Walt Disney Studios in Paris opened last year a new section called “Toy Story Playland”, which will also be launched soon in Disneyland Hong Kong. The area features a series of rides designed for children and based on the characters of the Toy Story franchise: RC Racer, Slinky Dog ZigZag Spin and Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop. Why choosing Toy Story for a new section of a theme park instead of the many other Disney franchises? There are many good reasons to pick it up, such as its popularity and the obvious merchandising opportunities of its toys. I would like to speculate here one more reason that might have led to that choice. Disney did consciously or not a very subtle cultural exercise in promoting cars, consumerism and the American army, in a politically correct way of course.
I visited Tokyo DisneySea few weeks ago. It is one the best Disney theme park in the world, mainly because of the level of details and invested money. Disney in general is omnipresent in Japan. They successfully responded to the compulsive attractiveness that Japanese people have for cuteness. They even did a better job than local brands and are very consistent in their marketing across the country. While I was queuing to enter the park, I noticed that the Japanese people were already wearing quantities of Disney merchandising. This is probably why the park is of such a high level of execution, Japanese people seem to spend more than any others in Disney products, and shopping is truly part of the magical experience here.
I visited Hong Kong Disneyland the other day. It was not without any resistance as the park has not the reputation of being the best of its kind. But it was only 20 minutes away by public transport and I’m a specialist in theme parks after all, so I could not resist and did my duty.
The park was definitely lacking a level of details in the execution of the themed areas. The budget was too tight it seems. It was nowhere more apparent than on Main Street USA and the Disney castle. The buildings were smaller than in other Disney parks and didn’t have enough details; some looked as cheap as in second class parks.
Though I’m a big fan of themed ride experiences and am working in media innovation, I never visited the Futuroscope park of Poitiers. It’s a little more than an hour away from Paris by TGV, so I decided to address this gap during my previous trip to the French capital. What makes the park unique is in my opinion the mix between new technologies and the French cultural exception. Let me explain why.
Futuroscope is the second biggest theme park in France, after Disneyland Paris resort. It is radically different from other theme parks as it focuses mainly on simulators and audio-visual experiences. The look of the park is also unique with its futuristic buildings from Denis Laming.
