In 1994, Fantasyland saw another much-needed capacity increase with the Casey Jr. le petit train du cirque (Vekoma powered coaster) and the Le Pays des Contes de Fées (Storybookland Canals) tow boat ride from Mack Rides. Thankfully, those new takes on the classics at Disneyland in California were well-received and delivered quickly.

Casey Jr Le Petit Train du Cirque

The original name did not work, so the resort was first renamed Euro Disneyland Paris, later shortened to Disneyland Paris. Jobs were cut to reduce costs across Euro Disney SCA.

How Philippe Bourguignon hid a roller coaster from Michael Eisner and forced him to pay

Walt Disney Imagineering has a field office near the park, where Philippe Bourguignon and Tim Delaney pulled the coup of the century, the hail mary the resort needed. Tim Delaney, the creative director of Discoveryland and Philippe Bourguignon in late 1992, knew what he needed: a massive roller coaster headliner to tell France and the rest of Europe we’re not just Mickey Mouse and kid’s rides. He wanted to inspire staff and show them clear skies were coming. The Walt Disney Company and the banks holding the massive loans were not interested in spending more money beyond the ongoing capacity fixes. Philippe Bourguignon decided to force their hand.

In late 1992, the resort discovered that Big Thunder Mountain needed emergency repairs and design fixes. Vekoma was contacted, and the equivalent of 10 million USD was then ordered to “fix Big Thunder Mountain.” At the same time, landscaping was needed in Discoveryland, in the space where Discovery Mountain was meant to go, and holes were dug up….

Tim Delaney, in private, was looking for cheap but suitable suppliers and discovered a local steel company capable of quickly fabricating a steel dome 200 feet across.

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, here is what was done at the park: Discovery Mountain was under construction, and as few people as possible were aware of the end game. Tim Delaney had scaled down the original Discovery Mountain to a multi-looping launched roller coaster, with the layout designed and built by Vekoma, using the 10 million for “Big Thunder Mountain repairs” to pay for the project start-up costs. The ride steel dome was then dressed up inside by Tim Delaney’s small Paris team. Amazingly, in a time where today WDI struggles to manage their budgets, Space Mountain came in at a lean 90 million USD. Adding the massive publicity campaign, the Nautilus walkthrough, and a temporary theater for shows in Frontierland, the project came to a total budget of 120 million USD (600 million French francs).

Nearly halfway through the budget in 1993, Philippe Bourguignon visited Michael Eisner in California. He told him he needed money to finish building his e-ticket roller coaster. Michael Eisner was surprised, then mad at what was done under his nose in Paris. He had no choice, though, but to pay up the rest of the money.

In 1994, Philippe Bourguignon was faced by banks who were unhappy with the financials, with the risk of financial collapse. Prince Al-Waleed from Saudi Arabia was brought in with his Kingdom Holding company to inject money into Euro Disney SCA to acquire 24% of the company to stabilize share prices. It worked, with him still holding around 10% of the company even after the Walt Disney Company stock buyback and debt acquisition in 2014.

Discovery Mountain was renamed Space Mountain: De la Terre a la Lune shortly before it opened on June 1^st, 1995. Did Philippe Bourguignon’s gamble work? Yes. Space Mountain single-handedly saved the resort. Bookings and resort occupancy shot up, resulting in a tiny but positive benefit in 1995. Millions of guests came to Disneyland Paris for the first time and left charmed and happy with the park. 1996 saw the continued impact of Space Mountain and good benefits for the company that was finally starting to get its head out of the water.

Philippe Bourguignon was offered another job in 1997 and abruptly left Disneyland Paris, but his creativity and financial genius saved the park and resort. The resort stayed profitable until the opening of the Walt Disney Studios, and that will be the topic of a future article.