Disney should accommodate local cultures so much since different regions have varying practices and formalities. When Disney is choosing to open a theme park in a certain location, it is necessary to identify and include the various meanings of the people for them to adapt to the park easily. Lacking to address the difference in meanings when designing Euro Disneyland brought about contradictions among visitors from various regions (Wenjie, 2019). In America, the name “Europe” creates a perception of style and glamor, but among the Europeans, it stands for commerce and business practices. Rather than enjoying the entertainment from the themed park, the Europeans considered it unsuitable for their behavior and culture. Failure to accommodate local cultures when designing the parks can lead to misunderstandings among the people hence limiting the possibility of success.
A population can easily adapt to a theme park if it includes the practices and formalities that are common among them. Disney has tried to apply a common culture when setting up different themed parks across the globe but has faced significant backlash from the locals (Grassere, 2020). This has forced Disney to put the local culture into consideration when designing the themed parks. Disney has to ensure that the global and local aspects are well balanced to enhance the success of the themed parks. The parks designed by Disney need to have the various display features portrayed by the company while also accommodating the local culture of the regions they are found in.
Cultural factors play a significant role in influencing the content and appearance of themed parks designed by Disney. In this case, Disney has to learn the culture of the people who have the highest possibility of visiting a theme park and ensure that its content and appearance attract the desired audience. Disney ignoring the local cultures when designing themed parks might create a perspective of direct cultural threat among the locals. Disney considering the local culture when designing themed parks enhances the feeling of authenticity among the locals. Adapting local cultures when designing themed parks has promoted Disney’s success since it enhances acceptance by the local people. The acceptability of a theme park is influenced by whether cultural factors are considered when designing it.
Disney should accommodate local cultures so much when designing themed parks since they help to enhance emotional branding. Emotional branding, in this case, involves the use of tales and strategies to build a brand that helps create a long-lasting relationship and loyalty with the customers (Wenjie, 2019). Including cultural symbols in the design of themed parks helps arouse cultural memories hence a connection for the locals. Disney building a cultural connection with the locals helps to enhance its chances of success.
The themed parks designed by Disney would not provide a better experience if they were consistent across all locations. Local cultures have forced Disney to change the designs of themed parks to accommodate their practices. This happened in the case of Disney’s theme parks in Paris and Hong Kong. Disney had to change Euro Disney to Disneyland Paris since the park faced misunderstandings with the local people that led to financial struggles (Grassere, 2020). Disney also had to integrate the local culture of Hong Kong people for the park to be accepted in the location. This shows that Disney cannot create a consistent culture for all its locations for the themed parks. The company has to integrate local cultures into its designs to enhance success.
Theme parks have a significant economic impact on the local areas in which they are located and the people. Designing theme parks help to increase the amount of revenue collected from tourism activities. The parks attract both foreign and local visitors; hence there is an increase in spending rates on various products and services in the region. Theme parks also increase the number of visitors from foreign countries since they are major tourist attraction sites worldwide. More revenue is also raised through the provision of accommodation and transportation services for foreign visitors. Collected revenue is then used in the development of local areas hence a benefit to the population.
Theme parks have contributed to affordable housing issues due to an increase in the population of local areas. Construction and running of theme parks have created many employment opportunities hence an influx of people in native regions. According to Yanes (2021), Orange County had a population of about three hundred and fifty thousand people in the 1960s but had tripled by the 1970s after Disney’s construction of a theme park in the region. The park created low-paying jobs, but the area had no affordable houses for most people in the population to live in. This shows a need for Disney to partner with the local population to promote affordable housing.
Theme parks allow people from the local areas in which they are constructed to have the opportunity to interact with people from various cultural backgrounds. Theme parks are major tourist attraction sites; therefore, visitors from various parts of the world flock to the areas where they are located and interact with the local people. This provides a chance for the local people to learn new things that have a positive impact on their lives. Local people then use the knowledge and skills gained for their benefit.
Theme parks also have negative impacts on the people living in areas where they are constructed. Construction and running of theme parks contribute to environmental pollution by the release of fossil fuels and wastes. Theme parks require high amounts of energy to keep rides and various facilities running, thus producing fossil fuels (Fiecke, 2017). An increase in transportation activities in the areas also leads to more carbon dioxide emissions. People who visit theme parks lead to a massive accumulation of trash and human waste in such areas. The construction of theme parks leads to clearing natural habitats to create space, thus affecting living creatures in such areas. This shows a need to address the environmental impact brought about by the construction and running of theme parks.
The region I come from can be able to support a theme park since there is clear land in which can support its construction. A theme park requires adequate space to incorporate various facilities and rides to provide maximum entertainment to the visitors. My area also has a significant population that can provide reliable labor to construct and work in the theme park. Another factor that enhances the possibility of my area supporting a theme park is that there does not exist such a facility. However, it would be necessary to consider the various cultures in my region before constructing a theme park to enhance its success.
References
Grassere, J. (2020). Disney Parks and soft globalization. Diggit Magazine.
Fiecke, K. (2017). What environmental problems come with making a theme park? Bizfluent.
Yanes, N. (2021). Here’s how Disney, other theme parks played a role in our affordable housing issue. WKMG News 6 & ClickOrlando.
Wenjie, Y. (2019). Disney’s Glocalization in Shanghai: The emotional branding strategy. Atlantis Press, 3(344), 95-102.