Could Star Wars Land Come to Tokyo Disney Resort?


As you may already know, Star Wars Land has been announced for both Walt Disney World and Disneyland. Instead of going into the sparse details, you can read all about it on DisneyTouristBlog, Disney Parks Blog, and WDWNT (no shortage of coverage), I thought I would share my thoughts about this as a local to Tokyo Disney Resort and what the announcement could potentially mean for us here in Japan and could it potentially come to our parks.

Japan Loves Star Wars

Star Wars Snow Sculpture Sapporo Japan Full

There is no question that Japan is in love with Star Wars. It’s evident in things like the snow sculptures earlier this year at the Sapporro Snow Festival and the rice fields in Aomori (both in Northern Japan). Plus, don’t forget the summer long Star Wars Visions in Tokyo! And, with the new movies coming out, the advertising has been running non-stop.

Now that you know just how much Japan loves Star Wars, this leads me to the next part.

Could Star Wars Land Happen in Japan?

I will whole heartedly admit that I am envious of both Walt Disney World and Disneyland. These parks are getting possibly the most ambitious and most asked-for addition to date (I won’t go into Avatar over at Walt Disney World). Not that I need many reasons to head to the U.S. Parks, this will certainly increase my “I need to go right now” factor.

Now, we do not know ALL the details about the already-announced massive expansion happening at Tokyo Disney Resort, but, I am expecting additional details and announcements at D23 Expo Japan 2015.

It is a pipe dream that an announcement of Star Wars Land would happen. If there were any plans, they probably would have announced it already. I doubt there are any current plans to bring Star Wars Land to Tokyo, but certainly not out of the question in the future.  However, I could see it working in the parks in Japan. Let’s speculate what could happen.

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What if

Let’s say they did announce it, where would it go? My first thought is to replace Toontown in Tokyo Disneyland, since that makes the most logical sense.  Tokyo Disney Resort seems a little strapped for land and I’m not certain the can expand either of the parks easily (Yes, they are adding an 8th Port to DisneySea but that land has already been claimed by the Snow Queen). I am not sure of the size of the land over at the U.S. Parks, so it may or may not work in in terms of scale since Toontown is rather small.

Or, they completely gut Tomorrowland and re-theme it with Star Wars. I am unsure where they could put the attractions since Grand Circuit Raceway is supposedly being removed and it’s a small world is going there instead.

It is also hard to image Star Wars Land in Tokyo DisneySea, simply because it would be out of place.

All the ports at Tokyo DisneySea are themed after places that could or already exist in the real world. Mysterious Island and Port Discovery are a bit of a stretch, but not out of the realm of possibility.

Adding a Star Wars port poses an interesting challenge. Perhaps a Space Station port, which launches you into the galaxy. With Star Tours over at Tokyo Disneyland, it is strange to have related items split like that. If OLC wanted to put a space port (get it?) in Tokyo DisneySea they will come up with a creative way to do so. The new Scandinavian port is not a simple “Frozen” Port either, which speaks volumes to how much they care about the theming of the crowing jewel of Disney Parks.

Final Thoughts

I can dream, but I do not see Star Wars Land coming to Tokyo any time soon (although I do appreciate being proven wrong!)  There are challenges to bring Star Wars Land to Tokyo Disney Resort, but we all know that OLC and the imagineers are incredibly creative. If they wanted to bring it over to Japan, they would figure out a way to make it happen. Simply “copy and pasting” is not the way OLC usually operates.

Discussion

If Star Wars Land came to Tokyo Disney Resort, where do you think they would put it? Let us know in the comments!

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2 Comments

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  1. Jason Riddle

    At 14 acres I think the only option for Star Wars land would be losing the last classic themed Tomorrowland & some parking spaces outside the berm or losing Rivers of America where Carsland was once rumoured to go.
    Or dare I say it? A 3rd park somewhere in Japan?

  2. TDR Explorer

    A 3rd park would be amazing! But I have no idea where they would even put it, there is not that much land where it is currently. It would have to be somewhere else, but I am not sure where.

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