As hard as it must be to be you - right now I would give anything to give it a shot!
Standing there for the first time, in front of the companies shareholders, listening, looking and explaining your future plans to save what many consider as dramatic as Gericault’s “the Raft of the Medusa “ must be terrible exciting!

Everybody is looking at you as if you where Sleeping Beauties Prince Philippe right? A night in shining armour who will save the kingdom from all evil until we will live happily ever after! 
Well, I might be no Fauna, Flora or Maryweather fairy, but I will try to express the feelings of many by giving you our sword to slay the Dragon! After all you already have the castle right? These simple words of advice come from the eyes of a Kid at heard with a business background, with a deep love for Disney and an affection to EuroDisney.

I have a plan to help you save this magical place Andre, so please, follow me:

1. Yann, Marco, David and the rest of the gang….

Yann Callier is one of those executives each company would love to have on board (mine included). 
The departure of Jay for “higher places” left some difficult shoes to fill andduring this time Yann stirred the ship to a safe harbour, dealt with all the day to day operations and kept DLRP on course! Yann can be a second in command always to be trusted, he knows the company and can help you stir it!

Marco Bernini is a devoted Cast Member, everything us fans hear about this guy is nothing but positive! He knows his Cast Members and is well received by them. he can help you feel the pulse on the CM’s moral!

David Brown and all the archives team represent the heritage of the company; stay in there and listen to them … it’s a good way to understand the company!

These people (and many others) need to be your guides to the Company! They know it inside out, know how to improve things and need to be listened to … it’s a win win situation ... you have everything there!

2. Play card “J”

”J” as in “Jay Rasulo” who has been well received by European Disney fans as he has spearheaded the expansion of the resort and refurbished much of the Disneyland Park. Try to follow his lead and “go with the flow”. After all the person who you will report to will be the person who previously held your post. 
Jay knows what it means to fill those shoes and if you two form a duo it might be that much easier to push uncle Michael up in Burbank to wide open his wallet and finance your ideas!

With Jay’s backup you could roll up your sleeves, cut loose and find those much needed resources to bring the parks to their deserved glory … after all it is no secret that Disneyland Paris (the park) is the most beautiful Magic Kingdom ever built. 

By the way: You have an ace up your sleeves - being European!

3. Put on some mouse ears and get in the Parks!

Have you ever seen Snow White playing with a child? Or Winnie the Pooh cuddling a little girl? 
These are experiences guests carry with them for a life time ... and the only way to understand this is seeing it with your eyes ... it is a heart moving sight trust me!
Therefore get in the park right now and see the guests for yourself!

Listen to what they say whilst in line and watch what they do, what they like, dislike and how they react to what they experience ... no Survey can clearly translate into numbers the heart warming feeling a Disney experience gives!

Once you’ll understand this “shiver up your spine feeling” all those “Ride Per Capita”, “Visits Per Guest”, “Average Spending per Guest”, “Room Occupancy Rate”, “Nights per Stay” and other numbers will “mathematically” fall into place. It will lead to an overall increase in Guest Satisfaction, the key driver of this business (as all others) and your Return on Investments (ROI) will increase!

4. Listen to the land(s)

Europe is no Japan (hard learned lesson in EuroDisney history) and no USA (as before), this has been understood by past management and DLRP offices have been opened in most European Countries!
Use them!

Disney might mean the same level of quality, warmth and excitement to kids (and there families) of all ages and countries but the way Disneyland Resort Paris is perceived by a German is different from an English, in turn different from e.g. the Italians; only these offices can target a clear message to there respective audiences.

People like Gianni Antognini (who I had the pleasure of knowing well) in Italy and his counterparts in the U.K. , Spain etc can be a valuable resource for you, they can help you understand what their audiences want and once you elaborate a clear marketing message (and a marketable product to respond to there needs) they will be able to deliver a specific message to their audiences in the most profitable way!

Go local … it’s easy!

5. No kidding!!!

Attendance down at the parks this year? Sure, DISNEY owned parks!!!
Ok, ok, world travel has never really recovered from 9/11, the war with Iraq has just ended and SARS is threatening the world right now … but still the Oriental Land Company has had a solid climbing attendance in both of its theme parks!

Tokyo DisneySeas has proven to be the most beautiful second gate of all and even with the Japanese economy being at its worst since the end of WWII TDS and TDL manage to break all records!
I know - OLC “is rich” whilst EuroDisney SCA “is poor”, but what drove people to DLP in 95 was the most amazing E-Ticket Disney had ever done … “Space Mountain”! Not a parade, not a show, but “an experience” which people would go back home and talk about to their friends!

