Disney plans Va. theme park, blames loss on Paris venture - Walt Disney Co., American-history theme park in Virginia - Brief Article

BURBANK, Calif. -- One day after the Walt Disney Co. blamed its first quarterly loss in nine years on huge losses at its European theme park and withheld final commitment to expansion of its Anaheim flagship, the entertainment conglomerate disclosed plans to build an American history-themed park near Civil War battlefields in Virginia.

Disney, ranked the 24th-largest generator of foodservice revenues among U.S. companies, said Disney America, 30 miles west of Washington in Prince William County, would create neraly 3,000 jobs and generate $1.5 billion in new county and state tax revenues. The company declined to estimate the park's revenue potential of construction costs, but analysts said the development tab could reach $300 million by the planned 1998 opening of the 100-acre attraction, on a 3,000-acre parcel near the Bull Run and Manassas battlefield sites.

Plans call for high-tech virtual-reality rides and reenactments allowing visitors to "meet" past presidents and "participate" in such historical events as a Lewis and Clark river expedition, the Civil War naval clash between the Monitor and Merrimac, an Ellis Island steamer landing and a World War II air battle.

Restaurant plans were not detailed, but Disney said the park would include a Civil War-era village, a Native American village and Enterprise, a factory town with a roller coaster. Hotels, homes and a golf course also are-planned.

Before the announcement, Disney divulged a $77.8 million loss for the fourth quarter ended Sept., 30 as the Burbank, Calif. company allocated $350 million to unspecified remedies for the problematic Euro Disney resprt near Paris, which lost $921 million in its first fiscal year. Disney owns 49 percent of the park, which has suffered from poor attendance and the apparent reluctance of French visitors to spend on meals or lodging.

Despite the quarterly loss ties to Disney's share in the European venture, the company posted a net annual profit of $300 million because of strong results from its entertainment division and U.S. theme parks. Despite the 63-percent dip in profits from last year's $817 million net, Disney posted records of $8.5 billion in annual revenues and $1.7 billion in operating income.

Disney officials said they are still several months away from deciding whether to proceed with the $3 billion expansion of Disneyland in Anaheim, but they said the company's Virginia proposal was unrelated and would have no effect on that decision.

Meanwgile, officials of Euro Disney SCA said they would cut 950 jobs at Euro Disneyland and neighboring hotels yet still face liquidity problems if the resort's finances are not restructured by spring.

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