Walt Disney Company: Family Values And Consumer Culture

Family Values and Consumer Culture
The last misstep that the Walt Disney Company did not account for when they were building international theme parks is the differences in family values and consumer values across cultures. Family values are different in the United Sates than they are in Japan, France, and China. In the US, it is not uncommon for parents to take their children out of school to go on vacation to Disneyland or Disney World. Also, family vacations and family trips are important as American values. These values do not hold the same regard in other cultures as they do in American culture. Another aspect that may not translate well is the consumerism aspect of American culture. Americans are more likely to purchase souvenirs and

The Japanese have a similar mindset to Americans when it comes to consumerism in the theme parks which is why the park’s revenues are very high every year. According to Toyoda (2014), Tokyo Disneyland was built as a “mass consumption space” for the Japanese not to reflect “good old America” and American values (p. 16). This aspect of Japanese culture works to Disney’s advantage since Disney relies on not only revenues from theme park tickets but food and merchandise for their park revenues. Since the Japanese are like Americans and will buy a lot of souvenirs when they visit the park, the revenues for Tokyo Disneyland are high. The fact that the Japanese culture is also a high consumer culture helps to explain why the theme park is doing well and why they have high revenues year after

The Walt Disney Company’s assumptions about French family values turned out to be wrong. The French do not share the same idea of family values as Americans at least when it comes to taking their children out of school. Spencer (1995) comments on European family values, “unlike American, Europeans will not take their kids out of school to visit Euro Disney [Disneyland Paris]” (p.104). Whereas in the United States, parents are more willing to take their children out of school for a vacation to Disneyland or Disney World. The attendance numbers at Disneyland Paris are affected by these family values. A current cast member at Disneyland Paris comments that when it is “official French Vacation for schools Disneyland Paris is crowded, but when it’s on a regular day the park is empty, in September we have sometimes less than 10,000 guests” (DLP Cast Member 3, 2017). Since French parents are less likely to pull their children out of school because they value education, Disneyland Paris has lower park attendance numbers. But what about during the peak season? That should make up for the off season low attendance like it does in the US parks. The French and Europeans in general also have a different mindset when it comes to vacationing