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| Enthusiastic young friends riding amusement park ride. (photo via Jacob Ammentorp Lund / iStock / Getty Images Plus) |
By Donald Wood, TravelPulse
The Walt Disney Company continues its focus on Asia.
The company has made an investment of $2.3 billion into a massive expansion of Tokyo DisneySea.
According to The Japan Times, the operator of Tokyo DisneySea, Oriental Land Co., will use the money to build a new hotel and several themed areas based on popular franchises, such as Frozen and Peter Pan.
The new lands at Tokyo DisneySea are set to open by the middle of 2022 and are expected to add around $450 million in annual revenue, according to Oriental Land CEO Kyoichiro Uenishi said in a statement.
Uenishi also mentioned eventually raising ticket prices, but did not specify attendance number goals for the new attractions. The Disney theme park is working to increase older visitors and international tourists as it competes with Universal Studios Japan and the other Disney properties in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
The latest investment of $2.3 billion comes on the heels of a previously announced upgrades to DisneySea and Tokyo Disneyland. Oriental Land also revealed it extended its license with Disney for an additional 30 years to 2076.
Earlier this year, Disney opened the first expansion of its Shanghai Disney Resort with the debut of Toy Story Land. The company is also in the midst of a $1.4 billion upgrade to the Hong Kong Disneyland park, including the addition of Frozen and Marvel-themed lands.
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