Why Disneyland Paris was almost built in Norfolk – and how wine saved it from ruin

Three decades can go by in a flash. Today (April 12) marks a precise 30 years since the opening of Disneyland Paris (disneylandparis.com) – the French-accented off-shoot of the American Dream that has become a bright dot on the Gallic map, 25 miles east of the capital. Its story is relatively well-known – an early period of underachievement followed by a transformation into one of Europe’s most popular tourist attractions. So here are 30 things you may not have known about this ugly-duckling-become-theme-park swan.

1. It was first discussed in the Sixties

Back in 1966, in fact, when, flushed with the success of Disneyland – the first translation of the brand into a physical theme park, which opened in California in 1955 – Disney looked to expand into Europe. London, Frankfurt, Paris and Milan were all considered as possible locations. Ultimately, the company opted to keep its focus domestic, and its second park, Disney World, popped up on the outskirts of Orlando in the autumn of 1971.

2. It was nearly built in Alicante

When discussions for a European Disney park began seriously in the mid-Eighties, all roads looked to be leading to south-eastern Spain. The chosen site, near-coastal Pego in Alicante province, roughly midway between Valencia and Murcia, was hotly favoured right up to the point that it was discarded – due to concerns about the environmental impact on the nearby Marjal de Pego-Oliva marshland, an area of significant biodiversity.

3. Provence was also considered

A location near Toulon was also considered. It too was dismissed – because the bedrock was found to sit too shallowly beneath the potential site, making construction impractical.

4. It might even have been built in the UK

Britain was also mulled over as a possibility during Disney’s mid-Eighties pow-wows, but fell away from the process due to concerns that a suitably flat tranche of land was not available. Presumably no one had heard of Norfolk, Cambridgeshire or half the Midlands.

5. It was only the second Disney park outside the USA

For all the optimistic Sixties chit-chat about a European Disney, by the time the French version of all things Mickey Mouse was launched in 1992, the honour of hosting the first non-American park had already gone to Asia – Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1983.

6. The first day was a damp squib

April 12 1992 did not go well for the project. A French government survey predicted that up to half a million people would attempt to visit the attraction; that 90,000 cars would clog the roads. Radio traffic bulletins warned people to stay away from eastern Paris, to avoid the congestion. By midday there were 25,000 guests on site. The park was half full.

7. There was – surprise, surprise – a train strike

On that first day, the RER rail link from central Paris to the park at Marne-la-Vallée was out of service due to industrial action. The French are gonna French.

8. The French hated it at first

Well, some did. “Mickey go home!” shouted egg-throwing protesters when Disney CEO Michael Eisner visited Paris’s Bourse stock exchange for a promotional event in 1989. “I wish with all my heart that the rebels would set fire to Euro Disneyland,” a commentator for respected newspaper Le Figaro wrote, as the tickertape from the launch settled. The park was “a cultural Chernobyl”, theatre director Ariane Mnouchkine – not a fan – added.

9. The park’s first incarnation was a failure

As you may recall, the park began life as the “Euro Disney Resort” – a blank piece of branding which failed to connect with customers. Perhaps because it failed to mention this gleaming new attraction’s precise location – as if Europe is one small and uniform place, and you can barely leave your home in Milan, Athens, Aberdeen or Santa Cruz de Tenerife without inadvertently tripping into its latest collection of rollercoasters and burgers. A tweak of the name to the more obvious “Disneyland Paris” in October 1994, after two years of its haemorrhaging money, helped to make the messaging a little clearer.

10. It had an early ban on booze

OK, perhaps “ban” is slightly over-stating it. But Disney has, for the most part, been reluctant to offer alcohol in its parks – the Magic Kingdom centrepiece of Disney World in Florida did not offer tipples for sale until 2012; Disneyland in California was entirely tee-total until as recently as 2019, and even now, only cracks open a bottle of something stronger than cola on a limited basis (within the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge zone). This alcohol-free policy was also in place – to the consternation of thirsty Europeans – when Euro Disneyland stumbled into existence. The decision to begin selling wine and beer with meals in October 1993 was one of the factors in the upswing to the park’s fortunes.

