Nara Dreamland
Challenge 7: Saving It From Demolition - Tier 4
So, You Want To Be An Imagineer Season 17: Finale
By spacemt354
What Makes Disneyland Unique?
If you ask people that question, you might arrive at answers that suggest it being 'family-friendly' or 'magical.' However, the common denominator over the years for what makes Disneyland unique is the innate connection to its hometown city Anaheim, California, as well as to local Californians.
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The original Nara Dreamland focused more on trying to replicate Disneyland in Japan, when instead it should have been aiming to be 'Japan's Disneyland.' Something connected to the city and nation as a whole, that is inherently its own, while still maintaining the Disney-level quality. Nevertheless, the 'knock-off' Disneyland of Nara Dreamland suffered a decline in popularity at the inception of the authentic Tokyo Disney Resort, and was dismantled in 2017, never fully realizing its potential as 'Japan's Disneyland'
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A 'Dreamland' Reborn - Backstory
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At the twilight of Robert Iger's era as CEO of The Walt Disney Company, one final purchase scintillated his imagination; total control of the Tokyo Disney Resort from The Oriental Land Company, a Japanese leisure and tourism corporation who owns and operates the Resort.
This news quickly permeated throughout the entertainment industry, and particularly catalyzed a seismic negative shift in OLC's relationship with Disney. The OLC granted Mr. Iger his wish, maneuvering through contracts, and negotiating themselves away from their beloved property, relinquishing the Resort as a whole. All projects, such as the highly-anticipated 'Above the Clouds' anime attraction, were shelved, and Disney took complete control of the resort.
While short-term gains from the purchase appeared likely for Disney, the long-term fate of the OLC in the Japanese theme park industry remained to be seen. Surveying their options for theme parks in Japan that could competitively match Tokyo Disneyland, an employee at the OLC happened upon a Defunctland YouTube video about the extinct Nara Dreamland, and proposed one simple idea...
Why Nara, Japan?
The development set to be built on the former Nara Dreamland plot was held up in contract disputes, and the Oriental Land Company bought out the property, realizing an opportunity for something special.
1 - Nara is somewhat similar to Anaheim in terms of population and surrounding urban environments.
Anaheim Pop: 351,043
Surrounding Cities
Los Angeles (approx: 26 miles away, Pop: 3.976 Million)
San Diego (approx: 95 miles away, Pop: 1.407 Million)
Nara Pop: 360,310
Surrounding Cities
Osaka (approx: 17 miles away, Pop: 2.691 Million)
Kyoto (approx: 23 miles away, Pop: 1.475 Million)
Kobe (approx: 33 miles away, Pop: 1.537 Million)
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2 - Japan is a theme park nation
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Three of the top five attended theme parks in the world currently reside in Japan, according to theme park data from as late as 2017.
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1st - Magic Kingdom: 20.450 Million
2nd - Disneyland, CA: 18.300 Million
3rd - Tokyo Disneyland: 16.600 Million
4th - Universal Studios Japan: 14.935 Million
5th - Tokyo DisneySea: 13.500 Million
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In addition, 2 of those 5 top attended theme parks were previously owned and operated by the Oriental Land Company. The OLC knows what goes into making a valued theme park in Japan, and is willing to spend in order to assure quality designs (as can recently be seen with the Guillermo Del Toro inspired Ocular Ascent attraction in Tokyo DisneySea, as well as the proposed Above the Clouds attraction for Tokyo Disneyland's Tomorrowland. A park designed and budgeted by the OLC has potential to be one of the best in the world, and not suffer the same fate of Nara Dreamland, which brings us to the final and most important reason...
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3 - OLC's purpose for Nara Dreamland
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This theme park will act as a redemption arc for not only Nara Dreamland but also the OLC. Unlike the mistakes of the past, this will be Japan's Disneyland, more than a Disneyland in Japan. It will strive to incorporate local culture and interests to help the park stand out from its American inspired theme park competition with Disney and Universal. Something special to the people of Japan - which will be accomplished by:
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A - Infusing edutainment into the Disneyland model
The hybridization of EPCOT Center's motifs with the classic hub and spoke model. Education in Japan is highly regarded, and a park that celebrates learning as well as family fun would be enticing for local school field trips, university/business attraction sponsors, and more (all increasing revenue and attendance).
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B - Give it a unique story
"It all started with a neko 猫"
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In and around Nara (the old capital of Japan), and Kyoto, there are several gardens and Buddhist temples. As the story of Nara Dreamland goes, a neko (Japanese for cat), named Chishiki, has opened a portal to different dimensions of time and space for the guests. Nara Dreamland is an amalgamation of the subconscious travel through time, allowing guests to see into different periods of history and culture.
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C - Romanticizing its 'frozen in time appeal'
After the opening of Tokyo Disneyland Resort and its expansions, what made the abandoned Nara Dreamland actual 'gain' visitors stemmed from it being a haven for urban explorers. A park frozen in different time periods throughout history for the guests to explore and interact with for generations to come.
