Disney’s Parisian resort opened to great fanfare in 1992… and was a near immediate financial disaster! The park’s issues had a wide-ranging effect on Disney’s theme parks, leading to the cancellation of countless projects, including several at the European Disneyland park itself!
From pretty much the moment that the park, initially known as EuroDisney, was announced, the project met with resistance from some quarters of French culture who lambasted it as an invasion of cultural imperialism, with a noted academic referring to it as a “cultural Chernobyl.”Despite Disney’s optimism, the park’s 1992 opening day saw crowds estimated to be under 25,000, well below expectations. That would prove to be harbinger of things to come, as attendance at the park – – which it should noted is one of the most beautiful parks ever crafted by Disney, with Imagineer Tony Baxter leading the creative charge in designing the park many consider the ultimate execution of the “castle park” concept – – continued to flatline, leading to massive financial losses for Disney and necessitating a reduction of the work force as well as the temporary closure of some of the resort’s hotels. This, in turn, led to a slew of canceled attractions at Disney Parks around the world, including in Paris.
The Original Discovery Mountain
One of the attractions credited with helping save the Paris park is the park’s version of Space Mountain, opened in 1995 as Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune. The coaster, which combined massive thrills with impeccable Jules Verne/steampunk theming – including launching the coaster cars out of a giant cannon right out of Verne’s novel – was a smash hit, and was credited by some as keeping the park alive through 1995.
As good as the coaster was, it still paled in comparison to the original plans for Discovery Mountain. Originally, the coaster was planned to be just one ride inside the giant mountain complex, which was to also hold a full-scale version of Captain Nemo’s Nautilus submarine in a lagoon (complete with underwater restaurant), a clone of EPCOT’s Horizons attraction, a Disneyland Railroad station, and a Tower of Terror-esque free fall tower themed to Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth.
With the initial failure of the park, the mountain complex, planned for the park’s Phase 2, was cut to just the coaster and rushed into development.
Lava Lagoon Water Park
At one point in the resort’s history, Disney planned to build a water park to complement Disneyland Paris. Set to be located behind the Sequoia Lodge and Newport Bay Club hotels, the park was planned to be partially indoors with a seasonal outdoor section.
The interior section was to include the Big Kahuna volcano, home to several waterslides, the Great Pacific wave pool, further slides, raft rides, and a lazy river looping all throughout the dome. Meanwhile, the seasonal outdoor portion would have included an outdoor beach, as well as several more slides and raft rides.
Development on the park ended with the resort’s financial issues.
Splash Mountain
Another casualty of EuroDisney’s early failure was Splash Mountain. Land had been set aside for the ride in the park’s Frontierland before opening, which makes sense given the mega-popularity of the Disneyland, Disney World, and Tokyo Disneyland versions of the ride when they opened in the late 80s/early 90s.
Ironically, it seems that a version of the Splash Mountain ride system is FINALLY coming to the resort in the form of the new Lion King ride being built at the second gate Walt Disney Studios Park, soon to be renamed Disney Adventure World.
Had the park then known as EuroDisney been a success immediately, who knows how different today’s Disneyland Paris would look? Stay tuned to AllEars for more deep dives into Disney history.
Disney Canceled 4 BIG Projects for Tokyo Disneyland
Which of these canceled Disneyland Paris attractions do you most wish had been built? Let us know in the comments below.
What saved the Park was the allowing of alcohol and the popularity with German tourists..