Why Disneyland Is Not Interested In JohorRecent conversation between President of Disneyland International(A) and his Senior Vice-President of International Marketing(B):
A: So what's the latest on the international front?
B: Let's see. Yes, we have an enquiry from Malaisher.
A: Malaisher? Where's that? In Thailand?
B: No, that's somewhere south of Thailand.. Small country, shaped like a banana.
A: Okay, what do they want?
B: They are interested in setting up Disneyland there.
A: Oh really? That must be near Hongkong. How are we doing in Hongkong?
B: Oh Hongkong is fine. That's because the weather in Hongkong is great, very conducive to outdoor action for the whole family.
A: What about the weather in Malaisher then?
B: Blistering hot, up to the thirties. Then they have two monsoons, six months apart.
A: Hmm, go on.
B: And when it rains, the place floods like hell. Cars washed away, trees uprooted, landslides.
A: You're kidding.
B: No sir. I've got a report here that says only 4 days ago an Indonesian community was washed away by a landslide.
A: Indonesian community? I thought you said Malaisher?
B: Oh yes, but they have hundreds of thousands of illegal workers, mainly from Indonesia.
A: What's the crime rate like in Malaisher?
B: Pretty bad. Snatch thieves, children kidnapped and killed ... last week a little girl was found dead. And the crime rate is expected to go up.
A: Expected to go up? Who said that?
B: The police themselves. They threatened to let the crime rate go up if the government sets up a commission that all of them don't like. See, it's here on the Net.
A: They even circulated that kind of threat on the Net?
B: Apparently a dumb corporal did it by mistake.
A: Tell me more about the police there.
B: Well, a report here says last week there was a peaceful demonstration against some tariff hikes and the police bashed them up, beat the hell out of them. I've got pictures.
A: Sounds brutally efficient.
B: Not really, cos last month there was another demonstration; this time against a forum that was being held in a hotel, and the police couldn't control that crowd. They actually asked the people in the forum to go home.
A: What more can you tell me about Malaisher?
B: Let's see ... oh yes, they produce fake DVDs by the thousands and actually sell them openly.
A: Gee, that bad huh? Well we can't let them touch our merchandise then,can we?
B: No sir. Oh, one more thing. They support Iran's nuclear program.
A: Tell me you're kidding!
B: No sir, they just had a regional meeting and their PM declared his stand. It's all in their on-line news.
A: Alright, listen. I've heard enough. We are not sending Mickey Mouse there
Why won't they consider? My further two-cents worth:-
1. It's too hot to be standing under the hot sun for the rides. And when it rains, who wants to take a ride?
2. There is already one in Japan and one in Hong Kong. Why would they want to invest in another location in Asia? After all, there is only one in Europe (Euro Disney) and two in the United States.
3. I can imagine there will hardly be any takers for anyone who wants to don the Mickey Mouse and friends' costumes and walk around in the hot blazing sun.
4. Do we have enough tourists to sustain the economic viability of the park??? We all know Japan and Hong Kong draw millions of tourists every year and it makes sense for Disneyland to build a park there to capture the crowd. After all, even without the tourists, the population of Japan and China itself is big enough potential to generate income. Not in Malaysia though.
2. There is already one in Japan and one in Hong Kong. Why would they want to invest in another location in Asia? After all, there is only one in Europe (Euro Disney) and two in the United States.
3. I can imagine there will hardly be any takers for anyone who wants to don the Mickey Mouse and friends' costumes and walk around in the hot blazing sun.
4. Do we have enough tourists to sustain the economic viability of the park??? We all know Japan and Hong Kong draw millions of tourists every year and it makes sense for Disneyland to build a park there to capture the crowd. After all, even without the tourists, the population of Japan and China itself is big enough potential to generate income. Not in Malaysia though.
