(Vintage footage circa 1960s shows a Japanese drama portraying a detective and his crew arriving to watch a crooner performing at Nara Dreamland, just outside mock-Fantasyland.)
SINGER Ame ni setsunaku ne onna wa Koi no miren ga karamiau
DETECTIVE (JAPANESE W/ SUBTITLES) [Ever since then, we’ve been close and he’s the one that introduced me to Nara Dreamland.]
(Meanwhile, the rest of the group is searching around mock-Adventureland.)
INVESTIGATOR [Please copy, over.]
(The detective and his companion exit a building as he answers his walkie talkie.)
DETECTIVE [I got you, respond.]
INVESTIGATOR [Looks like his girl is here. We’re moving out.]
DETECTIVE [I’ll be right over.]
(The detective and his companion rush down mock-Main Street USA to the castle.
The title cards are shown in Japanese against a black-and-white watercolor background, accompanied by traditional Japanese music.) --- KEVIN On July 17th, 1955, Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California opened its gates. The park was a near-instant success, and changed themed entertainment forever. Walt Disney had been told that his concepts for an elaborately-themed entertainment park were unprofitable, and that he was out of his element. Of course, Disneyland would be the biggest thing to ever happen to the theme park industry, and Disney theme parks are now the most popular theme parks in the world.
Not long after the opening of Disneyland, Kunizou Matsuo, the president of the Japanese Matsuo Entertainment Company, flew to California to see the park for himself. He was more than impressed, and strongly believed that a park like Disneyland would work perfectly in Japan. Matsuo became a mediator for the Japanese Dream Sightseeing Company and got in direct contact with Walt Disney himself. Though Tokyo might have seemed the best location for a Disney park, Matsuo had a background as a kabuki actor and was deeply invested in the history and culture of Japan, hence the proposed location of country’s former capital, Nara. Walt took to the idea of an international park and agreed on building it in the city of Nara.
Construction began on Nara Disneyland with the guidance of Walt and his creative team. The park was heavily influenced by Disneyland in Anaheim; it was designed in the same spoke-and-wheel pattern and featured a replica of Sleeping Beauty Castle. Also in the hub was a great fountain and a small stage used for character shows and events. Nara Disneyland would feature a Main Street, a Fantasyland, a Tomorrowland, an Adventureland, and a unique ancestral land in place of Frontierland. Park admission was to be free, and guests could experience attractions by purchasing tickets at ticket booths scattered throughout the park.
Near the end of construction, Matsuo and Disney began to argue over licensing fees. An agreement needed to be reached for Matsuo to feature Disney properties in the park. The two were unable to compromise, and Disney pulled his support, meaning that Nara Disneyland had to be scrapped.
However, the park was already near completion. Because of this, Matsuo quickly rebranded the park to Nara Dreamland, and new mascots were created in the form of Ran-chan and Dori-chan, two children dressed as British royal guards. While the end result was incredibly similar to Disneyland, there were still very few parks of its type in the world - and its design was especially unique to Japan, whose leisure industry was just beginning to recover after the devastation the country faced in and after World War II. The happiest place in Japan opened on July 1st, 1961, and while those familiar with Anaheim’s park might have seen a shoddy knockoff, the visitors saw a world of fantasy. --- (A promotional news reel, 1961.)
ANNOUNCER (JAPANESE W/ SUBTITLES) [Nara, a historical city, has just announced that developments on a new large-scale tourist spot have begun. It is a theme park targeted at children. Modeled after Disneyland in America, the Japanese version is at a much larger scale. And just like that, with an American Indian and the ancient capital of Nara behind you, anything is possible.] --- KEVIN At the park entrance, guests were greeted by Nara Dreamland’s train station, which served as the sole stop for the Nara Dreamland Railroad. This narrow gauge railroad took guests on a grand circle tour of the park and journeyed through a tunnel that showcased a wild west diorama. Upon entering the park, guests could then choose one of the four tunnels to take them to Main Street. This area included vehicles such as an omnibus, a fire engine, and horse-drawn carriages. The street included a town hall, a fire station, an opera house, a church, and a handful of shops and eateries. The focal point was the castle, which also functioned as the primary entrance to Fantasyland. Fantasyland included a classic carousel, a teacup ride, multiple boat attractions on a small lake, a haunted maze, and a Skyway.
Upon first glance, it might seem as though both the lake boats and the haunted maze were not Disney knockoffs, but this is only half true. When Disneyland first opened, it featured both the Phantom Boats and the Motor Boat Cruise, attractions similar to and probably the inspiration for Nara’s boats. One of the boating attractions was Turtle Boat, a ride which took guests on small turtle-shaped boats that led them into Ryugu Palace to meet Princess Otohime and a group of mermaids. This was one of the many Nara Dreamland attractions to have its roots in Japanese history and folklore. Its design also drew inspiration from Disneyland’s Storybook Land Canal Boats.
