The entry facade to the Mermaid's
Lagoon
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 Five: Mermaid's Lagoon
Text by Al Lutz
We've been to a
Mediterranean port, and we've explored a richly detailed Explorer's
fortress, full of amazing and wonderful things for kids (and yes,
adults) to do. So far that's only two of the seven areas this
park has.
So what's next? How
about a visit with our friend Ariel. You remember her - sings a lot,
lost the tail, and gained a prince? ;) Her hangout at Tokyo DisneySea
puts her father's lone carousel over at California Adventure to utter
shame, see for yourself...
From across the
waterway we saw her kingdom (in the introductory graphic above) - now
here are some details from that shot. The hills you see below help
disguise the fact the entire lagoon is housed inside a building - which
allows year round use of this area in Tokyo's more New York like
weather.
In a way, the
elaborate detailing you see here has a way of making this almost like a
castle - appropriate since this area of the park is pretty much the
equivalent of Fantasyland (an area and its attraction mix that was
ignored in the new California Adventure park). The paint treatments are
really beautiful - there are no power lines, convention halls or hotels
to mar the view.
Approaching the
Lagoon you can see the detail work is everywhere, from the bridge to the
side of the canal that winds around the entryway.
Looking into the
above shot, we can show you the sea shell theme up close...
...and also give
you a better look at how water flows all through the facade - over the
doorways and down back into the adjacent canal. Again, look at the paint
treatments and relief work - as fanciful as it looks, there is a base in
the reality of the seashore.
CONTINUED
