Abstract
Disney has had a lot of success in a myriad of different locations including the United States, China and France. A main place that has eluded the Disney Empire, however, lies in South America. With the growing population, increasing wealth and education it only makes sense for Disney to enter this continent, particularly in Brazil – the strongest country in this region. To make our case, we will look into Disney's past international entrances of France and China and then finally delve into the specifics of what makes Brazil such an attractive place for Disney to enter.
Those name changes prove the difficulty for the theme park to find its identity and clientele. The project of opening a theme park in France had begun in the 70s' but it did not succeed at that time. In 1984 during a US visit by a French minister, a major US property developer showed its concern for the French socio-economical context: its “permanent revolutionary state” triggered notably by unions. Nevertheless the French President, a bank for financial issues and a consulting firm worked together around the idea of proposing a project for the Americans. After the French press was informed of the existence of this project, an informal group work of about 10 people from the State notably was formed.
Unfortunately, even though the French multiplied the number of visits to the US, individualism for matters of financial issues and political orientations prevailed and the Americans got bored and asked for concrete measures. Moreover the Spanish benefited from this situation and offered more and more subsidizes. The French decided to send a unique and dynamic negotiator: Jean Peyrelevade, president of the Suez Financial Company at that time.
