IN TOKYO
IT WAS just 9 o'clock in the morning at Tokyo Disneyland (TDL), and already there was a five-hour wait to get into the theme park’s latest attraction - Monsters, Inc Ride and Go Seek.
During the day, the wait stretched at one point to almost five hours and 30 minutes.
It will take a great deal to convince me that I should queue for nearly six hours to get on a four-minute ride. But thousands of people to TDL obviously do not need much persuading for the chance to be among the first to experience the new ride, and so to gain valuable bragging rights.
The attraction, which opened on Wednesday, is in fact TDLs first new ride in five years. The last one, by the way, was Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters.
The new Monsters Inc ride opened on Wednesday.
SOURCE: AFP
The new ride is of course based on the Monsters, Inc movie from Pixar Animation Studios. Mike, Sulley and their monster friends from the movie are entertaining the human girl Boo with a game of hide-and-go-seek.
Guests get to participate in the game by boarding the Security Tram into Monster City to spot the monsters.
The new ride cost Oriental Land, the company that operates TDL, a whopping 10 billion yen to build. But the overwhelming opening-day queues have no doubt convinced the company that it was money well spent.
Incidentally, Oriental Land is one of the few companies in Japan that are doing ridiculously well right now despite the deepening recession, thanks to the fact that many Japanese are opting for cheaper domestic holidays instead of taking trips to overseas destinations.
What is more, TDL celebrates the 25th anniversary of its opening this year and visitors to the theme park are being treated to special events.
I may be accused by some of attempting to put in a plug for TDL. But really, it doesn't need my help at all.
TDL is the number one theme park in Japan and a must-visit for many overseas visitors too.
Perhaps news about a five-hour wait, even on a weekday, might put some people off instead. But Disneyland diehards will probably tell you that the queuing is all part of the fun.
And if everyone's waiting patiently for the newest ride, you can bet that the older attractions will have shorter lines and therefore be much easier to get into.
The crowd enjoys the launch of the new Monsters Inc ride at Tokyo Disneyland.
SOURCE: AFP