Tokyo Disney Resort reportedly planning a major $2.68 billion expansion
A major Japanese financial service is reporting that Oriental Land Company, the organization that owns and operates the Tokyo Disney Resort, is planning a major $2.68 billion expansion, which would include enlarging the Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea theme parks by nearly 30%.
As originally reported by Nikkei (Japan’s equivalent of Dow Jones), the Oriental Land Company is currently contemplating spending over 300 billion yen ($2.68 billion) on upgrading Tokyo Disney Resort, in order to alleviate congestion at the often overcrowded parks, and also lure in more mature and foreign visitors, counteracting new regional competition and Japan’s declining birthrate.
No specific attractions have been named as part of these additions, but speculation suggests that the Frozen-themed land that was previously announced for DisneySea but then postponed may be part of this expansion, which will reportedly be completed around 2023.
Some English-language news outlets have erroneously reported that the Tokyo Disney Resort expansion will take the form of an entirely new third theme park; however, this appears to be based on a mistranslation of a press release published in Japanese by Mainichi.jp. That same release suggested that the new attractions may have a ‘Japanese’ theme, to appeal to foreign visitors.
Neither the Walt Disney Company nor the Oriental Land Company has officially confirmed these plans at this time. However, OLC has officially announced that the Tokyo Disneyland Main Entrance will be renovated and a new parking structure will be built in the Tokyo Disneyland Guest Parking area. These renovations are intended to “improve and enhance the experience of Guests from around Japan as well as from overseas. The new parking structure, which Nikkei says is being built to clear land for park expansion, is scheduled to open in 2019. The renovated Main Entrance is scheduled to be completed in spring 2020, and will include 54 gates (up from 48 currently) with flaps replacing turnstiles, a photo recognition system installed to screen Annual Passport holders, and new automated ticketing kiosks replacing most of the manned ticket booths.
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