Mermaid's Lagoon, continued
The Lagoon also has
a Jumpin Jellyfish ride like California Adventure's - but the Tokyo one
is much better detailed.
Here's where you
can see where they cut corners in California (I wanted to make sure to
match the two shots below as closely as possible). The first photo shows
the ride vehicle in Tokyo - note the trim on the canopies, and note
especially the seating.
Now here's the
vehicles in California Adventure - look at how no attempt is made to
hide the metal framework, and the seats are off the shelf. (Apparently
you sit in the shell, legs and all in Tokyo, your legs dangle here.)
Note the fit and finish though, and especially the "plussing"
of the details. That's the kind of stuff that elevated the Fantasyland
rides above their carnival origins.
It used to be that
Disney was the company that understood "it's all in the
details." But now (even in their internal presentations) they are
saying "if it's good enough for Six Flags..."
Now, it wouldn't be
Disney without a shop nearby, right? ;) The California park has
wonderfully detailed shopping (it's the one thing current management did
care about) - but even the Tokyo folks took it an extra step. Note the
nifty play on Disneyland's Fantasyland Monstro below - even to the way
they hid the lighting in the skeleton framework.
When you step into
the shop you notice two things - first the ground is spongy! Well, you
ARE in a whale's mouth you know, it's gonna be squishy! And second of
all - look at all of the beautiful detailing inside - you literally are
looking through what the whale swallowed. (I guess it had a big Mattel
cargo ship for lunch.)
Unlike the redo of
the shops in the last "new" Tomorrowland at Disneyland, which
took away their details, or the push now to make the Disney Store chain
into more of a GAP type of store, the Japanese park seems to understand
that there is a show going on here for you.
Look at just one
small detail here in a wall - even the individual tiles are themed with
sea serpents, dolphins, turtles, crabs, starfish - this is the kind of
thing you come back to visit a Disney park for. And if they were smart
enough, even merchandise it.
All of the
characters from the Little Mermaid are put to work in the lagoon - when
this purple octopus isn't playing marimba in the movie, he's helping out
with lighting and signage. (Note the detail even in the symbols for male
and female restrooms.)
Ok, looking back at
the map we originally saw in the Hotel, the next area to explore looks
like the Arabian Coast.
Hmmm, isn't that
where Aladdin and Jasmine were last seen? Come
along as the adventure continues!
