Now that folks, is a ruin! The
Indiana Jones ride building / complex
While Disney has been building and opening
the California Adventure park in Anaheim, the Oriental Land Company has
been working on a new Disney park clear on the other side of the world,
in Japan.
Like it's new California cousin,
Tokyo DisneySea park resides next door to the existing Disneyland park.
The similarity ends there however, because Tokyo DisneySea is not like
any park in California, or even the world. The Oriental Land Company has
broken the mold with a theme park full of detailing so incredible it can
easily be compared to -- if not surpass -- some of the most expensive
and richly themed hotels in Las Vegas, such as the Venetian and Bellagio.
MousePlanet is extremely pleased to
offer you the following photos, taken by Todd Meigan*, over a recent
weekend during a soft opening of the park. Todd is a regular contributor
to our MousePad discussion boards, and is our very own Tokyo insider. We
hope Todd's photos will give you an idea of the sheer wonderment and
amazement of the new park.
Part Seven: Lost River Delta /
California Adventure comparison
Text by Al Lutz
We've been to the
richly detailed Arabian Coast, but there's something a little further on
that's popping up on the nearby horizon (and it isn't a power pole or a
convention center!)
(First, a quick
note about the photos you will be looking at - this set of shots were
taken just at dusk, and were originally very dark. I've done some work
on them to lighten them up so you can see the details - but that may
mean that some of the colors could be a bit off from what the actual
location may look like. You may also see an occasional rainbow
"halo" effect around some objects, like at the tip of the
temple in the shot below.)
The vista above is
taken a little past the Delta area - looking back at it. Note the rich
landscaping (I'm willing to bet it was all brought in) and the seaplane
parked in front of the area. Doesn't this kind of detail make you think
Indy has just arrived? (All of the DisneySea lands have something just
like this on the shores of the lagoons / canals nearby - it
really adds life to the areas.)
In the photo below,
we are on the shore right in front of the seaplane - and are looking
back at the dining location for the area "The El Dorado
Cantina."
A detail from the
above shot below shows you how complete the theming is for this
location, you'd swear this place had been there for years.
Turning around from
where you are standing - you see the "Temple of the Crystal
Skull." The tower is huge (at least compared to the Disneyland
version for this same ride, which had to be scaled to fit Adventureland)
but the size is also somewhat of an optical illusion. Just like the
Matterhorn - the scale has been made smaller the higher up it goes, to
give an illusion of even greater height.
The reddish
lighting only adds to the mystery - and even the detail of having the
steps sag in the middle a bit gives the building a look of heft. Next
are two details from the above shot - showing just how much design has
gone into it.
Lighting comes from
the statue heads on each side (below) - and note that even the steps up
look worn from a lot of use.
CONTINUED
