Tokyo Disney Resort is experiencing quite a bit of construction at the moment. From work on the upcoming expansion to Tokyo DisneySea — Fantasy Springs — to the entirely new Space Mountain, a lot of change is taking place. We took a look at construction from the resort line Monorail this month.
New Space Mountain Construction
A groundbreaking ceremony for the new Space Mountain took place in May 2023, though site clearing started in 2022.
While there’s not much in the way of visible progress, we can see dirt mounds being piled up, as well as a huge excavation area in the center of the lot.
All of this construction is happening behind the current Space Mountain structure, taking over some of the bus lot that was previously located in this area.
The new version of the attraction is scheduled to open in 2027, with Space Mountain as we now know it at Tokyo Disneyland closing in 2024 following the park’s 40th anniversary celebrations.
Fantasy Springs Hotel
The new in-park hotel is officially called the Tokyo DisneySea Fantasy Springs Hotel, and is built around the magical fountain of Fantasy Springs. Paintings inside will depict Disney princesses and nature motifs, reflecting the rest of Fantasy Springs. The hotel will be split into two categories — a Deluxe type with 419 guest rooms and a Luxury type with 56 guest rooms offering the finest lodging experience at Tokyo Disney Resort.
The hotel is the easiest portion of construction to spot from the Monorail, and the north-facing side hasn’t changed much visually since our last update in July, with the exterior looking quite complete. The scaffolding on the far side that was present in our last update appears to have been removed.
Coming around the corner, more scaffolding has come down on the exterior.
In our last update, this entire corner (far left) was covered in scaffolds. Scaffolding that was previously present along the right turn near the golden porte-cochere (right) has come down.
To the right of the golden dome, even more scaffolding has come down from the hotel’s exterior.
The large siding on the left and right are now visible, though scaffolding still covers the middle section, as well as the area below it.
Fantasy Springs
Beyond the hotel is Fantasy Springs, and here we can get a quick look at Frozen Kingdom, the Frozen-themed land. Some scaffolding is still present toward the middle of the North Mountain peak, likely to prepare for the addition of Elsa’s Ice Palace.
Though blurry, this photo shows off the backside of the Fantasy Springs mountains and the green show buildings hidden behind them. These mountains are located in the Peter Pan-themed land, Peter Pan’s Never Land. Some scaffolding has come down on the left side of the mountain since our last update.
The “Tangled” area is not visible from these angles but we have concept art of each section below.
Frozen Kingdom
Frozen Kingdom includes both Arendelle and the North Mountain. It’s set between the first and second films, when Queen Elsa has embraced her magic power to control snow and ice. She has since opened the castle gates so guests can freely visit the Kingdom.
Frozen Kingdom will have a version of the Frozen Ever After boat ride that already exists in EPCOT and is also coming soon to Hong Kong Disneyland. There will also be a restaurant located inside Arendelle Castle.
Rapunzel’s Forest
Rapunzel’s Forest will also include a boat ride, featuring gondolas inspired by the one Rapunzel and Flynn use in “Tangled” during the lantern festival. The ride will follow the events of the scene.
A Tangled restaurant will be inspired by the Snuggly Duckling.
Peter Pan’s Never Land
The large green show building we showed you above will be home to the E-ticket “Peter Pan” ride. It sounds similar to Peter Pan’s Flight at Disneyland and other parks but with big upgrades. Guests will board boats (you may notice a boat theme at Fantasy Springs) to join Peter and Wendy in saving her brothers from Captain Hook and his pirates. The boats follow the Lost Boys down a river before Tinker Bell sprinkles them with pixie dust and they begin to fly.
Peter Pan’s Never Land will also house another restaurant and a Pixie Hollow attraction. At other parks, Pixie Hollow is a meet-and-greet area, but this hasn’t been confirmed yet.
Fantasy Springs Entrance
While it is difficult to see, this area will eventually be the entrance to Fantasy Springs. On both sides of the backstage bridge, we can see rockwork covered in greenery.
Since our last update, more greenery has been added to the rockwork on the left side of the backstage bridge.
Guests will enter the expansion through a large rock structure covered in magical waterfalls and carvings of characters from “Frozen,” “Tangled,” “Peter Pan,” and more.
The entrance area will have an especially magical atmosphere at night with glowing light effects, as shown in this concept art.
Fantasy Springs is scheduled to open in the spring of 2024 at Tokyo DisneySea. Which section of the new land are you most excited to see? Let us know in the comments.
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