Events in Japan continue to teeter on the edge of disaster. Whether you’re a villager in Northeastern Japan whose every day is a fight for the basic necessities of survival in a post-tsunami zone or a resident of Fukushima or nearby cities (including Tokyo) where… Read More »When Should Tokyo Disneyland Reopen?
As I fell asleep last night, word from Japan was that the nuclear power plant had experienced further problems with possibility of a larger leak of radiation. To make it worse, winds were shifting driving any radio active particles in the air back toward land. This morning I awoke to news that radiation levels in Tokyo were 10 times higher than normal, which is still a ‘safe’ level but not good obviously, and the situation at the nuclear plant was now ‘catastrophic’. That’s definitely not good.
The Tokyo Disneyland entertainment cast members I’ve been following online were concerned and with good cause. Some to the point of panic ready to break their contracts and buy a $2500 air ticket on their own.
So I’m happy to hear that Disney and OLC management has stepped up to the plate and offered to send any international cast member back home, if they want, with the promise that their job would be available when the situation returns to normal. OLC is even picking up the cost of air travel. Very nice to see them step up to the plate like that. But so far Disney Cast Members have been nothing but professional and amazing, so it was almost expected that they would do this now.
Tokyo Disneyland is contributing in a different way to relief efforts. Water from pools and ponds around the town has been claimed for use as shower and toilet water (but not for drinking please). That now includes water from Tokyo DisneySea’s Mediterranean bay area (and I assume hotel pools, although this article doesn’t mention that).
Below the jump is a video taken from the monorail that shows the condition of the parks.
Read More »Tokyo Disneyland Update: Entertainment Cast Can Go Home
A few quick updates from Tokyo Disneyland.
Although entertainment cast members had been called in to rehearse on Monday, the rehearsals were canceled due to rolling blackouts scheduled for mid-day at the resort. Cast Members are dealing with their own blackouts and struggles for food and water, but a group of Disney entertainment cast members who found themselves freed up from the canceled rehearsal, picked up rakes and shovels and went out into the community to help clear away some of the debris and silt from the homes of elderly.
Here’s a pic of the crew from Disney performer @JarrodLentz‘s twitter stream. Lentz said of the adventure, “The human spirit will not be broke” and “Helping people was the best medicine so far.” I continue to be astounded by how professional and caring Tokyo Disneyland cast has been in the face of tragedy.
Although myself and others had speculated that liquefaction damage near the Monorail stations would result in a long delay in the trains returning to service. That has not been the case. Here’s a short video showing damage near one of the monorails and in the second half you can see them testing the monorail. So that’s good news for Tokyo Disneyland and OLC.
The parks themselves continue on a schedule to open after the 21st. Meanwhile they’re assessing damage and making small repairs. Below the jump is a press release put out by the Oriental Land Company after the quake:
Read More »Tokyo Disneyland closed to assess damage, Monorail testing underway
Here’s the best video I’ve found so far of what it was like inside Tokyo Disneyland in the hours following the earthquake. As it turns out, fairly orderly and calm. Especially given the circumstances.
The video starts off oddly formatted, but it soon shifts to a more normal perspective.
I’m fairly certain the scene would be very different inside one of the American parks.
Below the jump is an amazing video of what it was like inside the park during the quake:
Read More »Inside Tokyo Disneyland during and after the earthquake
Surfing around for some of the most illustrative videos of the damage in and around Tokyo Disneyland I’ve found the following samples. Evidence of damage like this just outside the gates of the parks, makes you wonder what it looks like inside the parks. I’d love to see video of that.
This appears to be from the welcome plaza near a monorail station:
More damage from near Tokyo Disneyland Maihama-Station. The workers appear to be shoveling away the silt formed after liquefaction in the area. :
More below the jump, including a video inside Tokyo DisneySea moments after the quake:
Update: More video from around Tokyo Disneyland Resort.
Here’s a video taken by a park guest sitting in the safety of an open area of the Tokyo Disneyland Resort attraction Tower of Terror (similar to the American park’s Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attractions) swaying in during one of the after-shock earthquakes.
Now that’s an E-Ticket ride.
Below the jump is more video of DisneySea park guests inside the Tower of Terror as the building shakes.
Previously: Guests trapped in Tokyo Disneyland after mega-quake in Japan.
Read More »Video of Tower of Terror Attraction at Tokyo DisneySea Swaying in Earthquake