General History 1992

April 11th 1992:
Press preview day. Attendee Michael Sandstrom (OK2BU@aol.com) writes: It was an unbelievably beautiful day! It was sunny and warm, and everyone was so excited. The park was really ready too; to my 30 year old Disney drenched eyes, it looked liked it should have, not like it was barely done. Everything to eat and do was free on that day - including l'Auberge de Cendrillon, where I had lunch, and the hotels where they asked us to go for two hours while they set up buffets in all the streets to feed thousands more guests who arrived in the evening, all wearing one of four sweatshirts which were the opening party tickets. That night was magic and warm. They passed out truffles on silver trays to us commoners as well as the dozens famous people standing shoulder to shoulder with me watching THE most amazing fireworks I have ever seen (which is a lot!) coming from every direction over Main Street. I cried, but then I had dreamed of and written about this moment for four years. The point is, Disney really delivered. [For Michael's further comments on opening day, and the park in general, please email him].

April 12th 1992:
Euro Disney opens. Inaugural ceremonies broadcast to entire continent by five national networks. However, the expected 500,000 visitors did not turn up for the first day of business: in fact, barely 50,000 people were admitted. This may have been partly due protests from French people who feared their culture would be damaged by Euro Disney. During the live opening television broadcast, a major electricity circuit was cut and signposts showing the way to Marne-La-Vallée were damaged.

The first phase of development (the theme park, hotel complex and golf course) cost 22 billion French Francs to complete.

May 1992:
Up to 3,000 employees have reportedly quit over pay and working conditions. Attendances are low; sources say that on sunny weekend days the park is attracting about 20,000-25,000 visitors, much lower than the predicted 60,000. Only 3 out of 10 visitors are French. Company stock falls to FFr 123 ($22.70), down from $30.50 before the opening.

August 1992:
The park is now expected to draw around 9.6 million visitors this year, as opposed to the 11 million that had originally been projected.

Late 1992:
European recession causes property slump and Euro Disney falls into serious financial difficulty. High interest payments on its massive start-up loans further exacerbate the problems, and the cheap dollar rate meant that many tourists found it cheaper to fly to Florida for their holidays. Further blame is placed on overstaffing and over-capacity at the Euro Disney hotels (since visitors can do the park in one day). Newport Bay Club hotel is therefore closed during the quiet winter months. Souvenir and food prices are also seen as being prohibitively high, meaning that visitors aren't spending enough money while inside the park - hopes were that each visitor would spend around $33 per day, but analysts reckon spending is around 12% lower.

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