In a shocking announcement, Tokyo Disney Resort has revealed that they have been considering major land overhauls to carry their theme parks through 2035, including a re-imagining of Adventureland at Tokyo Disneyland. According to the early concept art just released, this may permanently erase the world famous Jungle Cruise, Enchanted Tiki Room, Swiss Family Treehouse, and more.
In the concept rendering from Walt Disney Imagineering, we can see that Adventureland beyond the borders of the New Orleans area and behind The Crystal Palace restaurant is very different. Not visible to us are several long-time staples of the park, including the Jungle Cruise, Swiss Family Treehouse, Western River Railroad, and Enchanted Tiki Room, as well as several existing shopping and dining venues.
The press release and other information disseminated by the Oriental Land Company today does little to explain the above art, other than give a rough timeline and inform the public of the possible project.
The art appears to depict some wild locales, seemingly south or Central America. There is the presence of several colorful balloons and what looks to be Paradise Falls from Disney Pixar’s “Up”. Other areas show a reimagined and expanded New Orleans section, a possible row boat attraction, what appears to be a playground, a high-speed roller coaster ride and Omnidroid spinner that look like they may be inspired by Disney Pixar’s The Incredibles, a flying swing ride in the small village, and what may be a giant show building on the bottom right (it could also just be hiding Big Thunder Mountain and Westernland as sightlines are important in a Disney theme park). Again, details are scarce, so this is all very speculative at this time, but there is no doubt this is the farthest reaches of Adventureland and no mistaking what attractions are missing from it.
The Swiss Family Treehouse has already been closed for several years, so the announcement of that attraction’s Demis is no surprise. It is however surprising to see opening day attractions in The Jungle Cruise, Enchanted Tiki Room (currently featuring Stitch), and the Western River Railroad all gone. Now, the railroad may very well survive as it mostly takes place in Westernland, the Tokyo Disneyland version of Frontierland, but we can’t see that area in this art. The ride’s current load station seems to be very much removed in the concept rendering though.
Tokyo Disneyland does have a recent track record of closing classic Disney attractions as they look towards their 50th anniversary in 2033. They recently shuttered the original Space Mountain in Tomorrowland and are building a new, modern version of the legendary roller coaster, set to open in 2027.
For more details on this project, we will sadly have to wait. It is worth noting that plans can always change and the art we are seeing likely will not be the final product. In the past, plans for a revitalized Fantasyland at Tokyo Disneyland were changed post-announcement and the announced Frozen-only port at Tokyo DisneySea ended up moving and morphing into Fantasy Springs.
What do you think of the big plans for Tokyo Disneyland? Let us know in the comments.