Laurent Boury, EDHEC Master 1993, Vice President, Commercial Strategy and Innovation at Disneyland Paris
Europe’s leading tourist destination, disneylandparis.com has been turning dreams into real-life experiences since 1992. Last March, a new area dedicated to the world of Frozen opened within Disney Adventure World – formerly Walt Disney Studios Park –, Disneyland Paris’s second park. Behind the marketing, commercial strategy and innovation of this company, which employs around 20,000 people, is Laurent Boury, a 1993 Grande École graduate, who takes us behind the scenes of this unique world in the digital age.
How would you describe your current role and responsibilities?
First, there is the product itself, followed by marketing, commercial strategy and innovation across everything that makes up Disneyland Paris: the 7 Disney Hotels, the 2 parks – Disneyland Park and Disney Adventure World –, Disney Village, as well as the restaurants, shops, attractions and shows. Adapting prices to demand and managing distribution channels are fundamental, as we sell a wide range of products (tickets, packages, hotels, additional experiences and services designed to enhance the visit) through different channels and across many countries.
We also need to understand our guests’ needs through continuous listening and detailed analysis of their satisfaction. This is essential to building a strong brand and improving the experience. Across more than 445 million visits since Disneyland Paris opened, we welcome everyone from people travelling a long way to visit Paris once in their lifetime – and taking the opportunity to visit Disneyland Paris – to guests from the Paris or Lille areas making a day trip by car. Lengths of stay, reasons for visiting and types of accommodation vary considerably, which is why segmenting this broad consumer base is so important in order to meet their expectations as effectively as possible.
What is your priority strategy for guests who are visiting Paris?
The United States is one of Paris’s leading international markets in terms of visitor numbers. Americans know Disney extremely well and often already visit the parks in Orlando, Florida, or Anaheim, California, but they do not always automatically think of Disneyland Paris when planning a trip to Europe. Our challenge is therefore to make sure they know Disneyland Paris exists, understand the richness of the experience we offer, and naturally include it in their itinerary when visiting Paris or Europe.
Today, Disney Parks include 6 destinations worldwide: 2 in the United States, 3 in Asia — Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo — and Disneyland Paris in Europe. A seventh Disney resort has been announced in Abu Dhabi for the coming years, expanding into a new geographical area and addressing local and regional demand. Disney has also significantly expanded its cruise offering, enabling more people around the world to enjoy a Disney experience without necessarily visiting a park; itineraries already operate in the United States, Asia and Europe.
Are there any guest profiles specific to Disneyland Paris that you had never encountered elsewhere in your career?
Fan communities are truly one of Disneyland Paris’s distinctive features. They are extremely engaged and pay very close attention to everything we do: new developments, shows, attractions, details of the parks’ design, price changes and public announcements.
These fans are passionate about Disney brands and Disneyland Paris — the two often go hand in hand. They represent a distinct audience, with dedicated products such as the Disneyland Pass, a subscription that provides access to the parks under specific conditions. In a way, they are guardians of the brand: they challenge us, alert us, comment extensively and constantly remind us how much every detail matters in the Disney experience. We have dedicated websites and accounts for them, as well as specialised teams.
How do you anticipate the success of a franchise before building an offering around it?
Innovation comes from the franchise itself, but also from how we choose to interpret it: a show, attraction, character encounter, restaurant, shop, merchandise or digital experience. There are many ways to bring a franchise to life within a park.
Choosing the franchise is essential because we are building for several decades. Most of the attractions launched when Disneyland Park opened in 1992 are still there: Peter Pan’s Flight, “it’s a small world”, Pirates of the Caribbean… When we open an area dedicated to Frozen at Disneyland Paris, we are taking a long-term approach, aligned with the franchise’s future development, including upcoming theatrical releases.
We then measure very precisely the perception, awareness and appeal of our franchises among different audiences. Disney has an exceptionally rich portfolio: historic Disney franchises, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars… We need to combine the right franchises within a single park so that the offering appeals to the full range of consumers.
What is driving innovation at Disneyland Paris?
Our priority in recent years has primarily been to improve the guest experience. One of our long-standing challenges is waiting times for attractions. To better manage the number of people in each park, we introduced mandatory reservations. Some days may be fully booked, but the objective is to guarantee a high-quality experience rather than allowing visitor numbers to negatively affect the visit.
If guests come without being able to fully enjoy the attractions, spend too much time queuing or have a disappointing experience, we may lose them for the long term. This is particularly important because a visit often represents a significant investment for families.
We have therefore significantly developed our pre-visit planning tools, particularly for shows, restaurants and certain additional services. We have also strengthened direct sales through our website, improved the website itself, the Disneyland Paris app and, more broadly, our entire digital ecosystem, in order to better support guests before, during and after their stay.
At the same time, we continue to work with resellers around the world, particularly in countries where we cannot always reach consumers directly, but also in our established European markets.
Is strategy developed independently for each park?
We work in synergy across all Disney destinations and with Disney Cruise Line. A central entity coordinates all Disney physical experiences worldwide, but each destination retains considerable autonomy to adapt to its consumers, market and operating model.
For example, Disney Premier Access exists across several Disney destinations, but the Paris version has its own specific features and is adapted to our local context. Similarly, in the coming years, Disneyland Paris will open a world-first area inspired by The Lion King.
That said, we also know how to standardise execution and share best practices. The Lion King world in Paris will be 100% Disney and fully consistent with the franchise, in collaboration with Walt Disney Imagineering and global teams.
The strength of the Disney model lies in creating exceptionally powerful franchises that can live across many touchpoints: theatrical films, series, Disney+, publishing, books, products, shows, parks and physical experiences.
Is the park the ultimate destination after watching the films, or does it encourage people to watch – or rewatch – them?
Above all, it is an incredibly powerful point of connection with Disney stories. For a child who comes for Frozen because they have seen the film and already own an Elsa dress, the visit can feel like the culmination of that experience. But the park also offers an opportunity to discover new worlds, such as Ratatouille, Toy Story, Marvel and other franchises.
In any case, the park is one of the most powerful, memorable and unique experiences in the Disney universe. Taking your children to Disneyland Paris can create memories and a sense of wonder that last a lifetime, and can permanently shape the way they perceive these stories and characters.
I am convinced that parks are more relevant than ever. In the digital age, one might wonder whether it still makes sense to build mountains, palaces, lakes or large-scale sets. But consumers have a very strong need for physical, real-world experiences: to escape, dream, forget everyday life and spend time together.
In a world where children are spending more and more time in front of screens, it is important to preserve this element of tangible, shared experience. The look on a child’s face when their favourite character passes by in a parade is magical. We offer an experience that holds real meaning in people’s lives through the emotions, memories and values it creates.
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