Disneyland in Paris: Flanders biggest missed opportunity
It's been thirty years since World's most popular Mouse took residence in Marne-La Vallée, France, tomorrow April 12. But according to former sales manager at Center Parcs Belgium, Jan Peeters, it was Lommel, situated in Flanders, that was actually considered as the prime location for the Disneyland Parc construction back in 1985.
“The biggest missed opportunity,” is how Jan Peeters describes Disney's choice for Paris in Gazet van Antwerpen. After Italy and Germany dropped out, The Walt Disney Company CEO, Michael Eisner, considered three serious contenders: Paris, Barcelona and the area around the Lommelse Sahara. He and his team went on prospecting in Lommel.
“Flanders Limburg was without a doubt their favorite location for Disneyland’, continues Peeters. “I was not given much explanation. All I got was a date, and the announcement that people from the mythical Walt Disney Company would come down to Center Parcs Vossemeren. A few months earlier, I'd seen Eisner on the cover of Time Magazine, and now I was shaking the man's hand in quiet Lommel. A pretty surreal experience, but also a sign that it was decision time for the Americans."
On December 18, 1985, Eisner sealed the deal with the French government for the purchase of twenty square kilometers of land in Marne-La Vallée, a suburb of Paris. All Lommel received was a thank you note from Disney. “I never heard from Eisner himself,” says Peeters, “But I sincerely believe that Limburg was their favorite location. In Lommel Eisner was met by the mayor, while in Paris the prime minister was waiting.” A considerable deal breaker according to Peeters.
“Today, 16,000 people work at Disneyland Paris, regardless of the suppliers. When you see how the area around Marne-La Vallée has developed economically over the past three decades, you can only conclude that Limburg has missed a historic opportunity there," he concludes.
(AS)
© Disneyland Paris - PHOTO BELGA/AFP