Although attendance has been fairly steady at Tokyo Disney Resort since its July 1st reopening, the resort clearly isn’t pulling in enough money just yet. We won’t find out until the Q2 financial results later this month just how much the Oriental Land Company is hurting, but the latest decisions they’ve made are making it clear that the resort will be hurting for a while. Last month, winter bonuses were slashed by 70% for office workers, and dancers are being asked to retire or transfer to different departments. And now the latest sign that things aren’t well has been revealed—most atmospheric entertainment at both parks, as well as a permanent stage show have been cut.
The highest-profile cut by far was Hello, New York! at the Dockside Stage in Tokyo DisneySea. Introduced only in July 2018 as part of the resort’s 35th Anniversary celebration, the show was quite popular among Annual Passholders, but generally failed to draw crowds with day Guests. The premise was that Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, Daisy, Chip, and Dale were visiting New York City and exploring the cultural and tourist spots, like Central Park and Broadway. You can watch the Christmas version from last year on our YouTube channel.
A number of atmospheric programs at Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea were also cut. The full list is as follows:
Tokyo Disneyland
- Fun Maintenance
- Breakbeat Dancers
- Opus Five
Tokyo DisneySea
- Hello, New York!
- The Diamond Sisters
- Fun Custodial
- The Wind Wanderers
These cuts leave only the redressings of the respective parks’ marching bands as the only atmospheric entertainment left. These cuts and restorations seem to come around every few years, with a mass cut in atmospheric entertainment in 2014 that was largely restored in 2016, so it’s reasonably fair to assume that new acts will come after the parks have recovered.
It’s such a shame to see these cuts, especially as a few acts were already cut earlier this year. This also follows prominent entertainment cuts at Walt Disney World, including the Grand Floridian Society Orchestra and Yehaa Bob as parks worldwide struggle for profitability amid a crash in tourism. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below or on social media!