11. It helped to kill off WestCOT

Euro Disney’s fine impression of a cash sinkhole had its consequences for the wider Disney empire. Among them was the shelving of “WestCOT”, the blueprint for a second version of the EPCOT Center (the “world’s fair with rides” at Disney World); this time themed around technological innovation. Appropriately, it would have found a home in tech-obsessed California, as an addition to Disneyland – but was cancelled in 1995 as Disney wrestled with financial restraints. One was its Parisian park’s under-performance.

12. The man on the moon also went to Paris

One of the components of the park’s mid-Nineties reboot was the installation of a version of Disney’s trademark rollercoaster. This incarnation of Space Mountain came with a French twist, wearing the sub-title “De La Terre à la Lune” – “From the Earth to the Moon”. In a case of no expense being spared, the ride’s launch event – on May 31 1995 – saw an appearance from a man who had been to the moon for real. Buzz Aldrin was one of the celebrities bussed in for the occasion – along with Elton John and Claudia Schiffer.

13. The man behind the Guggenheim came along too

One of the more successful fragments of “Euro Disney” was (and is) the “Disney Village” retail and entertainment zone, which has been in place since Day One. Perhaps its longevity can be attributed to the genius in its DNA. Originally, it featured towers of oxidised silver and stainless steel, crafted by Frank Gehry – the Canadian-American architect who, most famously, designed the spectacular Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.

14. It has more visitors than Paris’s big tower

The underwhelming ticket sales of 1993 and 1994 were soon a distant nightmare. By 2002, when the second part of the complex – the film-themed Walt Disney Studios Park – opened, Disneyland Paris was up to 13million visitors a year, eclipsing two of its French rivals. The Eiffel Tower receives seven million guests per annum; the Louvre about nine.

15. It also trumps every country in South America

Disneyland Paris had 14.9million visitors in 2019. In the same year, the South American country that welcomed the most tourists was Argentina, at 7.4million. Brazil greeted 6.4.

16. But it wasn’t immune to Covid-19

Obviously not. But the impact of the virus was such that it closed Disneyland Paris for almost 11 months (March 15-June 15 2020; October 29 2020-June 17 2021). Prior to the pandemic, the park had only been shut for four days; November 14-17 2015, as France entered a spell of national mourning following the (November 13) terror attacks in Paris.

17. It has embraced the rainbow

The park staged its first LGBTQ event, the Magical Pride Party, in 2014. As of 2019, it has been officially sponsored by Disney, as Disneyland Paris Pride. It is held every June.

18. It loves a bad pun

Walt Disney Studios Park contains a water tower modelled on a landmark visible at the company’s movie-making HQ (Walt Disney Studios, in Burbank, California). It shares the shape of the original – its container wearing two round black “Mickey Mouse ears”. The name of this Parisian copy? The “Earffel Tower”. Do you see what they did there?

19. The terror is in the number

Like most Disney parks, Disneyland Paris has a “Tower of Terror” drop-tower ride, themed around TV show The Twilight Zone. The attraction involves a malfunctioning lift, plummeting to everyone’s “doom”, at the “Hollywood Tower Hotel”. The plaque bearing the lift’s certification number sports the digits “10259”. A random figure? Not at all. That’s a date, in American format; October 2 1959. The day the series was first broadcast.

20. Mickey no longer wants to Walk This Way. In France, anyway

There was a time when Disneyland Paris didn’t want to close its eyes. It didn’t want to fall asleep either, because it misses you baby, and it doesn’t want to miss a thing. It made this profession of love official, too. In a rollercoaster. The original, at Florida’s Disney World, is called the “Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith”. A clumsy name in English. In its French incarnation, it’s the even clunkier “Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster avec Aerosmith”. No matter. The 57mph extravaganza – where riders queue amid a squall of songs by the veteran rock band – has been part of Disneyland Paris since 2002. Or, it had until September 2019, when its doors were closed. Why? The youth has moved on. The Florida coaster lives on for now. However, when the ride reemerges at the French park later this year, it will have the same loops of track, but an Iron Man and Avengers theme. So no more lovin’ in elevators for talking mice. Not on this side of the Atlantic, anyway.

