JAPAN: Tokyo Disneyland celebrates its 20th anniversary

Record ID: 467496

  • Title: JAPAN: Tokyo Disneyland celebrates its 20th anniversary
  • Date: 14th April 2003
  • Summary: SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) MAS IMAI, PRESIDENT OF WALT DISNEY ATTRACTION JAPAN, SAYING: "Our audience here are basically local oriented, with 90-plus percent of the people coming from within Japan. Therefore, our biggest challenge is to keep the park fresh. So every time they turn up our park we have something new, just like the event we had today. We and OLC (Oriental Land Co., Ltd) work very hard together and collaborate to bring about quality. The key factors are keep it fresh and keep Disney and quality."
  • Embargoed: 29th April 2003 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: MAIHAMA, JAPAN
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA6Y41IHKVFYRR8OYVI5ZC5L99O
  • Story Text: Mickey, Donald and Goofy may be unaffected by the passing years but Tokyo Disneyland turns 20 this week -- the age when Japanese children officially become adults.
    Tokyo Disneyland turns 20, officially on Tuesday (April 15) but Mickey Mouse and Minnie started celebrations a day early.
    A record 24.8 million people, almost one-fifth of Japan's population, visited Tokyo Disneyland and the adjacent Tokyo DisneySea last year.
    Oriental Land Co Ltd, the operator of Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea through a royalty agreement with Walt Disney Co, said they keep trying to attract audiences with new performance and attractions.
    "Our audience here are basically local oriented, with 90-plus percent of the people coming from within Japan.
    Therefore, our biggest challenge is to keep the park fresh. So every time they turn up our park we have something new, just like the event we had today. We and OLC (Oriental Land Co., Ltd) work very hard together and collaborate to bring about quality. The key factors are keep it fresh and keep Disney and quality," said Mas Imai, president of Walt Disney Attraction Japan.
    The 20-year anniversary celebration comes at a time when the Japanese economy is bleak, rival amusement parks in bankruptcy court and, possibly, some early signs of slowing growth at the Magic Kingdom in Japan.
    For a decade, the grim reality of Japan's economy stopped at the gates of Tokyo Disneyland, but it may finally be creeping in as per-customer sales fall and attendance figures fall short of target.
    But In typical Disney fashion, it's not all doom and gloom. By comparison, Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California lured a combined 26.3 million visitors last year. Magic or not, the numbers are staggering.
    Since its opening in April 1983, 309 million people have visited the park. Stocking up on food, drinks and souvenirs, Disney fanatics fork out almost 10,000 yen ($85) per visit.
    It seems that no Japanese childhood is complete without a visit to the sprawling kingdom, but Mickey has also attracted a loyal and lucrative following from young Japanese women, renowned for their love of anything "kawaii", or cute.
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