Nara Dreamland (Japanese: 奈良ドリームランド, Hepburn: Nara Dorīmurando), also known as just Dreamland, was a theme park in Nara, Japan. The park opened on July 1, 1961 and closed down on August 31, 2006. The theme park was known for its similarity to Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
| Nara Dreamland | |
|---|---|
| |
| The castle of Nara Dreamland in 2005 | |
| Location | 2 Chōme-1 Hōrensahoyama-chō, Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan |
| Coordinates | 34°41′58″N 135°49′21″E / 34.699444°N 135.8225°E |
| Owner | Daiei (former Nippon Dream Kanko) |
| General Manager | Kunizo Matsuo |
| Operated By | Dreampark |
| Opened | July 1, 1961 |
| Closed | August 31, 2006 |
Japanese businessman Kunizo Matsuo went to Disneyland when it opened and tried to convince Walt Disney to bring a Disney theme park to Japan. Disney sent people to visit the area in Japan but decided to not build a park there because there were disagreements with licencing.[1]
Matsuo decided to create the park anyways and replaced all Disney-owned characters and properties. The park had a lot of similar rides and buildings with Disneyland such as a Matterhorn-like mountain with bobsleigh rides, a castle at the entrance similar to Sleeping Beauty Castle, a riverboat ride like the Jungle Cruise ride, and a Main Street similar to Main Street, U.S.A.. Walt Disney was very angry when he found out about the theme park.[2]
On April 15, 1983, Disney decided to finally expand into Japan and opened Tokyo Disneyland.[3] This caused the attendance for Nara Dreamland to drop drastically. When both Tokyo DisneySea and Universal Studios Japan opened in 2001, it cut the attendance to the park even more.[4][5]
On August 31, 2006, the decision was made to close down Nara Dreamland.[6] After its closure, the park sat abandoned for over 10 years and was a popular urban exploration spot. In October 2016, the park was bought by SK Housing.[7] On October 10, 2016, the began to demolish the park. It was completed in 2017.[8]
Gallery
change-
Aerial view of Nara Dreamland -
Main gate sign -
Dreamland monorail -
Jungle Cruise-style ride -
Aska wooden roller coaster -
Screw Coaster double-corkscrew steel roller coaster
References
change- ↑ "奈良ドリームランドきょう閉園 希代の興行師 夢･･･４５年で幕". Sankei Shimbun (in Japanese). 29 August 2006.
- ↑ Kagami, Toshio (2003). 海を越える想像力 : 東京ディズニーリゾート誕生の物語 / Umi o koeru sōzōryoku : Tōkyō Dizunī Rizōto tanjō no monogatari. Tokyo: 講談社. ISBN 9784062117227. OCLC 53935916.
- ↑ "Oriental Land Co, Ltd. creation period – 50 years of History". OLC Group. Archived from the original on January 28, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ↑ "Tokyo DisneySea Project | History / Chronology | About Us | Oriental Land Co., Ltd". OLC Group. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
- ↑ "Much-needed shot in the arm for Kansai". The Straits Times. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
- ↑ "20 eerie images of Japan's abandoned 'Dreamland' theme park". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
- ↑ "Nara Dreamland sold to Osaka real estate company". JapanPropertyCentral.com. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
- ↑ "Why these buildings were reduced to rubble in 2017". CNN. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
