When I have spare time on my hands, I’m a big fan of opening up YouTube and searching for long forgotten television footage of pop culture moments.

With the 14th anniversary of Tokyo DisneySea upon us, I decided to open up a web browser window to see what I could find from the park’s opening on YouTube.

Finding Japanese TV moments on YouTube isn’t always easy.  There is a language barrier for English-speaking fans like me, and because of (what I have been told) are stricter copyright laws than in North America, it’s not as easy to find Japanese television clips uploaded to the video sharing site.  But I was not disappointed when I poked around to find video clips for this post!

Before the Park Opened

I was able to find two videos which I believe are promoting either the grand opening of Tokyo DisneySea, or at the very least the very early days of the park.

The first commercial makes use of 1992’s Aladdin and its popular song A Whole New World.  That’s what leads me to think this is a pre-launch commercial.

The next video I found is almost certainly for the grand opening of the park.  (Google Translate converted the Japanese text in the video’s description to “Tokyo Disney Shigurando Open” – so I think that’s it!)  I love the look of wonder on the girl’s face in this commercial!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YH6mvBJs1U

Grand Opening on NTV

I was incredibly excited when I found this piece of footage!

With this year marking the 60th Anniversary of Disneyland in Anaheim, California, we’ve seen many clips of the grand opening special which aired on ABC.  It featured many of the most popular celebrities of 1955 taking in the park for the very first time with their families.

Well, when Tokyo DisneySea opened in 2001, TV crews were live inside the park to relay images of guests experiencing it for the first time!  This is coverage from Tokyo’s Nippon Television (NTV) breakfast program.  The presenters tour the park, and show viewers many of the food and merchandise options available for when people make their first visit!

This is a 41 minute video, and is well worth watching for any fan of Tokyo DisneySea!  If can’t watch the entire video, be sure to watch at least the first five minutes – can you believe that sprinting in to the park was a “thing” even on opening day?!

More Found Footage

Tokyo Disney Resort marks their milestone anniversaries in grand style every time.  For the 30th anniversary in 2013, they produced a fantastic song – Happiness is Here – to mark the occasion.  I still get a little choked up every time I hear it.

Well, for the fifth anniversary of Tokyo DisneySea, it’s clear they had commissioned a song for that occasion, and set it to great video for this commercial.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK5zVM9DurU

There are many more great Tokyo DisneySea commercials from over the years on YouTube, and rather than linking you to a bunch of individual videos, check out this great compilation of commercials one YouTuber has uploaded.  It’s a fantastic trove of promotional materials for the park so many of us love.

We’d love to hear about your Tokyo DisneySea memories!  Were you in the park on grand opening day?  What was your first reaction when you rounded the corner to see Mount Prometheus?  Let us know in the comments below!