Pardon Our Dust - Tokyo Disneyland Resort
Page 1 of 3

This fall Tokyo DisneySea (“TDS�?) turns five. Unquestionably the most visually spectacular theme park ever built TDS was also one of the most expensive. The park’s operators the Oriental Land Company (“OLC�?) threw over $2 billion to create a second theme park on their compact site on Tokyo Bay. OLC hoped that the second park would make their property become a vacation destination from the one-day jaunt from the city that had been the business model for over fifteen years. However with stagnant attendance numbers and dire guest spend figures it now seems that OLC has a quandary as to the resort’s future direction. Has TDS become a barnacle on the side of the ever-popular Tokyo Disneyland (“TDL�?)?

TDS posted stellar attendance numbers during its first year of operation. It did cannibalize its neighbor to a degree but overall it boosted attendance to the resort. TDS merchandise was flying off of the shelves and the restaurants were perpetually busy. However the honeymoon was short lived. With each anniversary merchandise was left on the shelves for months and ultimately had to be pulped (the OLC does not like discounting of any sort). Attendance flat-lined as there were no new offerings. The park became the special event center for the resort by constructing a temporary staging area in American Waterfront. Although popular with annual passholders (the majority of who are the archetypal office ladies) the events have so far failed to attract regular guests who prefer the whimsy and fantasy of TDL. A mediocre coaster called Raging Spirits debut last year (a carbon copy of Disneyland Paris’ Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril albeit with new minimal theming) and failed to catch on.

So what is that quandary? OLC always saw TDS as a virtually complete park from Day One. They hoped to milk the proceeds for several years (actually up to a decade) without significant further capital expenditure. They predicted that the attraction of the “new�? theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort (“TDR�?) would have been enough to get throngs of guests through the gates. The problem is that regular guests prefer a day in TDL to TDS. The Magic Kingdom with the recognizable Disney characters and heavy roster of attractions is far more appealing than its baby brother. That doesn’t mean that TDS is bad per se but that it is tough to compete with a Disneyland model (just ask Disney’s California Adventure (“DCA�?) park).

(c) Disney

(c) Disney