Monsters in Tomorrowland! - Part 1

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On April 15th, 2009, Tokyo Disneyland celebrated their 26th Anniversary with the opening of their new Monsters Inc. Ride & Go Seek! attraction. This Tomorrowland attraction sits in the same spot as the former carousel theater attraction, "Meet The World." For information and a photo of that attraction building as well as construction photos of the new attraction, ( click here).

The new Monsters Inc. attraction was unveiled after a short dedication ceremony that was open to invited guests only. This ceremony was held on the east side of World Bazaar's Center St. which serves as one of several entrances into Tomorrowland.
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At park opening however, the general public was directed past this Tomorrowland entrance and into the Plaza where the Fastpass line began. Just fifteen minutes after park opening and the end of this line was already in front of Adventureland.....just for a Fastpass!

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We can't even see the attraction's building from this point.

After moving forward a few steps, we can now see the building way off in the distance. It's the yellowish-beige (ugh!) building to the left of the domed building.

Cast members are posted along the way to answer questions. Check out the cast member costume.

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We are getting closer. At least now we are in Tomorrowland.

We're there!
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The sign shows the wait in the "Standby" line to be five and a half hours! I really don't know who would get into a line that was five and a half hours long, but people were.

All of the Fastpass machines at the Tokyo parks have "catchers" so the passes don't ever fall on the ground. This attraction's catcher is shaped like a tongue and the machine actually makes giggling sounds when you insert your park ticket. (They have changed the plot of the movie for the attraction....the monsters are now collecting laughter instead of screams. The front of the building reads "It's Laughter We're After.")

Well, we finally have a Fastpass and it's telling us to come back in nine hours!
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Let's take a look around the area while we wait.......for nine hours! This car is parked outside the Monsters Inc. Company Store in a parking spot reserved for "Employee of the Month", Mike Wozowski.

We'll go inside the Company Store and have a look around. These door pulls are featured throughout the building.

This logo is also on the floor, just inside the store's entrance.

An employee safety poster hangs on the wall.

Also on display, are examples of employee grooming standards.

Below are examples of the "humorous odorants" mentioned on the sign above.

This little guy's name is Rocky. He's a Monsters Inc. character that was developed specifically for this attraction. He's small, but he has a VERY deep voice. He appears on a lot of the merchandise, but I really only remember spotting him once in the attraction.

Speaking of merchandise....there was a lot. I've only included a pin and a postcard from the large array of buttons, key chains, flashlights, clothing, plush, toys, etc., that was available.
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The company store has an in-house television system.

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Rocky's body is the shape of his helmet.

Monsters Inc. employees can receive various discounts.......

More info about job safety......

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I hope everyone enjoyed Part 1 of my Monsters Inc. Ride & Go Seek! series. Please click here for Part 2!

Monsters Inc. - Ride & Go Seek!

In an earlier post, I mentioned how Tokyo Disneyland had torn down their "Meet The World" attraction, which was an attraction that was unique to their park. Over the past two years, they have been building "Monsters Inc. - Ride & Go Seek" in it's place. This new attraction is now scheduled to open in April of 2009. It is usually difficult to find detailed information about future attractions for Tokyo Disneyland, but the only thing that I know for sure is that riders will be given flashlights and will be trying to locate various hidden monsters throughout the attraction. Back in August, I did post a photo of the concept art that used to hang on the attraction's construction wall. It gives a small clue as to what the ride might be like. That artwork can be seen here: Monsters Inc. Artwork

Well, the construction wall is now down and this is what the attraction's exterior looked like two weeks ago. They had actually replaced the wooden construction wall with boxed green hedges. I held my camera as high as I could above my head....and the hedges, and shot the next three photos.

A sign above the doors on the far right in the photo above, said "Monsters Inc. Company Store". This will obviously be the Monsters Inc. attraction exit through the obligatory Monsters Inc. merchandise store.

In the photo above, the doors on the left are for the "standby" line, the doors in the middle are for the "fastpass" line and the doors on the right said "exit". These exit doors are right next to the store, so I am assuming they will be for those guests that choose to bypass the store.

This patio area looks like it might be used for the queue. Two days after these photos were taken, this area was finished and open to the public and it was being used as a smoking area, at least for now. Is it just me or does it seem like the railings around these planters are supposed to be mimicking pointy monster teeth?

The shot above was taken from the second story of the Star Tours exit. Underneath the blank "M" in the foreground are the words "presented by" and then there is another blank panel below that.

I will post some more exterior photos including shots taken two days after these, when all the hedges were moved up against the doors and the outside construction was finished.

Tomorrowland's Second Story

These will be the last pics of Tokyo Disneyland's Tomorrowland for a while. I will be posting more Tokyo pics, but of other lands and attractions in the park, as well as pics from Tokyo's second Disney park, Tokyo DisneySea.

Today's shots are of Tomorrowland's "upper level". Part of Tokyo's Tomorrowland has a second story to it and in the shot above, we see a stairway that goes up to an outdoor seating area for the Pan Galactic Pizza Port.

The shot below is of the Star Tours building (the taller building). The structure on the right is the corner of the Meet The World attraction building before it was torn down (future site of Monsters Inc. attraction, opening in 2009). The glass tube over the walkway and the stairway on the left is the exit to Star Tours. This picture was taken when Star Tours was closed for refurbishment, that is why there is white tarp visible between the two buildings.

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The last shot was taken after crossing the glass bridge exit of Star Tours. This is an audio-animatronic security/customs officer that stops what he is doing every so often, turns around in his chair and talks to guests. The first and third computer screens in the top row actually show people in "real time" as they are exiting the attraction. Other monitors show what's going on in different parts of the park. Note the original Star Tours souvenir mug sitting on the console!

Meet The World!

Today, we are still visiting Tokyo Disneyland's Tomorrowland. The shot below is of the building that once housed "Meet The World". Meet The World was an original Tokyo Disneyland attraction that opened with the park on April 15, 1983 and closed on June 30, 2002. The attaction's theme song, "Meet The World" was written by the Sherman Brothers.

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Meet The World gave a condensed history of Japan through the use of audio-animatronics as well as movie footage. The ride system used was a "reverse" Carousel Of Progress/Carousel Theater, so to speak. The audience sat in the center of the building and rotated in place while the show elements were situated around the audience in the outside ring of the theater. (As a side note, a duplicate of this attraction was in the original plans for the Japan Pavilion at EPCOT Center in Walt Disney World, but was never built.)

I love the building's facade. It kind of reminds me of a structure that could have been found at a world's fair. Unfortunately, the building was torn down a couple years ago and construction began on a Monster's Inc. attraction which is scheduled to open in 2009. The photos below are of the new construction and were taken in April of 2008.

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For more info about Tokyo Disneyland's Meet The World attraction, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meet_the_World

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