Universal on the other hand has had a hard time getting its latest additions (Japan excluded) of the ground, Port Aventura in Spain and Islands of Adventure in Orlando both had a difficult start, but with constants additions and overall quality both parks have gained a positive word of mouth!
Port Aventura itself has opened such masterpiece attractions such as “Templo del Fuego” and “Dragon Kan”. The Europa Park in Germany has aggressively tackled the hotel market, therefore having multiple day vists, Gardaland here in Italy is opening up amazing new areas and a brand new 500 room hotel and your local competitor “Parc Asterix” is constantly adding new attractions.

Quality always pays of in the end … as someone named Walter Elias Disney already said!
You’ll soon get to know him well…listen to him!!!

6. Don’t let them trick you

It's a vicious circle - when attendance and resort-occupancy rates are down advisors will tell you to reduce hours, guest perks and not to invest in new attractions. Attendance and occupancy will then fall further because the hours are shorter - not to talk about all those hours of closed shops and restaurants. There will be fewer reasons for guests to stay on-site as there's less to do and prices have even gone up!
In the end there is only so much milk you can have from 1 cow…

One thing is easy: investing when a business flourishes! But it is when things are bad that it is more difficult to find a reason to invest! But still, if you where to make investments now the results would be ready for when the economy would have recovered and people’s disposable income would again be free (to flow in DLRP’s coffers).

So what’s the wise move? I suggest to stop the circle from spinning right? 
After all when the game gets tough the tough start playing!

7. Use those assets

EuroDisney has land, hotels, theme parks, a golf course, a night district, a shopping mall, a sea life centre, gosh even an urban area built as a city! But it is inevitable that the theme park shines the most light! Mickey is the star … the rest is capital!

Certainly the company’s shares are influenced by many factors, but still PR, marketing and more than 60% of revenue come from the theme park segment. People might stay at the hotels, buy at the shops and eat at the restaurants but remember: they come for the parks!

In order to get the shares back on track difficult to justify investments will have to be made: investments! A task much easier to realize if, through a good marketing mix of your assets, you are able to finally find that equilibrium which EuroDisney never reached before!

During the last few years real estate has been the major source of income for the company - Valle d’Europe, Valle de France and the Walt Disney studios have influenced this - now is the time to get those Characters out in the parks, use them synergetically with the parks’ theming, expand on the local and seasonal events (which keep the guests coming) and act immediately to revive brand consciousness and finally end that “EuroDisney? Didn’t it go bankrupt” image the resort has!

Marketing Mix … the four levers to Heaven!

8. Give me a TONY

There is someone out there who can help you André!

He is an ever smiling man, resembles the Tom Hanks character from the movie “BIG” and has had nothing but solid hits in his entire career! He has been secluded for years now, possibly silently waiting for a chance to come back! To prove “he was right” and who has always known how to save “his” Euro Disneyland!

His name: TONY BAXTER!

EuroDisney SCA is not in a financial position to take big chances, but don't deny shareholders the fact that small chances need to be taken at this point. Bad decisions, not a bad economy, put Disneyland Resort Paris where it is today. Competing park operators have taken steps forwards, while Disney has taken them backward. Walt Disney Studios might have increased guest nights in the resort (a good starting point) but it has certainly not been the success hoped for!

The much talked (and very badly kept secret) future expansion plans of a new land geared for kids and of a new version of the Tower of Terror to be announced might solve the problem for now, but in the long run DLRP will need more then this to survive … and you know it!

Listen to Tony … he can help!

9. “hear it through the grapevine”

Look at those faces in the shareholder meeting, some of them don’t know the difference between a share of the Company and a bond! Clearly they are not in it “for the gold” but “from the heart”.

These are the same people who visit the parks regularly, who are not interested in the dividends but in the quality Disney is famous for. They want to “be part of the Magic”, they praise your efforts and criticise the problems … listen to them … they don’t bite!

Many of these shareholder share their thoughts, concerns, and suggestions on website forums and internet sites! As much as I think that you’ll have far more urgent matters to look into during your first weeks on the job than browse DLRP online discussion boards, you would find many refreshing and interesting thoughts which could improve the overall results!

It’s a free Marketing machine after all … use it!

10. Leave your legacy

Some people find the Leave a Legacy sculptures at Epcot to be an eyesore, others buy bricks on the pavements surrounding Disney parks. You can do something on a much grander scale: you can be the one folks always will remember as the one who brought the company back from the brink of fiscal obliteration!

... so here we are Andre, right in front of that Dragon! He’s huge, fire breathing, menacing and possibly has defeated many of the knights who came before you… But your not alone Andre! All Disney fans around Europe wish you the best of luck and will be with you till the end no matter wether you fail or win … but please Andre, please succeed!

After all “it is kind of fun to do the impossible” – as Walt Disney said!

Ciao Andre and best of luck,

MickeyFantasmic