This month marks the 30th anniversary of the opening of Disney Land Paris , the most visited theme park in Europe and first inspiration wanderlust of a whole generation . We sail in the nostalgia of the 90s through what could once have been our Eurodisney Gandía.
Mufasa didn't move despite Simba's attempts. I remember seeing the VHS of The Lion King OCD level during the fall of '95 and then checking the time my father got home from work on his watch.
If it took 10 minutes, felt a knot in my stomach and he began to walk around our living room. In Alicante you don't see wildebeest stampedes, but it could be a car, an accident or kidney colic.
Mickey and Minnie Mouse, celebrating the 30th anniversary of Disneyland in front of the illuminated castle.
Luckily, he was always there in time to sit on the couch and hum. Hakuna Matata together. sometimes it was The Lion King , other Bambi or The Jungle Book, classics preceded by those nostalgic logos, their trailers and, especially, the Disneyland Paris spot that announced a magical world close but so remote at the same time.
That kingdom to which one day we would travel: “and if we don't go, when I grow up I want to work there”, I used to say to my father. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
opened a April 12, 1992 , Disneyland Paris became the European bastion of Mickey Mouse and a mecca for many families of the 90s who came to ride Space Mountain either hug the drummer rabbit to the sigh of “if we all become children here again”.
Disneyland Paris in 1992.
But not everything was flashes of magic wand: choosing the location of Eurodisney caused a media stir in the 80s for economic and environmental reasons, with cultural colonization as the main reason for the threat to activists and intellectuals.
Years later, many still remember that once Ariel was about to swim in the beaches of Gandía and Aladdin and Jasmine almost considered a stop in Salou with her magic carpet.
A LITTLE MERMAID IN DENIA
In 1985, We Are The World was released as a charity anthem. Ronald Reagan took office in his second term, Gibraltar was opened to vehicular traffic, and the Nevado del Ruiz volcano erupted in Colombia.
But in the media there was also a competition that imploded on December 18: disney advertised it's a statement his final decision to build Euro Disney Resort in France instead of sunny Spain.
From a letter sent by the Minister of Tourism Enrique Barón in 1983, Spain entered the list of countries considered by Disney for the construction of its first European park.
Hotel in Disneyland Paris.
After ruling out Germany, Greece or Italy, finally Spain and France were the two candidates to have their own Wonderland. In the case of our country, they raised four possible zones : the area between L’Ametlla de Mar and Vandellós, in Tarragona ; the Cabanes-Oropesa-Torreblanca cordon, in Castellón; the marshland area of the Valencian town of Pego, between Gandia and Denia; and the Alicante town of Santa Pola.
Pego became the great favorite having a climate and topography similar to the areas of the American parks, although the idea was not very enthusiastic to the national columnists and the activist groups that they defended biodiversity of the area of the Pego marsh against the impact of Yankee capitalism.
Finally, Disney opted for the Marne la Valle region , 35 km from Paris, for various reasons: population density, budget savings, or its proximity to a large European capital and two airports.
Disneyland Paris castle.
On the other hand, during the time false rumor spread of the marriage of the president of Disney, Michael Eisner, with a Parisian as the reason for this final decision.
WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR A FULL DAY STAY?
After four years of construction , Euro Disney Resort opened its doors on April 12, 1992 with better luck than that of the first Disney park in California.
At that time the complex had seven hotels and up to 5,800 rooms , with the famous Disneyland Hotel, at the main entrance, as the only luxury accommodation. To this they added 19 restaurants with recipes adapted to the European palate and the area of Disney Village as the main entertainment center.
Despite the expectation, the initial investment was weighed down by a few first years of debt, until in 1995 Disney pulled an ace up its sleeve: the opening of the Space Mountain attraction , with its famous system of cannon Launch, and an ally who gave the park its first quarterly benefit since the inauguration.
The deployment in marketing took effect, opening act with Elton John and Claudia Schiffer included. The rest is history.
Euro Disney Resort became known as Disneyland Paris and among its milestones it added the creation of a second park in 2002, Walt Disney Studios , or a transition more adapted to the company's new acquisitions, such as the marvel universes and starwars.
Space Mountain, Disneyland Paris.
A kingdom where reality and fantasy intermingle: Dumbo like a merry-go-round plans a takeoff towards the Aurora's castle the sinister symphony of It's A Small World (where the urban legend of an employee who drowned still floats) or the furry characters (Shulley, yours was admirable) that one day in August they subtly fled before the avalanches of children.
an autograph of Beautiful, the cheshire cat presiding over the labyrinth and absences like Pocahontas , the park's most banned heroine. Because Disneyland Paris , like all the places we dream of, it also has a b-side.
There is a world behind the scenes shows, barmans, dancers delivered and characters that travel through the park every afternoon in their floats. Elsa is late for the show and the Beast eats hot dogs leaning out on Main Street.
And beyond, backstage at Disney Village, a young woman from Marseille removes Mickey's head and she smokes a cigarette next to a cowboy waiter that one day in 2012 she goes out to receive her father because she is visiting.
Maybe the realm of magic It was no longer what that boy dreamed of but, after a walk in the park, father and son entered Walt Disney Studios to see a projection of a poppourri of scenes from Disney movies, including The Lion King. Even in the realm of magic there are lights and shadows , but it was worth humming Hakuna Matata together again with watery eyes.