Mediterranean Harbor (Disney Sea)

Mediterranean Harbor
Tokyo DisneySea
Attraction type Themed Land
Theme Venice
Opening date September 4, 2001

Mediterranean Harbor is a themed land in Tokyo DisneySea, the second park in the Tokyo Disney Resort, located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, near Tokyo, which opened in 2001.[a DAB company 1] Mediterranean Harbor is the entrance "port-of-call," or hub, themed as an Italian port city, complete with Venetian gondolas that guests can board and ride. The majority of places of interests throughout the port are various shops and restaurants.[1]

Contents

Theming and layout

Mediterranean Harbor's layout differs from the entry "lands" of other Disney parks as it is a large "V" shape rather than a main street that leads to a hub (as found in Disneyland's Main Street, U.S.A. or Disney's Hollywood Studios' Hollywood Boulevard").[2] If followed to the right, the path leads to Mysterious Island, while if followed to the left, the path leads to the American Waterfront. Built into the architecture in this port is the Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta. The hotel itself serves as a full-scale reproduction of the various buildings of Portofino and Venice's ports. The design choice of combining a real hotel within the themed park areas helps to further the illusion that (as either a park or hotel guest) you are in an actual city; since the hotel is a functional building (rather than a 'set facade' -- the general standard in theme park designs) the effect of onlooking hotel guests, that may observe the park from hotel's rooms, balconies, and terraces serve in adding a level of kinetic authenticity in passing for an authentic Italian villa for park visitors, while the hotel guest enjoys the harborside views and novelty of location.[3] [4] Additionally, the Hotel MiraCosta also serves as the southern berm (or border) of the park. Mediterranean Harbor also features attractions such as the Fortress Explorations which is a meticulously themed, large-scale interactive play area for guests that features exploration-themed activities and attractions; The Legend of Mythica, a twenty-five minute show located on the harbor, and Fantasmic!,[5] scheduled to premiere on April 28, 2011, as part of the parks 10th anniversary celebration, "Be Magical!" a nighttime spectacular also situated on the harbor that uses special barges, fountains, pyro effects, Disney Characters and fireworks.[6]

Attractions

Entertainment

Current [7]

Past

Seasonal"""

Shops

Food and dining

Notes

References

  1. ^ Russell, Chick (3/12/10). "Explore Tokyo DisneySea". SimonSeeks (1). http://chickrussell.com/caseStudies/documents/Explore%20Tokyo%20DisneySea%20_%20Simonseeks.pdf. Retrieved 25 August 2011. 
  2. ^ Pendry, Cheryl (July 16th). "Tokyo DisneySea: The Most Amazing Disney Park Ever?". Passporter Theme Park and Travel Reviews. http://www.passporter.com/articles/tokyo-disneysea.html. Retrieved 12 May 2011. 
  3. ^ "Tokyo Disneyland Hotel MiraCosta". TripAdvisor.com. http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotel_Review-g298162-d617276-Reviews-Tokyo_DisneySea_Hotel_MiraCosta-Urayasu_Chiba_Prefecture_Kanto.html. Retrieved 14 May 2011. 
  4. ^ Tiemann, Amy (8 October 2007). "DisneySea blends Disney imagination and Japanese style". cnet News. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13507_3-9793054-18.html. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  5. ^ "Tokyo DisneySea - Fantasmic!". Walt Disney Company. http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/magic/fantasmic/. Retrieved 24 April 2011. 
  6. ^ ""Be Magical" 10th Anniversary Celebration". Walt Disney Company. http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/magic/tds10/magical/. 
  7. ^ "Joe's Tokyo DisneySea Photo Site - DisneySea - Special Events". http://www.jtcent.com/disneysea/special/index.html. Retrieved 30 April 2011. 
  8. ^ "Tokyo DisneySea 10th Anniversary Event, “Be Magical!”". Oriental Land Co., Ltd.. May 20, 2010. 
  9. ^ "Tokyo DisneySea 10th Anniversary Event, “Be Magical!”". Oriental Land Co., Ltd.. May 20, 2010.