A. What cultural challenges are posed by Disney’s expansion into Asia?

Our text specifically talks bout Disney’s approach to challenges in several ways:
1. Language differences: At least three languages will be supported by consumer facing personnel.
2. Americanization is being de-emphasized, with Main Street USA being replaced by a special garden for picture taking.
3. On-premise menus have been adapted to local tastes.
4. In addition to these, Disney must address the typical US vs. China differences reviewed in our previous discussions about Trompenaar’s cultueral dimensions in both their employees and customers:
 Communitarianism (China) vs. Individualism (USA)
 Ascription (China) vs. Achievement (USA)
 Diffuse (China) vs. Specific (USA)
 Affective (China) vs. Neutral (USA)
B. How are these different from those in Europe?

Disney seems to be learning greatly from their European experiences. In Europe, Disney found that in many ways, the consumer did not behave as expected: o Wanted a different breakfast menu than planned o Did not change vacation behaviors o Did not check in & out of hotels at the expected times o Did not have a relaxed eating schedule.
Given these problems, and their experiences in Tokyo and Hong Kong, there seems to be a much better approach to understanding probable consumer desires, and adapting the experience to fit those consumer expectations as outlined in A.1 – A.3 above.
C. How do cultural variables influence the location choice of theme parks around the world?

There are many aspects of this exercise that can be brought back to a single statement: Know your customer. When picking a park location, cultural variables affecting location could include: o Ability to recruit employees for language and corporate image o Ability to provide the ‘Disney Experience’ within a non-US cultural paradigm
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