21. Mr Jones should have had a bigger role

The rollercoaster themed around cinema’s most famous archaeologist is one of the park’s key attractions. But there should have been more to it. Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril is exciting enough – a loop-the-loop thriller which hits 36mph. But the original concept envisaged an entire Jones world, with lost temples and jungle areas. Alas, when the ride opened, in 1993, the park was in the midst of its early issues, so the plan was scaled back.

22. The Thunder comes from underground

The concept behind Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – Disney’s “runaway mining train” rollercoaster – varies from park to park. The gist is that a natural disaster has caused an Old West goldmine to be abandoned. At Disney World in Florida, it’s a flash flood; at Tokyo Disneyland, it’s a tsunami; at Disneyland Paris and Disneyland, it’s an earthquake.

23. Staff point with two fingers

Actually, this is a rule across all Disney theme parks (there are six in total, including Shanghai, and Hong Kong). Employees are supposed to respond to requests for directions with their index and middle fingers pressed together, in what is known as the “Disney Point”. Ancient rumours suggest this is because Walt Disney himself smoked, and was often seen with a cigarette between said two digits. More likely, it’s to avoid any possible offence as to the misconstrued meaning of a raised single finger.

24. Prince Charming can’t exceed 6ft

Costumed figures are a key part of the Disney experience. But nothing is left to chance. You can’t have Piglet rearing over Winnie The Pooh; Captain Hook must have a physical presence. So there are set heights. Is male charm tied to stature? Do tall men win the day? Does Cinderella have a say? Whatever, Prince Charming has to be 5ft10-6ft. It’s the rule.

25. Face characters start out as fur characters

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Before you can become a “face character”, such as Prince Charming – ie, someone who shows their real face – you have to prove you are up to the role by being a “fur character”. Ie someone who wears a big fur head. Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck. Goofy, or that other dog character. Great work in high summer.

26. Jafar and Woody are the tallest

While 6ft will do for the well-spoken bloke going around town bothering women with a glass slipper he claims she left at his place last night, you must be between 6ft2 and 6ft4 to play Jafar or Woody. That’s Jafar, the villain from Aladdin. Which sounds about right. And Woody, the Tom Hanks-voiced key character of the Toy Story films. Which doesn’t.

27. The park effectively created a new town

There wasn’t a great deal to Marne-la-Vallée before Disney showed up. But it has grown hugely in the 30 years since the park opened – and has made a permanent mark on the Parisian rail network. In addition to the Marne-la-Vallée-Chessy terminus which provides the main access-point to the park, the town also has the Val D’Europe stop, which was slotted into the existing RER Line A – as the penultimate station – in April 2001. Progress indeed.

28. Marne-la-Vallée is rom-com heaven

Other than the Disney link, Marne-la-Vallée’s claim to fame is that it is a setting for the movie Les Nuits De La Pleine Lune (aka Full Moon In Paris). This is a 1984 rom-com in which the female lead Louise (Pascale Ogier) lives in an apartment in what was then an unremarkable easterly suburb of the capital. What do you mean you haven’t watched it?

29. Clothes must remain on at all times

Queuing for rides can be tedious, but there is no need to mimic the 32-year-old Swiss tourist who, in September 2019 – presumably to insert some added amusement into his afternoon – took an LSD tab, took off all his clothes, and fell into the man-made lake in the Adventureland section of the park. Neither police, nor his girlfriend, were impressed.

30. There will be drones aplenty in 2022

Disneyland Paris will celebrate its 30th birthday with bells and whistles. And drones. Lots of drones. The Disney D-Light show – which will see 200 drones fly in synchronised formation above the Sleeping Beauty Castle – will be a prime new attraction for this year.