Summary:

A man named Walt Disney was searching for vacation options his two young daughters would enjoy and that he could enjoy with them. He realized that there were no good options that would fulfill his goal, so he set out to create one and in 1955, Disneyland opened its doors in Anaheim, California. The theme park quickly became dubbed “the happiest place on earth”.

Disney formed a company called Disney Imagineering staffed with artists and craftspeople. Their charge was to created and design the themed venues that would make up the park(s). Jim Thomas of Disney Imagineering says that the company has three strategic priorities: creativity and innovation, application of technology, and global expansion. After a relatively short time, a second park called Disneyworld opened its doors (1971) in Orlando, Florida. Epcot Center soon opened on the same campus offering visitors to the park exposure to cultures from across the world. The theme of Epcot was perhaps foretelling of Disney’s future global expansion.

Disney is a global company in all respects, and every visitor to their European and Asian locations is contributing to global trade. With the US making up only 5% of the world’s population, strategically there is no question why Disney chose to expand globally. This expansion not only benefits Disney – the parks have significant financial and cultural impacts on the areas they are located in. Global expansion such as this requires Disney to overcome such barriers as language, cultural difference, political issues, and dealing with fluctuating foreign currencies.

Overall the Disney organization is an excellent example of a truly global company that provides tremendous benefit to the local cultures they expand into.

Discussion Questions:

1. Should Disney accommodate local cultures so much? Wouldn’t the parks provide a better experience by bringing consistency across all of the locations?
2. What benefits does a theme park the magnitude of a Disney location bring to the local area? Would the area you come from be able to support such a park? If so, what unique features would it need to have to respond to local culture?