“Conservation isn’t just the business of a few people. It’s a matter that concerns all of us.” Even back in the 1940s, Walt Disney understood the importance of protecting the environment. Today, we call these collective efforts Disney Planet Possible — tangible actions we’re taking to put possibility into practice and inspire optimism for a brighter, more sustainable future. Here at Disneyland Paris, we have entire teams of cast members keeping this legacy alive by working to reduce our company’s environmental footprint. Would you like to meet some of them? Then come along on a new Discovering Magic Tour!
A long-time initiative of the Disney Ambassador program, Discovering Magic Tours takes small groups of cast members behind the curtain of our resort, through places very few people go and in the company of expert magic-makers.
And since April is Earth Month, we took our cast to meet with the maintenance teams whose daily work helps reduce the use of resources – from water to electricity, and even heat!
You may have heard of the team that takes care of our wastewater treatment plant! Since 2013, they’ve been hard at work to collect the sewage of our parks, treating and cleaning it before it’s ready for use within the resort. This recycled water is then used to water plants, clean walkways, fill up the ponds – and represents the equivalent of 120 Olympic pools of water per year!
And to make sure none of it goes to waste, our team of plumbers keeps a watchful eye open day and night as they monitor our water distribution systems.
Another major conservation initiative at Disneyland Paris is the construction of Europe’s largest solar canopy plant on our guest parking lot – which upon completion will produce 36 GWh/year, equivalent to the consumption of a town of 17,400 people!
But how do we ensure that this energy is put to good use? Well, that’s the job of another one of our maintenance teams, who opened their doors to show us how they monitor, optimize and regulate electricity consumption throughout the resort.
This includes measures such as making sure that lights are only turned on when needed, as well as keeping track of the temperature inside every building, both onstage and backstage, to make sure we hit our goal of not heating buildings above 19°C (66.2°F) to save energy.
Speaking of heat, our tour wasn’t the only cast-exclusive event to raise awareness about environmental concerns. Throughout the month, cast members were invited by our Environment teams to take part in “Climate Fresk” workshops – collaborative and playful sessions to learn more about the ins and outs of global warming and the actions we can take to limit our own impact!
And on Earth Day, cast were invited to bring their families along to the Disney Davy Crockett Ranch for a variety of educational activities – such as learning more about the biodiversity living in our Disney hotels, or visiting the beehives that produce local Disneyland Paris honey used in some of our restaurants.
Conservation is an everyday matter. And the year-round work of our incredible maintenance cast members ensures we do our best to make Disneyland Paris more sustainable. We are very grateful to them for opening the doors of their workshops and technical installations and allowing us to shine a light on all they do without us even realizing it.
Do you want to know more? Then head to Disneyland Paris News to discover other inspiring initiatives towards the environment at Disneyland Paris. And if you want to see more of our Discovering Magic Tours, don’t hesitate to go follow our Disneyland Paris Ambassador channel on Instagram!