Tokyo Disneyland facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Tokyo Disneyland

Cinderella Castle is the icon of Tokyo Disneyland.
Location	Tokyo Disney Resort, Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan
Coordinates	35°37′58″N 139°52′50″E / 35.63278°N 139.88056°E / 35.63278; 139.88056
Status	Operating
Opened	April 15, 1983; 42 years ago (1983-04-15)
Operated by	The Oriental Land Company
Theme	Fairy tales, Disney characters, future, western, forest animals, adventure and classic cartoons
Area	115 acres (47 ha)
Website	Tokyo Disney Resort Homepage

Tokyo Disneyland (東京ディズニーランド, Tōkyō Dizunīrando) is a fun theme park in Urayasu, Japan. It's part of the Tokyo Disney Resort. This park is special because it was the very first Disney park built outside the United States! It opened its doors on April 15, 1983.

The park was designed to look a lot like Magic Kingdom in Florida and Disneyland in California. It is owned by a Japanese company called The Oriental Land Company. They have a special agreement with The Walt Disney Company to use Disney's ideas and characters. Tokyo Disneyland and its sister park, Tokyo DisneySea, are the only Disney parks not fully owned by Disney itself.

Tokyo Disneyland has seven exciting areas. These include the World Bazaar, Adventureland, Westernland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. There are also two smaller areas: Critter Country and Toontown. Many of these areas are similar to those in the original Disneyland. They are inspired by American Disney movies and stories. For example, Fantasyland has rides like Peter Pan's Flight and Dumbo the Flying Elephant. The park is known for having lots of open space. This helps make room for the many visitors who come to have fun. In 2018, over 17.9 million people visited Tokyo Disneyland. This made it the third most visited theme park in the world!

Park History: How it Began

The idea for a Disney park in Japan started way back in the 1950s. A Japanese businessman named Kunizo Matsuo talked to Walt Disney about building a park in Nara. While Walt Disney might have liked the idea at first, it didn't happen then. Matsuo later opened a park called Nara Dreamland in 1961. It looked a lot like Disneyland in California, but it didn't have Disney characters. This park stayed open until 2006.

Later, in 1978, another person named Masatomo Takahashi suggested building Tokyo Disneyland. Disney World in Florida was very successful, so the idea seemed great. Disney and Takahashi made a deal in 1979 to build the park. Japanese engineers and architects visited Disneyland in California to learn how to build the new park. Construction started a year later. Many reporters watched, showing how excited everyone was for the park. Tokyo Disneyland ended up costing more than expected, but it was worth it!

In 2020, Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea had to close for a while. This was to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The park was closed from February 29 until July 1, 2020. In 2021, the park started using English announcements that were gender-neutral.

Exploring the Park's Lands

Tokyo Disneyland has many of the same rides and attractions you can find at Disneyland Park and Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom.

• Lands of Tokyo Disneyland
• 

  World Bazaar

• 

  Adventureland
  (exterior of Polynesian Terrace Restaurant)

• 

  Westernland
  (Big Thunder Mountain)

• 

  Critter Country
  (Splash Mountain)

• 

  Fantasyland
  (It's a Small World)

• 

  Toontown
  (Gadget's Go Coaster)

• 

  Tomorrowland

World Bazaar: Welcome to the Park

World Bazaar is the first area you enter at Tokyo Disneyland. It's also the main place for shopping. Even though it's called "World" Bazaar, it looks like an American town from the early 1900s. This is similar to "Main Street, U.S.A." in other Disney parks. World Bazaar has two main streets. One goes from the entrance to Cinderella Castle. The other crosses it and leads to Adventureland and Tomorrowland. A big roof covers the streets here. This keeps guests safe from the weather.

Adventureland: Jungle and New Orleans Fun

The Western River Railroad

Adventureland has two different but connected parts. One part feels like New Orleans Square with its special buildings and style. The other part is like a "jungle" with lots of plants and adventure. It has features from both the New Orleans Square and Adventureland areas at Disneyland Park in the United States.

Westernland: Wild West Adventures

Westernland is an "old west" themed area. It's like Frontierland in other Disney parks. The most famous part of Westernland is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. This is a mine train roller coaster that goes around a mountain. You can also see the Rivers of America here. This is a man-made river where you can ride the Mark Twain Riverboat. You can also visit Tom Sawyer Island and see many animal figures.

Critter Country: Home of Splash Mountain

Critter Country is a smaller area in the park. Its most popular ride is Splash Mountain. This ride takes you on a log flume adventure with many cute animal characters.

Fantasyland: Where Fairy Tales Come True

The spooky Haunted Mansion

Like other Magic Kingdom parks, Fantasyland's main entrance is through a castle. Here, it's Cinderella Castle. It looks almost exactly like the one in Florida's Magic Kingdom. Fantasyland doesn't have big "thrill rides." Instead, it has "dark rides." These rides take you through scenes from classic Disney movies. You can see parts of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Peter Pan, and Pinocchio.

A new area based on Beauty and the Beast opened in September 2020. This was part of the park's biggest expansion ever! It has a ride called Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast. This ride is inside a new Beauty and the Beast Castle. You can also find Maurice's Cottage and Gaston's Fountain here. The new area also has Belle's Village, with places to eat and buy souvenirs. A new stage called Fantasyland Forest Theatre also opened. It can hold 1,500 people and shows a 25-minute show called Mickey's Magical Music World.

Toontown: Meet Your Favorite Characters

Toontown

Toontown is inspired by the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The main ride here is Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin. A new attraction called Minnie's Style Studio opened in September 2020. This was also part of the park's big expansion. It's a place where you can meet Minnie Mouse and take photos with her. She wears different seasonal outfits!

Tomorrowland: A Look into the Future

Tokyo Disneyland's Tomorrowland shows a future based on science fiction and fantasy. It looks a lot like Florida's Tomorrowland from 1971 to 1993. Rides here include Space Mountain, Star Tours – The Adventures Continue, and Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters.

A new spinning ride called The Happy Ride with Baymax opened in September 2020. This ride is based on the movie Big Hero 6. It's the first Disney attraction to feature this movie. A new space-themed popcorn shop called The Big Pop also opened on the same day.

Park Visitors Over the Years

Tokyo Disneyland is a very popular park. Here's how many people visited each year:

The Future of Tokyo Disneyland

Since it opened in 1983, Tokyo Disney Resort has often been one of the most successful Disney Resorts. By 1994, over 149 million people had visited Tokyo Disneyland. That's more than the entire population of Japan at the time! In 1996, the park employed over 12,000 people. This made it a huge workplace in Japan. Many people think Tokyo Disneyland is so successful because of its location. It's in a big city area with 30 million people. It also opened when Japan's economy was doing very well. People who worked hard wanted a fun escape.

Tokyo Disneyland wants to keep making the park better. They also want to add more unique Japanese touches to the park. For example, Cinderella Castle tells the Disney story but with a Japanese viewpoint. Masatomo Takahashi, a former president of The Oriental Land Company, said that a main goal is to grow and develop the park. He believes they should not just copy Disney ideas. He wants them to help with cultural exchange between Japan and the USA.

See also

In Spanish: Tokyo Disneyland para niños