The haunted maze predated Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion by eight years, although the classic Disney ride had been in development before Dreamland opened. The haunted maze’s façade was shaped like a witch - a grotesque image, especially for the fantasy section of the park. The opening year brochure describes the attraction with the line, “Satan and many goblins await you.” Guests were given a card upon entry to the maze and were challenged to find three checkpoints within the building to get the card stamped. The maze was very dark and had scattered theming, primarily skeletons behind metal bars.
Fantasyland also featured an attraction called the Miracle House, a ride in which guests would enter a show building, board a small pirate ship, and fly over various scenes from around the world. This was clearly supposed to be Nara Disneyland’s Peter Pan attraction before the licensing rights fell through. The Miracle House attraction would open with guests flying over the United States, Egypt, and the South Seas Island.
Fantasyland also had a variety of attractions added after the park’s opening. These included a handful of kiddie attractions and carnival rides, such as Flashdance, Pirate’s Wings, and Pirate Octopus. An update of the opening day teacup ride featured extra theming, more elaborate paint on the cups, and a canopy that covered the ride area. Fantasyland also saw the addition of three coasters over the years. In 1979, the famous Screw Coaster opened to the delight of park guests. This was the popular Corkscrew model designed by Arrow Dynamics, with similar iterations found at parks such as Busch Gardens Tampa and Alton Towers. The Kids’ Coaster and Fantasy Coaster, both milder family rides, would later open on the northwest side of Fantasyland.
Tomorrowland opened with a familiar popular attraction: Bobsleigh, a tubular steel coaster modeled after Disneyland’s Matterhorn Bobsleds. The mountain didn’t just house the coaster; it also served as a midway point for Nara Dreamland’s Skyway attraction that ran from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland, similar to Disneyland’s setup at the time. In addition to Freeway, an Autopia-inspired attraction, Tomorrowland also had smaller family-friendly rides such as Astro Jets, Loop-the-Loop, and a truly remarkable hovercraft attraction, where guests could steer hovercrafts around a small lake near the Bobsleigh. The land also opened with an attraction to Disneyland fans: the Flying Saucers. This attraction set guests on round seats on top of an oversized air hockey table. Guests could lean side to side to maneuver their seats over the air holes, with their goal being to bump the other guests.
Some attractions added later on didn’t quite fit the theming, such as Arrow Development’s antique car ride attraction. Though Arrow made many iterations of this classic ride, Nara’s stood out, as the ride vehicles were actually a combination of two different car models: the top portion of the Ford Tourin’ Car, and the bottom portion of the Arrow Cadillac, which may have been done to cut costs. The Antique Car Ride sat on the filled pot of the Submarine Voyage, a ride in which guests boarded a partially submerged submarine in a lagoon and journeyed into a show building. Tomorrowland also housed an unthemed classic log flume ride which ran close to the monorail track.
In 1998, Aska, a wooden coaster manufactured by Intamin and inspired by the classic Coney Island Cyclone coaster, opened on the border of Tomorrowland and Main Street. For a park that was starting to slump financially, Aska was a great addition to the park. Riders were surprised at just how good the coaster was, some claiming Nara Dreamland didn’t deserve it.
Adventureland sported a familiar wooden archway over its entrance and seemingly only ever housed one attraction: Jungle Cruise. This followed the same idea and plot as the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland. Guests embark on a cruise through the jungle to admire the local flora and fauna, only to end in a confrontation with a native tribe. Guests encountered a variety of animals, the skipper used a gun to scare away predators, and guests could delight in the backside of water.
Ancestor Land was a Nara Dreamland version of Frontierland, and it celebrated the history and culture of Japan. The land consisted of replicas of historical Japanese structures and was bordered by a river. Guests could take a variety of boat types along the river to navigate the land, as well as view miniature replicas of Japanese sights. The land ultimately served as a way for guests to take a trip through the rich history of Japan, and everything from samurai residences to markets to brothels were represented in the area. Ancestor Land ultimately met a sad fate, as it was demolished to make way for a water park area. Small remains such as shrines were left behind, though unkept. The water park area that replaced it was pretty standard, and featured a variety of slides and pools.
At its peak, Nara Dreamland brought in 1.63 million visitors a year. This led to its sister park, Yokohama Dreamland, to open in 1964. This park focused less on rides and more on entertainment and landscaping to entice guests. Despite that, Yokohama did sport a handful of attractions, which could also be ridden in exchange for tickets bought throughout the park. An opening day monorail, the Dream Development Dreamland Line, was unique in that it made a stop at the railway station outside of the park itself. It was short-lived, though, as cracks began forming in support beams and repairs could not be made. After a year and four months of operation, all service of the line was suspended and ultimately never returned. The park also featured three roller coasters, a Ferris wheel, a children’s train ride, and a submarine voyage.
