surprise then was when the UK’s market for theme parks starting booming, and the rest of the world’s market in the same respect actually decreased noticeably. Even over the next ten years from the late 1990s, the UK continued to ride at the very forefront of theme park technology, and they even outdid such stateside industry giants as Six Flags, which was truly a huge surprise to all. However the fact still remains that theme parks such as Disneyland Paris and Legoland are still in their prime, and neither will be going anywhere soon, however there is also the matter connected to this and this is the fact that in order for them to maintain in a market that can truly be so automatically changeable, they need to constantly be striving to keep up the most modern and approachable methods. As well, with the volume and popularity of parks increasing all the time randomly across the world – but especially in the UK in particular – the demand for accommodation in surrounding areas has also expanded, and so basically, wherever there is a theme park such as Disneyland Paris or Legoland located, for instance, then basically what happens is that all of the surrounding areas must work or be made to work to provide for more accommodations in order for the actual park to work overall; it is thus critical and absolutely essential for both the particular theme park and the surrounding area to work together in order to arrive at a happy medium that will not only result in profiting for themselves, but also to make their ally more profitable as well, thus making it a true partnership deal. This is one of the first steps that must be taken in regards to any type of business, but much more so in regards to something such as a theme park, due to the fact that the market audience for theme parks is crowds, families, and so such things as accommodations are truly one of the most critical points overall; and furthermore, because people are going to be traveling from far distances and thus will be left most likely without a place to stay, this is easily one of the most significant factors and must be taken incredibly seriously into consideration in regards to the management and operational area of things. What are the Key Operational Management Issues? When speaking of the key operational management issues in regards to theme parks such as Disneyland Paris and Legoland, one first must take into consideration the fact that although it may appear that the ship is sailing smoothly, really there can be many problems underlying, and each one of these problems sets off its own separate wave of issues; in regards to Disneyland Paris, the only true key management issue would be that of the fact that they have not gained enough resources or put enough thought into the fact of having accommodations set up in the surrounding areas of the park. This actually goes the same for Legoland, and although both of these theme parks are still experiencing great popularity, there is a severe need for more applicable resources and accommodating centers to be set up around them; if this were to be done, many different problems would be solved, and not only that but the actual audience of both of the parks would be significantly increased. However there are many more positive aspects to both companies; with Disneyland Paris, for example, they are constantly striving to come up with new and innovative management and marketing issues in order to keep the public maintained at an interested level – for instance, one of the newest attractions at Disneyland actually has no rides or parades, but rather, the Disney Institute offers guests the opportunity to learn. Guests are allowed to choose from a wide variety of different programs, each designed to truly stretch the mind and the imagination as well as the body, and this is truly a whole and entirely new aspect to theme parks altogether. What are Some Present and Future Trends and Other Key Related Issues That are Involved Here? There are so many different trends and related issues overall that are relevant in regards to both Disneyland Paris and Legoland; in fact, the two theme parks, when compared, have so many similarities that it is no wonder that they both basically operate and manage themselves in the exact same way, thus basically producing the same results, so to speak. When speaking of future trends, we can go back to the previously discussed and new idea of Disneyland, which was to start bringing new ideas to the table, such as the learning area, rather than purely fun and games. You can still have fun and learn at the same time, and not only are they trying to prove this and bring this about, but as well, they are simply trying to incorporate new and yet still fun activities that the whole family will enjoy, thus being able to draw in an even larger crowd overall. In regards to related issues overall, this would include everything from the way that management is set up, to the way that they are looking to keep it the same or change it in the future, and in reality, both of these theme parks have been shown to deliberately and intelligently maintain a remotely strict theory and yet at the same time constantly are adding and improvising new and unique thoughts and bringing new and innovative ideas to the table; this is truly the absolute best way that any business could run itself, and this is why the popularity of both Disneyland Paris and Legoland remains – at this point – at a high. In conclusion, we can see that rather than comparing these two theme parks but instead referring to both through different and various issues allows we as an audience to be able to get a much better grasp on the most important concepts of all in regards to visitor attractions and theme parks in particular; we can see by looking at the way that they operate and handle themselves, the issues that they consider as being monumental, the trends that they focus on or divert away from, as well as the historical development that they take great pride in – all of these factors are truly and utterly inductive and decisive in regards to their overall status quo, and it is interesting to see how positive hard work and dedication in regards to all of these fields can be. Overall, from this dissertation, we have truly gained a much more knowledgeable and understanding viewpoint not only on Disneyland Paris and Legoland in particular, but on theme parks in general, and this is an incredibly notable and worthy basis on which to ground many other key and related factors, including for instance proper management and operational skills, and other. Through this analyzing, we have come to the serious and credible conclusion that overall both of these theme parks are quite aware and relatively decisive in regards to their skills, their decisions, and their manifestations, and this is what has truly brought them to the point that they are at right now, which is indefinitely positive and optimistic. As well we can see that through this sort of experienced reviewing, we can truly proper simply from learning about issues such as these, and by using them to incorporate further into other issues. References Archives. (2006). Walt Disney: A Biography. 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