Module 10 . LearningAcross
Bord.ers:
Disneyland. theMore on Ml0-25

DisneyGoesto Tokyo
Crossingthe Pacific

In the mid-I970s, the Oriental Land Company, a
]apanese development company that owned a large tract oflandfill east ofTokyo zoned for pubIic leisure activities, approached Disney with the idea of building a Disneyland in lapan. Six hundred acreswere set asidefor the project. But, in an era of conservative (caretaking) management at
Walt Disney Productions, senior executivesat Disney were hesitant. After all, lapan was far away, quite distant in terms of culture, and Tokyo not only had much colder winters than California or
Florida but endured a lengthy rainy seasonin lune and July. Yet, after exploring alternativeoptions at some length (including other sitesin Asia), Disney decided to go ahead. Nevertheless,it insisted on a deal that left Oriental Land with virtually all of the risk. Instead of taking an ownership position in
Tokyo Disneyland, Disney demanded royalties of
I0 percent of the revenues from admissions and rides, and 5 percent of the receiptsfiom food, beverages,and souvenirs. Disney also asked for and more or less received artistic control of the park.
Its partner, with its experience in developmer-rt projects in Tokyo, looked after the complex relationships with local planning and regulatory authorities, financing, and adjacent development.
At first glance,Tokyo Disneyland seemsto be a close physical and social copy of Disneyland in
Southern California, Disney's Imagineers were interested at the outset in adapting some of their attractions to the Japanese context-Samurai-land instead of Frontierland, for example. But their partner strongly resistedefforts to "localJapanese ize" Disneyland, and persuaded the Imagineers that what would best attract the Japanesewas a park that replicatedas closelyas