Why didn't Disney build their European parks in the UK?

[flynnibus]

There's no doubt that the British love visiting WDW and Orlando. On a recent trip up there, there were British tourists everywhere. Knowing that the British like Disney and frequent the U.S. parks, why didn't they build EuroDisney in the UK ?

France is on the Continent - the UK is not. Proximity and transport are huge factors in a park's location.

Trains are a very central part of the transportation network in Europe (unlike the US). Remember - no chunnel existed in the 80s when the park was being conceived.

France is closer to the populations throughout the rest of Western Europe then England is.

The weather in the north of France is not SoCal...but South England is even worse

[Jorn]

If built elsewhere I'd have recommed the vicinity of Marseille. Nice weather throughout the year, lots of tourists around French Riviera and the population of the city. TGV to Paris and fast connection to Italy. But...

Actually, as is commenly known, France had two locations fighting for the deal. One being the current Paris location and the other one being in the south of France near Marseille. It would benefit greatly from the nice weather (comparable to Floridian weather), however that was about the only positive thing of this location.

Firstly, as with Spain, the tourism was seasonal based; in the hot summer months this area was alive with tourists, while in the colder winter months there were less people to be found. Also, Paris' central location in Europe pointed to a large percentage of the Western-Europeans being able to drive to the site within several hours (France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Italy and Spain). And finally, the most definite dealbreaker, were the soil investigations. It was found that at the proposed site, only several meters underground large layers of granite and other types of hard rock were found, making the building process hard and not to mention extremely expensive.

Personally, I think building the resort in England would not have made it any better. England is, and always will be (no chunnel can change that), an island. Mainlaind Europe has more potential to get in huge crowds than an island off the coast of Europe. Also multiple language issues would always have been the case due to it being a European theme park, trying to attract the entire European community.

Also don't forget that over 1200 sites were proposed all throughout Europe, and the mainstream media have always only covered the four sites in France and Spain. So there were a lot of other possible locations that could have gotten the resort...

[Kristof]

And let us not forget that we got Discoveryland because of the French authorities demanding certain French/European accents in the design of the park.

When built in the UK, it would have just been Tomorrowland.

[nathan detroit]

When built in the UK, it would have just been Tomorrowland.

Actually, I suspect it would have been something more along the lines of The-Day-Before-Yesterdayland!

[tasman]

^^ We can't speculate on the specifics of what might have been. Tokyo got Mysterious Island and Port Discovery, which are similarly themed to Discoveryland, without specific demands. As long as WDI is given enough of a budget...as they were with Euro-Disney...they always impress. An MK park in the UK might have had some different theming, but if a similar amount were spent, then it should have been just as good. But I'm not dwelling on the past. I'm just happy that this dream MK got built in the first place. I only hope that the theming in Discoveryland is repaired by the time I take my first trip (move that Buzz to WDS where he belongs).

[Witches of Morva]

ORWEN: Well, what I wanna' know is why Disney hasn't built any theme parks in Morva?! With grass prices getting higher all the time, broom sticks are getting more and more expensive to buy. It's high time Disney expanded somewhere near us cauldron girls!!

[Hathaway Browne]

I'm not sure, but was there enough land actually available in the UK for what they were looking for? or would DLRUK have been a smaller property than the current DLRP.

It would have been great to have it built here though. I'd certainly be an APer by now!

[geoffa]

why didn't they build EuroDisney in the UK ? Why in the world did they choose France..........

Answers:
Have you seen the weather of late in the U K? (Yes, it can be foul in Paris too! - I've heard the wind howling around the base of Space Mountain as I was lashed with rain)

Sugar beet fields 25 miles east of Paris were far cheaper than any land they could have sourced in the U.K.

British bankers just weren't interested in funding a theme park. Far too frivilous- Disney or not.

Like flynnibus indicated prior to the Channel tunnel the Paris site was considered more "central" and easy to get to than Britain. Strangely enough one of the larger guest groups who go to DLRP are Dutch!

And....why, oh! why didn't they build it near Barcelona where sunshine could be guaranteed?

There have, however, been rumours that the Mouse may be interested in the Tussauds group. I sure hope so. British theme parks are abyssmal!

[geoffa]

I'm not sure, but was there enough land actually available in the UK for what they were looking for? or would DLRUK have been a smaller property than the current DLRP.

It would have been great to have it built here though. I'd certainly be an APer by now!

Can I just add that as Disneyland / Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Park Paris go - the Paris park in acreage is the largest of the 3. Seriously! I'm not including the WD Studios either.

DL 85 (47 when it opened in 1955), MK 107 and Paris 120.

[davewasbaloo]

Can I just add that as Disneyland / Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Park Paris go - the Paris park in acreage is the largest of the 3. Seriously! I'm not including the WD Studios either.

DL 85 (47 when it opened in 1955), MK 107 and Paris 120.

Of the 5, it is also larger than Tokyo DL and Hong Kong DL.

[hollywood1939]

I thought the final 3 spots were 2 in Spain and then the spot in France. I think the weather would have been fine if it had been on the Mediterranean coast which is where a lot of execs would have liked it. All the Disney parks were located near a body of water until DLP was launched. I don't know if that hurt attendance but the beach does draw a crowd...

[Grizzly]

Of the 5, it is also larger than Tokyo DL and Hong Kong DL.

Which is bizarre. Cause when you are at the parks, Tokyo feels like the largest.

[TDLFAN]

Of the 5, it is also larger than Tokyo DL and Hong Kong DL.

Are you sure about the Tokyo park? I need to see the actual numbers but TDL has always been to me the largest... and trust me, it looks it as well when you are there.

[TDR_Fan]

I think Tokyo Disneyland may be the largest in terms of accessible areas, but Disneyland Paris is the largest in terms of sheer acreage.

[davewasbaloo]

Agreed. Also remember that there are nooks and crannies built into DLP that makes it feel more intimate (the arcades, boot hill, Adventure Isle and the area near Indy, Alice's Labrynth and Storybookland) and also there are a number of expansion pads in Frontierland, Adventureland, Fantasyland and Discoveryland that are yet to be used.