Disney Will Lose Entire Park if It Doesn’t Improve Attendance in the Next Few Years

Disney may be the most successful theme park operator in the world, but few of its resorts have had an easy road to success – least of all Disneyland Paris.

A personal passion project for then-CEO Michael Eisner, The Walt Disney Company famously poured a lot of money into its Europe debut. Unsurprisingly, its financial troubles began early. Underwhelming attendance figures and high operational costs weren’t helped by Disney’s cultural missteps, with some European visitors finding the Americanized experience unrelatable.

Credit: Bhumil Chheda, Unsplash

To remedy this, Disney introduced more European themes and thrill attractions – such as Space Mountain, now known as Hyperspace Mountain – which helped. Debt, however, remained a persistent hurdle. Efforts to refresh the park, including major investments from Disney, improved its offerings, yet competition from European attractions and economic downturns continued to slow recovery.

The freezing cold response to its second park, Walt Disney Studios Park, also didn’t help. Guests were largely unimpressed by its lack of immersive theming and attractions, with Disney still trying to salvage the park over two decades later.

Fortunately, the resort is in a much better position today than it was in the past. Disneyland Paris generated record-high revenue in 2023, with its two parks generating a whopping $343.4 million in profit alone.

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It also narrowly beat its attendance record by just 0.6% in 2023 as 16.1 million visitors visited Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park.

As the resort gradually claws its way to top-tier theme park status, the big question is: when will it receive its long-rumored third park?

Well, the answer is more complicated than you’d think.

The Euro-Disney Agreement

The journey towards establishing a third park at Disneyland Paris dates back to the original Euro-Disney agreement signed in 1987.

This agreement laid the groundwork for the first two parks, defining the terms under which Disney would operate in France. The initial commitment included promises to construct three parks, which at the time seemed feasible given Disney’s aspirations for the European market.

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This agreement left Disney with no choice but to build Walt Disney Studios on a budget. The park was required as per the original agreement. However, the issues that plagued the park in its early years led to various obstacles in Disney’s expansion efforts. Namely, if nobody was coming to its existing parks, why would they come to its third?

The first deadline for building the third park was set in 2026. However, when Disney bought out Euro Disney SCA in 2017, it renegotiated this term to extend the deadline for this third gate from 2026 to 2036.

As time passed and visitor numbers remained below expectations, Disney sought ways to extend this deadline, which resulted in an agreement in 2020 to push it to 2036.

Will We Get a Third Disneyland Paris Park by 2036?

As it stands, we could indeed receive this third gate by 2036.

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But Disney doesn’t have to build this park. If it decides against developing the unused land (located in the space behind Disney’s Sequoia Lodge) currently set aside for its third park by 2036, this land can officially be marketed by the French government for other purposes.

Alternatively, if it manages to hit the combined annual attendance of at least 22 million annual visitors for both of its parks, it can extend this deadline again to 2040.

Can Disney Hit 22 Million Annual Visitors?

Even 10 years ago, this question would have received a very different answer. Nowadays, however, Disneyland Paris is in a much stronger position.

Credit: Loren Javier, Flickr

The odds of Disney actually committing to and building a theme park by 2036 are extremely low. Most likely, its goal is to extend its deadline for a third park to 2040, giving it a few extra years to maximize cash flow before plunging it back into a new property.

When you look at what Disney is currently doing in Paris (or, if we want to be really pedantic, Chessy), it seems like it’s pulling out all the stops to try and hit this 22 million figure.

While Disneyland Park remains as neglected as ever, as we mentioned before, Walt Disney Studios Park is in the middle of a huge transformation. Having already debuted its version of Avengers Campus, it’s now working on World of Frozen and a new Tangled (2010) ride, plus a lagoon area for nighttime spectaculars.

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Its entire entrance land, Studio 1, is closed for a total transformation. An area inspired by The Lion King (1994) is also on the way, complete with a Pride Rock water ride, as per this year’s D23 announcements. The arrival of these new additions will also be accompanied by a name change from Walt Disney Studios Park to Disney Adventure World. (Hate it? Don’t worry, you’re not alone).

It’s been rumored that Disney is pouring $15 billion into Disneyland Paris in general. These developments extend beyond just its theme parks, with its shopping and dining district, Disney Village – which has aesthetically remained stuck in the ’90s since its debut – also undergoing refurbishment right now.

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Earlier this year, the resort also debuted a freshly renovated Disneyland Hotel, which was elevated with a Disney Princesses theme. Before that, the resort transformed Disney’s Hotel New York into Disney’s Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel. It’s long been rumored that Disney Sequoia Lodge – the resort’s outdated equivalent to Disney’s Wilderness Lodge – is next up on the agenda.

Realistically, What’s Going to Happen?

Can Disney hit that 22 million goal? Both realistically and optimistically, we say “yes.” But you never know what lies in store for a theme park resort. For example, nobody could have predicted COVID-19 and its dramatic impact on Disney’s theme park operations.

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Should Disney not be able to hit its attendance level by 2036, it’s not totally doomed. There are measures in place to vote on another timeline extension. However, the French government very much has the right to sell off the land reserved for its third gate – and it’s not totally impossible that Disney may lose it for good.

Would you like to see Disney build a third theme park at Disneyland Paris?