The Strategies of Disneyland and Its Wide Spreading in the Context of Globalization

【Abstract】：Walt Disney company is the world's second largest media entertainment enterprise. This thesis mainly discuss the successful strategies of Disneyland from the globalization perspective.

【Keywords】： Walt Disney company；globalization；localization

Chapter 1 Disney culture

1.1 Innovation

Disney pays great attention to the innovation， thus the theme park project is not always the same. According to the concept of the \"three-thirds system\"， the Disneyland would eliminate one third of the hardware facilities every year， launch one third of the new project to update and supplement the entertainment facilities timely. In this way， it could keep the long time novelty to attract more repeat customers. So， Disney has a famous slogan， \"Disney built forever\".

1.2 Detail

Disneyland also pays great attention to details. There must be a trash can every 25 feet in the amusement park. Amusement facilities are painted with the high grade paint， and all required gold-plated silver place are real materials. Walter even hire people to inspect in the park twice a month， ensuring that all colors used in the park are in harmony. In Disneyland， the presence of any dream scenario depends on not only the designers， but also careful execution.

1.3 Customer first

\"Customer first and give pleasure to the tourists\"， is the market positioning of Disneyland， as well as the business philosophy. The performers in the parade would be positive to interact with tourists to meet the requirements of the tourists as much as possible. The stuff will also talk to tourists， especially children， asking them what facilities they are not satisfied with. In other words， It is this enthusiasm and meticulous service that show humanistic care of the Disney company.

Chapter 2 Globalization

Globalization is a theoretical concept developed by Robertson. Globalization is a portmanteau of the words ‘globalization’ and ‘localization’ and refers to the interaction of the global and the local， a cooperation of the global and the local， and the conflation of both universalizing and particularizing tendencies.

What globalization stresses is that transplanting a theme， product， or service elsewhere has a higher probability to succeed when it is catered to the local region in which it is introduced.

2.1 The great success：Japan Disneyland

In 1983， the first international Disney theme park opened， Tokyo Disneyland in Japan. After the success in American， their spread toward Asia is a successful attempt. After opening in 1983， Tokyo Disney created a Disney wave， people there crowed in to the park. Disney culture became a kind of fashion in Japan during that time. Without any doubt， Tokyo Disneyland is really successful. For the Tokyo Disneyland was built with a franchising mode， which means this foreign theme park could be managed more local.There are lots of changes this Disneyland made to adapt to different culture environments.

2.2 The failure：Paris Disneyland

Disney executives in 1986 turned their attention to France and， more specifically， to Paris， the self-proclaimed capital of European high culture and style. Paris was chosen because of demographics and subsidies. About 17 million Europeans live less than a two-hour drive from Paris. Another 310 million can fly there in the same time or less. Also， the French government was so eager to attract Disney that it offered the company more than $1 billion in various incentives， all in the expectation that the project would create 30，000 French jobs. However， Paris Disneyland turned out to be a failure. The Case of Euro Disneyland can represent a lack of cultural focus and awareness of concept which was a globalization of the Disney Corporation.

Chapter3 Strategies

In today's world， globalization becomes the mainstream， how Disney culture developed in the context of global communication. In addition to eliminate the cultural barriers， implement localization strategy also helps to the continuation of Disney magic.

The first is to respect the differences between different cultures. Disneyland spread in the United States， Europe， and the other continents， the employees are local who have different skin color and language， their culture and thinking pattern are different as well. For managers， therefore， must recognize and respect these cultural differences， rather than showing superiority over the other cultures.

Implement localization strategy in Disneyland is a another way for the foreign culture communication. In order to highlight the Chinese characteristics， Hong Kong Disneyland first appeared the Chinese-style buildings. The 2008 Spring Festival， mickey and Minnie also changed into the traditional Chinese cloth and warmly welcome every visitors.

Conclusion

Understanding globalization theory is a particularly pressing concern. The globalization of Disney exemplifies that the world is not being into a homogenized sphere because， across the globe， there are sites of resistance，regardless of the momentum of this revered representative of popular culture.Shanghai Disneyland was opened in June this year， it should learn lessons from Japan and Paris.

References

[1]King，M. J. “Disneyland and Walt Disney World： Traditional values in futuristic form”. Journal of Popular Culture，1981.

[2]Kimburley， Choi “Disneyfication and Localization： The Cultural Globalization Process of Hong Kong Disneyland” Urban Studies，2012.

[3]Jonathan Matusitz “Disney’ s Successful Adaptation in Hong Kong： A Glocalization Perspective” Asia Pacific Journal of Management，2011.

[4]Chen Yu， “Another hit by Japan’s Walt Disney-Hayao Miyazaki”. China Week，2005.