LOTS is happening at Tokyo Disneyland Resort! Last year, the Oriental Land Company which owns and operates both theme parks, announced a major redevelopment plan which would affect both parks. At the time, OLC stated that Fantasyland would nearly double in size while a new port would be added to Tokyo DisneySea. The Fantasyland area would include areas themed to Beauty and the Beast as well as Alice in Wonderland. The new port in DisneySea would be a Scandinavian-themed area to incorporate Frozen elements. That’s on top of the previously announced Finding Nemo attraction to replace StormRider (closing this month on May 17, 2016).
More details about the Fantasyland expansion were released this past week. The Beauty and the Beast themed area will include a simulator ride where “Guests board enchanted serving dishes that dance in rhythm to the film’s well-known music and follow Belle on a romantic musical adventure inside the enchanted Castle where she dances her way into the heart of the Beast, just in time to break the fateful spell. Guests will feel like they have entered right into the film (from the OLC press release).” The attraction will last a whopping 8 minutes long! Bordering ToonTown, the newly developed area will include a shop and a restaurant. From the images, it looks like the restaurant will not be based on the current popular Be Our Guest Restaurant at Walt Disney World but may be something completely new.
In addition to the new Beauty and the Beast area will be an indoor theater for musical productions made specifically for Tokyo Disneyland. Seating about 1,500 people, this will likely be a highly popular attraction for the Japanese Disney fans who love Disney shows and productions. A new Minnie Mouse design studio where you can interact and take pictures with the famous star will open in ToonTown about the same time. And Tomorrowland will be getting a new attraction themed to the popular movie Big Hero 6. The OLC press release states that Baymax will invite “guests to board their own personal healthcare companion for an exciting musical ‘whip ride’ that swings them unpredictably round and round.” It looks and sounds something like Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree but with Baymax instead of Mater.
In Tokyo DisneySea, a Japanese version of the popular Soarin’ attraction will be installed in the Mediterranean Harbor area of the park. It will be placed in what is now largely an empty area that connects the harbor to the very popular Mysterious Island. From the press release description, it looks to be a clone of every other Soarin’ attraction featuring the updated Soarin’ Around the World film.
What was not notated in the press release is if this news is the finished version of plans to add to the park that were announced last year or if these are plans in addition to the previously released plans. No mention was made of the Frozen new port in Tokyo DisneySea and nothing was mentioned about the Alice in Wonderland area. These Beauty and the Beast attraction plans look to be finalized versions of the initial announcement previously made, leading to speculation that the other aspects of the redevelopment of Fantasyland and DisneySea are being scrapped. When any further announcements are made, you can count on the Disney Nerds blog to update you!
- Read the original announcement about the new development plans for Tokyo Disneyland
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