Tokyo Disney operator to invest 250b yen in expansion

[TOKYO] The operator of Tokyo Disneyland is investing 250 billion yen (S$3.04 billion) in the biggest expansion to the Japanese resort in almost two decades as Walt Disney Co continues to upgrade its theme parks in Asia.

Oriental Land, which is licensed to operate the Tokyo resort, will expand the DisneySea park to include a hotel and new areas based on movies such as "Frozen" and "Peter Pan", according to a statement on Thursday. The investment is in addition to a previously announced about 100 billion yen upgrade to DisneySea and the Disneyland park.

Oriental Land said it extended its license with Disney for an additional 30 years, to 2076.

The new areas are set to open by mid-2022, and will add 50 billion yen in annual revenue, according to Mr Kyoichiro Uenishi, chief operating officer of Oriental Land.

He said the resort may consider raising ticket prices if there is an opportunity. He declined to give a specific target for visitor numbers with the new attraction areas.

Tokyo Disneyland opened in April 1983, becoming the first Disney park built outside the United States, while the adjoining DisneySea opened 18 years later.

Disney is continuing to expand its parks in Asia. Earlier this year, it opened the first expansion, Toy Story Land, to its two-year-old Shanghai resort, and is in the middle of a US$1.4 billion upgrade of its Hong Kong resort, which will include "Frozen" and Marvel-themed lands.

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