Jump to content
  TPR Home | Parks | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram 

Disneyland Paris (DLP) Discussion Thread

p. 53 - Symphony of Color drone show and daytime parade announced!

Recommended Posts

Newport Bay Club's new look:

 

Before:

 

 

After:

 

 

 

source: http://www.magicforum.eu/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=13945

 

I was wondering around Disney's Newport Bay Club past weekend and found this corridor quite different than the others... It has quite a Disney Cruise Line feel to it!

 

Looks like this corridor is where they're colour testing and perhaps have model rooms ready (one of the doors had an "under construction" sign.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do like the new look. Looks more like a hotel than a cruise ship (but it definitely does seem close to the Disney Cruises). The old way looked way too much like a cheap cruise ship. Good to know that they are always making improvements though!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

http://business.time.com/2012/08/24/exclusive-walt-disney-co-considers-buyout-of-struggling-disneyland-paris/

 

After two decades of putting up with lackluster financial results at its European theme-park resort, Disneyland Paris, the Walt Disney Co. is considering a possible buyout of the publicly traded French company that manages the resort, Euro Disney SCA.

 

Disney currently owns 40% of Euro Disney, and sources close to the Burbank, Calif., entertainment giant told TIME that serious discussions have been taking place internally about buying out the stock it doesn’t currently own. Of the remaining shares, 10% is owned by Saudi Prince al-Waleed bin Talal, and the rest is held by individual and institutional investors.

 

Acquiring the entire French company would be the first step in a comprehensive turnaround strategy that would enable Disney to benefit far more substantially from the popular success of the park. Disneyland Paris attracts more than 15 million visitors every year, making it one of Europe’s biggest tourist destinations, but the resort has been so weighed down by debt since it opened in 1992 that the French operating company has been a financial weakling. It has posted net losses in 12 of the 20 years of the resort’s existence, despite two financial restructurings.

 

The Walt Disney Co. was supposed to receive a steady stream of royalties and management fees, but because of the resort’s poor financial performance, it has had to waive, defer or reduce these fees for most years of the resort’s existence.

 

A full report on the ups and downs of Disneyland Paris is published in TIME this week and is available to subscribers here.

 

Disney said in a statement that “we’re encouraged by the resort’s continued financial resilience and remain deeply committed to the future growth and long-term success of this invaluable asset to the Walt Disney Co.” But it didn’t respond to several e-mail and phone requests for official comment on the buyout possibility, which TIME’s sources say have been under discussion for some time. Based on Euro Disney’s stock price, which has long been depressed, the market value of the 23.4 million shares of the French company that Disney doesn’t own is about $120 million. However, Disney would certainly have to pay a premium over the market price.

 

It’s not certain that Disney will decide to make a bid for the company, but the timing for such a move is favorable, since Disneyland Paris is currently on track to pay down about 500 million euros in debt over the next six years, or about one quarter of the remainder. This would put it on a more sustainable path to profitability. Thanks to management’s tight financial controls and higher spending per visitor, the resort is now finally making an operating profit and its cash flow is healthier. The resort’s hotels last year were 87% filled, a level close to its historic high despite the economic downturn in Europe.

 

In the internal Disney discussions, a buyout would be followed by increased investment in the resort aimed at paying down the debt more quickly and increasing the number of attractions. There are currently two parks at the resort, the original Disneyland park and Walt Disney Studios, which opened in 2002. Under a recently renewed master agreement with the French state, which provided the land to Disney and built roads and rail links, Disney could build a third park on the site between now and 2030.

 

A buyout would come as welcome relief to long-suffering Euro Disney stockholders, especially those who acquired the stock early on when the park first opened. When the company first went public in 1989, it traded at 13.50 and hit a peak of 30 when Disneyland Paris opened in 1992. Today it is trading at just over 5.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

this would be very good news as they make the park management more 'american'. Would love to see the same 'magic' in the paris resort as in the other resorts.

 

Well, "more American" doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be better. Remember that the European public expect different things at a theme park...

 

Let's hope this brings some changes to the Studios once and for all because ever since they opened they have been the black sheep of the French resort.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wonder if this news has anything to do with the recent California Adventure redo.. Sometimes it costs a lot to fix whats broken, but in the end it takes money to make money. could "Walt Disney Studios" be the next park to get the DCA treatment if this deal goes through?

 

 

 

 

 

-chris "thinks they should just have the Oriental Land Company buy out the part they don't own" con

Link to comment
Share on other sites

could "Walt Disney Studios" be the next park to get the DCA treatment if this deal goes through?

Let's hope so.

 

Euro-Disney management has already confirmed there are plans for a big makeover. There are plans for many new rides, a new name and a hotel bordering the park. Right now the plan is to build something new every year and eventually change the name of the park. But they would prefer to (be able to) build it all at once, and change the name overnight. This buyout could certainly speed things up.

 

 

(↓ To jedimaster1227:)

This was talked about at multiple investor meetings.

Edited by BDG
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been going to Disneyland Paris and Disney World for over 10 years and I love the difference in both parks/resorts. I think even if they did try to run DLP "american style" its not the park management that I have a problem with it's the other guests.

 

I know that queue hopping gets to everybody but I think even a change in management style this will still occur because of the attitudes of some other Europeans.

 

Yes the park doesnt have as much Disney magic as DW but I like that. It makes DW all the more special when I can afford to make the trip.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Buying the company doesn't mean that they are going to change the management at all, or even make any changes. It just means that they will own it and then I guess they get to keep more of the profits that the park receives.

 

Key sentence.

 

Acquiring the entire French company would be the first step in a comprehensive turnaround strategy that would enable Disney to benefit far more substantially from the popular success of the park.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think that refers to the debt and not bad management. It actually kinda says management is doing a good job, in the part where it says they increased the parks profitability. Disney will receive more of the profits and can therefor pay the debt off faster.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use https://themeparkreview.com/forum/topic/116-terms-of-service-please-read/