Tokyo Disney Sea is getting a whole new port and it will feature an area themed to the movie Frozen!  Oriental Land Company who owns and operates the Tokyo Disney Resort made an announcement on April 28th, 2015 revealing their plans for park expansion in the near future.  While no specific details about a Frozen attraction were mentioned, the publicity department for the company said it was planning on “multiple major attractions, shops, restaurants and other facilities” in the new Scandinavian sea port, a portion of which is specifically being developed to reflect the movie.  The image released by the Oriental Land Company shows a castle that looks to be a reflection of Anna and Elsa’s castle in Arendelle.  This area of the park located near the Lost River Delta won’t be open until some time in 2017.

But that’s not the only part of the resort that’s getting an upgrade!  Not to be outdone, Tokyo Disneyland is getting the Walt Disney World Fantasyland makeover treatment with a Beauty and the Beast section similar to that of its Orlando counterpart.  No plans for a Seven Dwarves Mine Train ride were announced, but they are getting an extensive Alice in Wonderland themed area as part of the expansion.  Details have been pretty scarce beyond the major themes of the new area and to say that it will be about double the current size of Fantasyland.  These enhancements are part of a 10-year, 500 billion yen redevelopment plan for the resort.

The company also just announced the addition of a new attraction based partially on the as yet unreleased movie Finding Dory.  This new 5-minute ride will apparently take the place of the unique attraction StormRider where guests take part in thwarting a fierce storm that threatens the population.  StormRider will close around mid-May 2016 according to the Oriental Land Company to make way for the attraction. Based on concept images of the new ride, it will apparently utilize much of the same technology already in place wrapped around a Nemo and friends theme.  If you’ve ever ridden StormRider its like being in a really huge StarSpeeder 3000 from Star Tours.  Due to it’s size, the maneuverability isn’t quite the same, but the scale is massive and can utilize many effects in the room.  The ride is scheduled to open in Spring 2017.

It will be very interesting to watch the continued development of the Tokyo Disney Resort over the next ten years.  If they do half as good a job with these attractions as they have done in the past, it will be spectacular!

• To read about my experiences at Tokyo Disney Resort begin reading this blog post
• Find out more about the attractions at Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea