Advertisement

EU: Disneyland Paris overcharging foreign customers

Disney will face a probe of its pricing policies.

By Ed Adamczyk
The European Commission is investigating why some Disneyland Paris customers are charged more than others. Photo courtesy of wikimedia.org/ Flightlog-DSC0272.
The European Commission is investigating why some Disneyland Paris customers are charged more than others. Photo courtesy of wikimedia.org/ Flightlog-DSC0272.

BRUSSELS, July 29 (UPI) -- The European Commission asked France Wednesday to investigate whether the Disneyland Paris amusement park is overcharging foreign visitors.

It pointed out the Walt Disney Co. theme park, the company's only park in Europe, has been accused of rigging prices, using a premium visitors' package as an example: in some cases, French customers are charged 1,346 Euros ($1,483) for the same package offered to British visitors for 1,870 Euros ($2,061), and 2,447 Euros ($2,697) for German visitors.

Advertisement

The European Union (EU) bans companies from charging more for goods and services according to nationality, country or residence. Customers have accused Disneyland Paris of "geo-blocking," illegally blocking some Europeans' access to deals available only to French and Belgian customers using the Internet to purchase tickets and accommodations.

Elzbieta Bienkowska, EU single market commissioner, commented that several complaints "were very significant, particularly in one or two instances. It is time to get to the bottom of this," she said. "I am interested in answers and explanations. On the face of it, I struggle to see what objective justification there could be for these practices."

Business, such as theme parks, can adjust prices based on demand or seasonal fluctuation, but an EU investigation noted Disneyland Paris' major competition in Europe, notably Denmark's Tivoli Gardens and Legoland, as well as Germany's Europapark, do not vary prices to the extent the Disney property does.

Advertisement

A French court case against Disneyland Paris is likely.

The EU ruling comes a week after antitrust charges were presented against Disney and other Hollywood movie studios and Sky TV, for allegedly preventing pay-television customers in mainland Europe from accessing services available in Britain and Ireland.

Latest Headlines