URAYASU, CHIBA PREF. – Tokyo DisneySea, one of the most popular theme parks in Japan, on Friday celebrated the 25th anniversary of its opening. The only ocean-themed Disney park in the world has continued to attract and excite visitors from both in and outside Japan since its opening on Sept. 4, 2001. The park — located adjacent to Tokyo in the city of Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture — has also continued to evolve over a quarter of a century, with its operator, Oriental Land, revamping existing attractions and making massive investments to build new areas.
The “Sparkling Jubilee” celebration to mark the milestone kicked off in April this year. Special shows and merchandise aligning with the event’s color theme of “jubilee blue,” described on the theme park’s website as being “inspired by the beauty of the seas,” will be available to visitors during the event, which runs through March 2027. An official commemorative book featuring past events held at Tokyo DisneySea will be available on Friday from major Japanese publisher Kodansha.
While neighboring Tokyo Disneyland, which opened in April 1983, mainly targets families with younger children, Tokyo DisneySea primarily targets young customers with many thrilling attractions, such as the Tower of Terror, a drop-tower dark ride. At the same time, Tokyo DisneySea attracts families by offering park features for older people and meet-and-greets with characters for children. At a cost of over ¥300 billion, the new “Fantasy Springs” area was opened at Tokyo DisneySea in 2024.
An attraction themed on the Indiana Jones franchise will reopen in November this year after going through a revamp, including the introduction of projection mapping. The park faces issues such as tackling higher costs for personnel and securing human resources. Still, Takahashi stressed, “We are making steady progress in discussions for our next leap forward.”
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