Thursday, October 30, 2014

Big Development Plans Announced for Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea !


Huge announcement from Tokyo Disney Resort today as TDR announced  big developments for Tokyo Disneyland Fantasyland and Tokyo Disney Sea for an amount of 400 Billion yen! Here is the full press release, and i tell you more about all this right after it!

Update: Don't miss the new article posted today HERE which brings you more details and visuals on this new TDL Fantasyland!

URAYASU, CHIBA— Oriental Land Co., Ltd. announced that plans for the further development of Tokyo Disneyland® and Tokyo DisneySea® Parks have been decided. The plans, outlined in the Oriental Land Group’s “2016 Medium-Term Business Plan” (for the period of March 2015 through March 2017) announced on April 28, include a 500 billion yen level of investment in the theme park business over the next ten years.

The plan for Tokyo Disneyland Park centers on the redevelopment of Fantasyland, which will nearly double the size of the themed land. Work on implementing this large scale area development has already begun. In addition to the renovation of the existing Fantasyland, major new attractions, restaurants and shops are being considered for Area installation in the expansion site.



Tokyo DisneySea Park
Site for new themed port
Oriental Land will also further invest in the two Parks in multiple ways: renovation or creation of attractions and entertainment programs; development of hardware that will enhance the Guest experience in the Parks; further improvement of restaurants; easing of congestion; development of measures to protect Guests from hot and cold weather; and other ways of to make a more comfortable environment for all Guests. Furthermore, investment will be made to strengthen the theme parks’ “backstage” support functions and operational base.
In addition to the above investment in infrastructure, Oriental Land will continue to raise the level of hospitality provided by Cast Members, which is vital to the Disney theme parks, by strengthening human resources development and raising employee satisfaction to an even higher level.

Tokyo DisneySea Park is the development of a new themed port in the expansion site located south of Lost River Delta. This eighth themed port will include major new attractions, restaurants and shops.

Oriental Land’s aim for the two Disney theme parks is for them to continue to be places where Guests will have unforgettable experiences that are unlike anywhere else in the world. Oriental Land will strive to make this a reality through the above investments to maximize the value of the theme parks.

1. Amount of Theme Park Business Investment
The breakdown of the 500 billion* yen level of investment in the theme park business over the next ten years ( fiscal year** 2014 through fiscal year 2023 ) is projected as follows.
(Orientation of Investment)


*Includes 150 billion yen level of investment for renewal and improvement. **The fiscal year is from April through March

2. Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea Development Plans
Centering on the redevelopment of Fantasyland at Tokyo Disneyland and the development of a new themed port at Tokyo DisneySea, as well as the introduction of new attractions and other facilities, Oriental Land’s investment will aim at maximizing the value of the theme parks. Moreover, the amount of the additional investment for the Fantasyland redevelopment is expected to be the largest ever for Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea.
◆ Large-scale Development Plans for Both Parks


Preparations for creating comfortable environments at Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea Parks:
By further enhancement of restaurants, easing of congestion, introduction of measures to protect Guests from hot and cold weather and other actions, Oriental Land will proactively create environments that Guests can enjoy in comfort.
Concrete Examples:
• Restructure the show viewing area
• Enhance restaurants further
• Make service facilities more comfortable • Restructure the IT environment


A moveable stage will be installed in Mediterranean Harbor at Tokyo DisneySea to increase visibility of shows and the areas from which shows can be viewed will be expanded. (Start of utilization scheduled for March 1, 2015)


Under consideration for Tokyo Disneyland is the introduction of a restaurant situated on the parade route so that Guests can leisurely enjoy dining while watching a parade.

Strengthening the base for operations including support functions:
In order to handle the highest level of Park attendance and provide the best Guest service, business-use land, including the land for the theme parks, will be created in the backstage area (the operations base for the theme parks) by enlarging support facilities and moving some facilities.
Concrete Examples:
• Move and enlarge the Logistics Center and Central Kitchen to company-owned
property nearby
• Move part of the administration functions to company-owned property nearby
The contents of this release are still at the planning stage. Details for each subject will be announced as soon as they are decided.

( End of the Press Release )

All-right, so what does all of this mean? It means that in Tokyo Disneyland Tomorrowland the Grand Circuit Raceway and Star Jets will soon be extinct attractions. It's hard to see on the low-res rendering but it seems that a big part of Toon Town should stay. May be the Gadget Go Coaster will go - not sure, though... On the top of this article you have the rendering in the size it was released. And below, another file in bigger size to explore it in details, though in much lower resolution. Click on it.


Now, to help you to locate where is what, here is a Google Earth 3D screen capture, more or less shot on the same angle than the rendering.


And here is another Google Earth screen capture, shot on the reverse angle, with this time the Grand Circuit Raceway in the foreground.


