In an article on Sunday, Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun reported that the $2.7 billion Tokyo Disney Resort expansion announced late last year will include a third park possibly themed as Tokyo DisneySky. Construction would begin in 2019 and the new park could open as early as 2022. An official announcement would happen in late April to early May, which would coincide with the kickoff of the 35th anniversary celebration for Tokyo Disneyland.
Oriental Land Company, the company that operates Tokyo Disney Resort, released a statement on Sunday saying that it has made no such announcement.
According to the Mainichi Shimbun article, a company official said that they “want to build a park with only one in the world, like DisneySea.” DisneySky would certainly fit that bill. In addition, it would create a continuity among the three Tokyo parks – Land, Sea and Sky – that would be unique to any themed resort in the world. (It would also parallel the three main original characters in the Kingdom Hearts video game series – Sora (“sky”), Kairi, (a derivation of “sea”), and Riku (“land”).)
What might DisneySky look like? The new resort is rumored to feature entirely ticketless entry using smartphones. Sensors would track guest movement and attraction usage in an attempt to ease crowds and improve flow, as congestion is a significant issue at the two existing Tokyo parks. Moving walkways would transport visitors throughout the park to ease long-distance walking, especially for senior guests. Attractions could include rides that simulate flying via jet aircraft as well as space travel (meanwhile, a Soarin’ attraction is already under construction at DisneySea and targeted to open in 2019).
Rumors we have heard indicate that Pandora: The World of AVATAR and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge would anchor the park, accompanied by new concepts based on Disney, PIXAR, and Marvel IPs.
The new park is expected to be located in the parking lot area next to the two existing parks; a new multi-story parking garage would be built to accommodate guest parking. The map of the area (thanks to TDRExplorer.com) shows an area that looks to be less than half the size of Tokyo Disneyland, however.
Leave A Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.