or just simply Dreamland, was a
theme park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
near
Nara
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, heavily inspired by
Disneyland
Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...
in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. It was in continuous operation for 45 years, from 1961, closing permanently in 2006 as a result of falling attendance. The park was left abandoned until it was demolished between October 2016 and December 2017.
Beginnings
On July 1, 1961, Nara Dreamland was opened to the public. The entrance to the park was designed to look almost identical to
Disneyland
Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...
, including its own versions of the Train Depot,
Main Street, U.S.A.
Main Street, U.S.A. is the first "themed land" inside the main entrance of the many theme parks operated or licensed by The Walt Disney Company around the world. Main Street, U.S.A. is themed to resemble American small towns during the early 20t ...
, and the familiar
Sleeping Beauty Castle
Sleeping Beauty Castle is a fairy tale
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic ...
at the hub. It also had a
Matterhorn
The (, ; it, Cervino, ; french: Cervin, ; rm, Matterhorn) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the ...
-type mountain (with a
Matterhorn Bobsleds
Matterhorn Bobsleds are a pair of intertwined steel roller coasters at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. It is modeled after the Matterhorn, a mountain in the Alps on the border between Switzerland and Italy. It is the first known tubular steel ...
-type ride, called Bobsleigh) with a Skyway running through it, as well as an
Autopia
Autopia is a race car track Disneyland attraction, in which patrons steer specially designed cars through an enclosed track. Versions of Autopia exist at Anaheim, California and Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, France. There was also an ...
-type ride and a
monorail
A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and "rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam.
Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, ...
.
The park also had its own mascots, Ran-chan and Dori-chan, two children dressed as bearskin guards.
The park was initially popular as it was the closest thing to Disneyland in Japan. At its peak, the park had 1.7 million visitors a year.
Decline
In 1979,
The Oriental Land Company
is a Japanese leisure and tourism corporation headquartered in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan where it also owns and operates the Tokyo Disney Resort. The company operates in three segments, divided as theme parks, hotels, and other business.
Oriental ...
made contact with
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
to create a Disney theme park in Tokyo.
After
Tokyo Disneyland
(local nickname ''TDL'') is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to be ...
opened in 1983, the number of visitors to Nara Dreamland slowly began to decrease, as more people were interested in going to the official Disney park. This marked the beginning of the downfall for Dreamland, with attendance numbers dropping to around a million visitors a year. MEC, including Nara Dreamland, was bought by the supermarket chain
Daiei
, based in Kobe, is one of the largest supermarket chains in Japan. In 1957, Isao Nakauchi founded the chain in Osaka near Sembayashi Station on the Keihan train line. Daiei is now under a restructuring process supported by Marubeni Corporation ...
in 1993.
In 2001,
Tokyo DisneySea
is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort located in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, just next to Tokyo. It opened on 4 September 2001, at a cost of 335 billion yen. The Oriental Land Company owns the park, and licenses intellectual proper ...
opened next to Tokyo Disneyland, and
Universal Studios Japan
is a theme park located in Osaka, Japan. Opened on March 31, 2001, it is one of six Universal Parks & Resorts, Universal Studios theme parks worldwide and was the first to open outside the United States. The park is owned and operated by a whol ...
opened as well in
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
, the latter of which is about 40 kilometers away from Nara Dreamland. After those two parks opened, Dreamland's attendance numbers worsened, plummeting to 400,000 visitors a year.
In 2004, the park began to decline in quality; some stores closed down and some attractions began to rust.
On August 31, 2006, the park closed down for good. It was left abandoned for 10 years and it would be demolished in October 2016.
Sale and demolition
Nara City's government gained ownership of the park after the park's owner fell behind in property taxes.
In 2013, the city put the site up for auction but the auction received no bids.
In 2015 the city put the property up for auction again. This time, an Osaka-based real estate company named SK Housing won the bid, paying 730 million Yen (or $6 million in
USD
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
).
In October 2016, a Japanese newspaper reported that SK Housing had started the demolition process.