This next non-3D Google Earth screen capture is a "vertical" shot of the area, and i've circled in white what is supposed to change ( i've included Toon Town but most of it should stay ).


Also, the actual Fantasyland will be renovated and its rides very probably updated. Now, and although TDR didn't announced the names of the new attractions that will be include in this Fantasyland expansion it seems that a major Frozen ride will be part of it, which is no big surprise. By looking at the rendering, my guess - right or wrong - is that it could be this area.


We can also see on the rendering another castle which is probably Beast castle, with eventually a Belle village like at WDW.


The other building on the right of Beast Castle, above, is probably a relocated It's a Small World, which is  currently near the Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall, where something else will apparently come instead of IASW, may be an Alice in Wonderland "experience".


As for Tokyo Disney Sea, things are more simple as they will use the big land unused since TDS opening on the left of Lost River Delta and the Indiana Jones Pyramid to create a new port, the theme being unknown for now, although some are talking about a Mystic Point land which would be perfect for TDS. TDR also announced that the scale of this new themed port will be about the same as Arabian Coast.


Here is a Google Earth 3D view of the area where the new port will be built, and it will include a new bridge for a direct access directly from Port Discovery.


And here is another Google Earth shot, vertical, where i've circled in white the area indicated on the TDR document above.


Last but not least, the rooms of the three wings - Toscany, Venice and Porto Paradiso - of the Hotel Miracosta at the entrance of Tokyo Disney Sea will be renovated and have a new design. here are concept-arts for the three different wings as well as one showing the painting on the ceiling and a mural painting for the Capitano Mickey rooms in the Toscano wing.






All of this is indeed good news, and we should know next year what will be the attractions include in the new areas!

Pictures: copyright Disney, Oriental Land, Tokyo Disney Resort, Google Earth

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't think that the area you mentioned is going to be the Frozen attraction. It doesn't resemble at all Arendelle.

There are rumours that Frozen is going to be the new port at TDS.

IASW is also being removed or at least relocated. If you look closely at the image, you can clearly see that it's gone. My guess is that it's going to be the new huge building next to Space Mountain. The facade even looks a bit like the one from IASW.

Anonymous said...

Just a note - the "white" building near Space Mountain is most likely the moved "it's a small world" - as 'it's a small world' has clearly been removed from it's current location next to the Queen of Hearts restaurant - and replaced with something very Alice...

Anonymous said...

Someone posted on Micechat:
-Tokyo Disneyland gets Famtasyland Forest with a different theme and without removing Toontown
-Tomorrowland Bids goodbye to Starjets and Autopia
-Alice in wonderland Moves in and Beauty and the beast.
-Small World Moves near Tomorrowland
-FROZENLAND goes to Tokyo Disneyland in 2016
-Olafs Sweets restaurant opens in 2016
-Frozen opens in 2017
-Tomorrowland gets refreshed
DisneySea
-A new port Debuts in 2017
-The newly renovated Hotel Miracosta opens with new rooms.
-Mediterrainian Harbor after construction artwork.
-New regular Shows goes in.
plus more details about this expansion and new shows will be featured in D23 expo 2015.

Anonymous said...

Having been to Tokyo Disneyland myself, and I am certain the white building near Tomorrowland is most definitely It's A Small World. It's peculiar that they would relocate such a ride, but I can see how it would open up space and make Fantasyland more consistent in theming. The area taking its place is a expanded Alice in Wonderland themed attraction.
What I'm curious is the small town area next door to Tomorrow, which almost certainly looks like a new water ride. Tangled? Frozen?

Anonymous said...

So TDR will become even better!

It's definitely time to redo large parts of TDL since some areas look really outdated, especially Tomorrowland and Fantasyland.

I hope that they wont built a Frozen area in TDS. In my opinion this could ruin the whole atmosphere of the park since TDS has a very realistic theming. Hence, a cartoon like area doesn't fit at all. I think that the Mermaid Lagoon was already a stretch but it's fine since it's indoors.

Anonymous said...

What, no Magic Bands? Again, the Oriental Land Company puts the Walt Disney Company to shame.

If they're moving Small World - that's exactly what WDW should do - move Small World to Epcot, in the area between World Showcase and Future World - it would be a perfect fit! Then fill the space left by Small World with a Tangled ride. But unfortunately, they won't spend the money to move an existing ride, sigh.

K. Martinez said...

What I find most interesting is the relocation of an 'E' ticket attraction like IASW. That's got to be a first.

Anonymous said...

I'm almost certain the new port at Disney Sea will be Avatar themed, especially since the next movie will include exploring the oceans of Pandora. In my opinion it would fit perfectly with the Disney Sea resort.