Tokyo Disneyland Hotel 2nd Anniversary Tribute - High-Res Pictures

Two years ago, the stunning Tokyo Disneyland Hotel was opening on July 8, 2008. In tribute to this incredibly beautiful hotel i re-post the article that i've posted for the hotel grand opening, with dozens of TDL official and gorgeous pictures.. And all of them are here in high-res!

The TDL Hotel - 705 rooms on 89,000 m² - is a masterpiece of unimaginable grandeur. It's Disney and Walt Disney Imagineering at their best, a delight of luxury.

Here below and above, two pictures of the exterior - entrance and courtyard.



Three pictures now of the fantastic Atrium lobby, one of the most spectacular ever created by Disney! Stepping through the hotel’s main entrance on the third floor, Guests will find themselves in this grand and spacious lobby with an atrium soaring about 30 meters overhead.





Two pictures of a Tokyo Disneyland Hotel room - the same, with two different colours...Tokyo Disneyland Hotel has two kind of rooms: The Standard Rooms: These rooms provide a comfortable stay for families and groups. All of these rooms are on the side facing Tokyo Disneyland Park. Price: from 31000 Yen per night ( $288 )



And the Character Rooms: These rooms feature designs of characters appearing in the Disney classic films Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Cinderella. Guests can immerse themselves in the world of Disney in one of these 138 Character Rooms. All of these rooms are located above the hotel’s Main Entrance. Price: from 36000 Yen per night ( $335 ). Click HERE to see all room prices for the TDL Hotel.

Below, a picture of the Peter Pan room.



Here is the Alice in Wonderland room



This one show the Cinderella room



And here is the salon of the Snow White and the seven Dwarfs room



It seems that the main differences for each room is in the change of colours, the paintings on the wall and this - see below - between the beds, here the one in the Peter Pan room.



The hotel offers also 65 Concierge Rooms and Suites. Guests staying in these rooms can check-in (includes welcome drinks) and checkout in comfort at the exclusive Marceline Salon, and enjoy complimentary continental breakfast at the Dreamers Lounge. Most of these rooms are on the side facing Tokyo Disneyland Park.
Here is a picture of the gorgeous Walt Disney Suite. Located on the 9th floor, or the uppermost floor, this is the premier suite at the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel. Named after Walt Disney, this lavishly furnished 235 sq/m suite has a living room, dining room, separate shower booth, air jet bath and other amenities to ensure a magical and unforgettable stay at the hotel. Price: 500.000 Yen per night ( $4650 )



Two pictures of two different restaurants of the Tokyo Disneyland hotel - the Sherwood Garden Restaurant facing the formal Victorian garden, and the Canna Restaurant for an exceptional and stylish dining experience.




The Cinderella Dream Grand Ball Room - This Victorian-style large banquet room is available for parties, gathering, seminars and other events.



The Tokyo Disneyland Hotel have four gardens :

Mickey & Friends Square: The atmosphere of the World Bazaar is continued in this garden, with Disney character topiaries giving a heart-warming welcome to the hotel
- see picture of TDLH courtyard above - second from the top.

The Sherwood Garden : This Victorian-style garden of exquisite design has a pond and gazebo for a moment of relaxation.




Fantasia Court is located on the exterior 3rd floor. This fantasy-filled area features Mickey as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice and the water-carrying brooms from the Disney film Fantasia.




Alice’s Garden - also on the 3rd floor - is themed to the Disney class film Alice in Wonderland.



And it's also in one of the gardens that you can find the beautifully themed Misty Mountains Pool. Themed to the Disney classic film Peter Pan, this outdoor pool even have a Skull Rock and a fountain featuring the tick-tocking crocodile from the film.



The Tokyo Disneyland Hotel also have three shops:

Above, the picture of the Looking Glass Gifts shop - A wide variety of hotel gifts and daily-use items can be found here.

Disney Mercantile is more a "Disney" shop - This shop offers Tokyo Disney Resort merchandise.



Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is a beauty salon for young girls. Shimmering dresses, elegantly coiffed hair, lovely makeup… Every girl’s dream of becoming a “Disney Princess” comes true at this magical salon.





The Hotel also have a photo studio: Magic Memories Photo, a complete studio for one-of-a-kind photo portraits.


Nothing is better than a video to have a better look, so here it is!



And here is a video of the inauguration...



All photos: copyright Tokyo Disneyland Resort

Videos from mainichi.co.jp

Disneyland's Tomorrowland Original Artwork

Here is the artwork topic of this week, and it's a special Disneyland's Tomorrowland artwork. The renderings below were done by great WDI artists such as Herb Ryman, John Hench, Dale Hennesy and more. As usual don't forget to click on each image to enjoy them in big size!

Walt Disney was fascinated by the future. Tomorrowland is an optimistic salute to "what's in store", a world where "tomorrow is just a dream away". Below, a 1954 Herb Ryman concept drawing with a painting by Collin Campbell of Tomorrowland Entrance.



This 1953 concept for Tomorrowland by Dale Hennesy included a monorail, an attraction which, as we know, did not become a part of Disneyland until the technology became available at the end of the 50's.



Another concept for Tomorrowland entrance - probably by Herb Ryman. The waterfalls evolved into pylons as designers searched for ways to create a visual language of the future. Note the boat which looks like a Jungle Cruise boat...



Next is a great watercolor of a Space Mountain early concept by John Hench, 1965. Detail from this painting at the top.



Always in 1965, John Hench proposed a futuristic adventure called "Saturn" that catapulted guests through the rings of Saturn to a space station.



Let's end with this great painting of Space Mountain at night by John Hench, a real master.



Talking about John Hench, i'd like to let you know that his great book "Designing Disney" is now available in soft cover, now at a very affordable price - only $13.57
! This 160 pages book is fantastic, each page with plenty of John Hench's paintings, and you can order it if you wish through the Disney and more Amazon store HERE



Artwork: copyright Disney Enterprises Inc

Disney could start building Shanghai Disneyland in November

The latest news about Shanghai Disneyland released today says - if it's a real one - that "Disney could start building Shanghai Disneyland as early as November". The date is interesting as i always thought that Shanghai will wait for the end of the World's Fair - currently happening in Shanghai - to make a new announcement about the future park. Of course it's also good news as it means that a final concept for the park has been approved......and that renderings will be released which is what we're all waiting for, isn't it?

So, let's quietly wait for November and in the meantime here is the full news, of course not officially confirmed by Disney, but that's not a surprise:

"Disney could start building its planned theme park in Shanghai as early as November, a year after Chinese authorities gave the green light for the project, a report said Tuesday.
"Talks on the Disney project are in the final stages and the construction is expected to start as early as November," the China Business News reported, citing an unnamed source.
The park would be Disney's fourth outside the United States and its third in Asia, after Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong -- the last to open in 2005.
All major construction in Shanghai has been suspended until after the World Expo ends on October 31 as part of efforts to improve the city's air quality during the six-month event.
The Shanghai government announced its long-awaited approval for the project in November last year after authorities in Beijing approved Disney's application.
Neither side disclosed any figures or gave a timeframe for the project, but previous reports have said the US entertainment giant will invest 3.6 billion dollars in the 10-square-kilometre (four-square-mile) park.
When asked about the report, Disney said it looked forward to being able to announce a final deal and a timeline for opening in the future."