Both parks were well-loved, and their popularity proved that Japan was ripe for major theme parks. Unfortunately for Dreamland, this would also be its downfall. --- (Clips from commercials for Nara Dreamland of the ‘90s and early 2000s are shown as if on a distant vintage television. Suddenly, the TV is turned off. Cut to video taken by Carol Kim Pederson of the park shortly before its closure, empty and eerily silent. Pederson appears to be one of only a few, if not the only, visitor on that day.)
PEDERSON I’m in Anaheim! (/s)
(He comes across a topiary styled like a giant clock.)
Never mind the fact that it’s actually ten o’clock, but that…I won’t get picky.
(Short cuts to American-style statues, stores selling Disney plush toys, and the castle and fountain area. A ride on the monorail, then on Bobsleigh. A look at the Haunted Maze, then a ride on the Jungle Cruise.)
SKIPPER (JAPANESE W/ SUBTITLES) [Everyone turn around and wave goodbye to civilization.]
(There is no ‘everyone’; only Pederson and the skipper are on the boat. They pass by a chimpanzee.)
(A long shot of Main Street USA shows just how desolate the park is.) --- (Cut to a 1983 commercial advertising the opening of Tokyo Disneyland. The drawbridge to Fantasyland magically opens to a family of four. A crowd of enthusiastic performers and other costumed Cast Members run out, along with Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Pinocchio, and numerous other characters. Snow White welcomes the children personally as everyone dances together.)
CHORUS (to the tune of ‘Disneyland is Your Land’) Tokyo Disneyland
GUESTS Yay!
CHORUS Tokyo Disneyland
ANNOUNCER [Wow! This is the place where dreams come true!]
(The family marches with their new friends further into the park.)
CHORUS Tokyo Disneyland Tokyo Disneyland
ANNOUNCER [Tokyo Disneyland! Opens April 15th.] --- KEVIN In 1983, a true Disneyland would finally open in Japan. Tokyo Disneyland came with immersive theming and creative properties that blew Nara out of the water. The knockoff was hit hard by Disneyland’s opening, and attendance sank to one million guests a year. The park quickly suffered from lower budgets and poor upkeep, and by the mid-‘90s, the park was littered with trash, rides were standing but not operating, and stray animals could be found roaming the property.
In 2001, both Tokyo DisneySea and Universal Studios Japan opened. This was the final nail in the coffin for Nara Dreamland. Attendance slumped to a depressing 400,000 visitors a year. By 2004, the shops on Main Street were quickly closing, building facades were noticeably rotting and beginning to lean from foundational issues, rust gathered on the coasters, and small rides shut down but remained standing. Some attractions, such as the log flume in Tomorrowland, would operate despite no riders.
Yokohama Dreamland was facing the same set of problems, and the park closed on February 17th, 2002 due to the financial issues. The park sat abandoned for three years before the rides were dismantled and the remaining buildings were repurposed for the Yokohama School of Pharmacy. Nara Dreamland continued operation until August 31st, 2006. The park’s closing was made known, but few guests showed up to experience the final day of operation. Midway through the day, it began to rain, and most visitors headed home early. The park closed its gates and was left abandoned.
Nara Dreamland was frozen in time, if anything gaining visitors looking to explore the remains. The park gained a huge following online, with people taking pictures and videos of the creepy abandoned Disney knockoff. On top of urban explorers, vandals also frequented the park. Aside from the expected graffiti, many of them moved the park’s props around in order to depict sinister scenes.
No initial effort was made to preserve what remained of Nara Dreamland, and unlike most amusement parks that closed, no attractions were sold to other theme parks in the region. The Nara Dreamland property was put up for sale in 2011 with no bids. The property was foreclosed in 2014 and finally sold to SK Housing in 2015. Renovation remained stagnant for a while, supposedly due to the demolition being too expensive for SK Housing. After a year, demolition finally began, and the entire park was gone by December 21st, 2017. All rides were scrapped, and the ground was leveled to make way for senior housing.
Nara Dreamland is most known for its abandoned state between 2006 and 2016, and is often believed to be the most elaborate Disney knockoff of all time…but it was so much more. The park began as the next Disneyland, with guidance from Walt Disney himself. It opened with immersive theming and rave reviews, and it paved the way for theme park companies to realize how profitable expanding overseas could be. While Nara Dreamland couldn’t keep up with the giants in the entertainment industry, it should be remembered for its valiant attempt to bring magic and fantasy to a new part of the world. --- (Nara Dreamland’s special closing ceremony, August 31st, 2006.)
DORI-CHAN (JAPANESE W/ SUBTITLES) [But Sister! More than anything, our best memory will always be everyone’s smiles!]
RAN-CHAN [The smiles of all of you coming to Dreamland to have fun! Whether it was when you were playing in the pool, seeing a fun show, or whenever we were showing you a wide variety of things…it was all of your smiles that made the best memory for us. Thank you, everyone! ]
HOSTESS [That’s right, just like you said, there’s no better memory than everyone’s smiles! Thank you, everyone, for these wonderful 45 years.]