Tokyo DisneySea Tour - Part 17, Mermaid Lagoon Part 3,

Tokyo DisneySea Tour - Part 17, Mermaid Lagoon Part 3
Page 1 of 23

by Marc Borrelli
September 21, 2001
Our pictorial tour of Disney's newest theme park - Tokyo DisneySea - continues with the third and final part of Mermaid Lagoon.

LaughingPlace.com's pictorial tour of Tokyo DisneySea, Disney's newest theme park which officially opened on September 4, 2001, continues today with Part One of Mermaid Lagoon. The tour is by Marc Borrelli, LaughingPlace.com columnist and owner of TokyoResort.com. Be sure to visit TokyoResort.com for more DisneySea information and pictures.

  • This Page
    Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 1
  • Page 2
    Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 2
  • Page 3
    Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 3
  • Page 4
    Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 4
  • Page 5
    Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 5
  • Page 6
    Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 6
  • Page 7
    Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 7
  • Page 8
    Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 8
  • Page 9
    Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 9
  • Page 10
    Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 10
  • Page 11
    Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 11
  • Page 12
    Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 12
  • Page 13
    Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 13
  • Page 14
    Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 14
  • Page 15
    Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 15
  • Page 16
    Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 16
  • Page 17
    Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 17
  • Page 18
    Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 18
  • Page 19
    Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 19
  • Page 20
    Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 20
  • Page 21
    Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 21
  • Page 22
    Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 22
  • Page 23
    Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 23
    Discuss It
    Related Links

Ed. Note: Before or after viewing these pictures, you may want to read up on the area and attractions shown. Click here to visit the Mermaid Lagoon  section in the DisneySea Overview from Marc's August 10th Land of the Rising Mickey column.

We're deep inside Mermaid Lagoon for the third, last, and BIG installment of this part of the tour. We'll start off with Ariel's Playground. Much of the area, like Ariel's Grotto, is good happy fun. But apparently Ariel doesn't scare easily (or she likes to be scared)...

In many ways, much as Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour at Tokyo Disneyland (even more than Haunted Mansion), I see Ariel's Playground filling the obakeyashiki  (obake = ghost - yashiki = large house) role at DisneySea. Even more a requirement at amusement parks in Japan than the "haunted house" is in America, obakeyashiki are walkthrough attractions which tend to use darkness and scenes ranging from strange to shockingly gruesome to frighten visitors (The one at Korakuein is really sick and the one at Fuji-Q Highland is staged inside an actual dilapidated former hospital... weird). To be clear, the blood and gore found in most obakeyashiki is not present at Ariel's Playground, just certain touches and the weird spirit (so to speak) of an obakeyashiki. Although adults likely won't find the area frightening, aspects of it are just plain terrifying to small children (and generally eerie and creepy to my friends and myself).

Although it's no surprise to me that aspects of a "Disneyfied" obakeyashiki are included at DisneySea, I am surprised that it's to be found in a place as harmless sounding as "Ariel's Playground"...

Mermaid Lagoon Part Three - Page 1

34668 bytes
Were we left off last time, the playground's entrance...
Click here for a much larger version of this picture
(1024 X 768, 170,209 bytes)

28557 bytes
Just inside and we're surrounded by the Galleon Graveyard, Kelp Forest, and...
Click here for a much larger version of this picture
(1024 X 768, 129,735 bytes)

23230 bytes
... above, the Fisherman's Nets play areas.
Click here for a much larger version of this picture
(1024 X 768, 112,020 bytes)

24419 bytes

Click here for a much larger version of this picture
(1024 X 768, 133,685 bytes)