On October 14, 2016, an urban explorer visited Nara Dreamland and reported seeing demolition vehicles tearing down the Main Street area. It was later confirmed online by regular visitors that the demolition process was officially underway as of October 10, 2016 and that it was due to take 14 months.
Demolition of the park started in October 2016 and was completed on December 21, 2017.
Attractions
The park contained several rides prior to closing, including:
* Aska, a
wooden roller coaster
A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also b ...
based on
The Cyclone
The Cyclone, also the Coney Island Cyclone, is a wooden roller coaster at Luna Park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. Designed by Vernon Keenan, it opened to the public on June 26, 1927. The roller coaster is on a plot of land at the ...
at
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...
* Screw Coaster, a double-corkscrew
steel roller coaster
A steel roller coaster is a roller coaster that is defined by having a track made of steel. Steel coasters have earned immense popularity in the past 50 years throughout the world. Incorporating tubular steel track and polyurethane-coated whee ...
designed by
Arrow Development
Arrow Development was an amusement park ride and roller coaster design and manufacturing company, incorporated in California on November 16, 1945, and based in Mountain View. It was founded by Angus "Andy" Anderson, Karl Bacon, William Hardiman ...
* Bobsleigh, a steel roller coaster modeled after the
Matterhorn Bobsleds
Matterhorn Bobsleds are a pair of intertwined steel roller coasters at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. It is modeled after the Matterhorn, a mountain in the Alps on the border between Switzerland and Italy. It is the first known tubular steel ...
* Gallantry, a shooting dark ride
* Fantasy Coaster
* Kid's Coaster
* Figure-8 monorail
* Go Kart
Other rides included a carousel, a
Mad Tea Party
Mad Tea Party is a teacups, spinning tea cup ride at five of the six Disneyland-style theme parks around the world. The ride theme is inspired by the Unbirthday Party scene in Walt Disney's ''Alice in Wonderland (1951 film), Alice In Wonderland' ...
-styled ride, a haunted maze, a small
powered coaster
A powered roller coaster is a railed amusement ride similar to a standard roller coaster. Unlike a true roller coaster, the train is powered through the entire course, rather than being allowed to coast after an initial lift or launch. This allows ...
, a
Jungle Cruise
Jungle Cruise, formally named Jungle River Cruise, is a riverboat amusement ride located in the Adventureland themed section at various Disney theme parks worldwide. The attraction is a simulated riverboat cruise that travels along a waterway ...
-styled ride, and a
log flume
A log flume is a watertight flume constructed to transport lumber and logs down mountainous terrain using flowing water. Flumes replaced horse- or oxen-drawn carriages on dangerous mountain trails in the late 19th century. Logging operations pre ...
.
Popularity with urban explorers
Nara Dreamland was a popular destination for
haikyoists, or urban explorers.
Additionally, many have reported hearing strange noises near the park's boats. Some speculate that it may have been caused by a running water pump or a type of bull frog.
See also
*
Yokohama Dreamland
Yokohama Dreamland was an amusement park that operated in Totsuka, Yokohama, Japan from 1964 to 2002. The management company, Japan Dream Tourism, was acquired by the supermarket chain Daiei in 1993, and the amusement park closed permanently ...
References
Sources
Dreamlandat
Theme Park Review
Robb Alvey (born Robert Lee) is an American roller coaster reviewer and video game producer. Alvey has ridden over 1400 coasters around the world, and has documented his travels and those of others on his website Theme Park Review. He has been ...
Dreamlandat JCOM
Dreamlandat LaughingPlace
at Japan Property Central
at Matsuo Performing Arts Foundation
at The Foundation Matsuo Scholarship Society
at Nara Dreamland's official website on the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.
External links
Nara Dreamland at nightExploring Nara DreamlandPhotos of the abandoned parkVisiting Nara Dreamland
{{coord, 34, 42, 00, N, 135, 49, 27, E, display=title, type:landmark_source:frwiki
Defunct amusement parks in Japan
Buildings and structures in Nara Prefecture
1961 establishments in Japan
2006 disestablishments in Japan
Amusement parks opened in 1961
Amusement parks closed in 2006
Demolished buildings and structures in Japan