Abandoned Dreamland
- Categories: Japan, News
- Date: Aug 17, 2011 19:35 JST
- Tags: Abandoned Places, Copyright, Disney, Image Gallery, Made in China, Nara, Retro, Tourism
Urban explorers have descended upon the abandoned ruins of Nara Dreamland, revealing in some detail the spectacle of a celebrated amusement park descending into ruin.
The park proper, as photographed by a Russian explorer:
Nara Dreamland opened in 1961 in the shadow of Nara proper, and closed completely in 2006 after flagging attendance and years of restricted weekends-only operation.
Critics of China should take note – the park was originally built as a flagrant copy of Disneyland in California (almost down to the name), during a period of rapid development in which Japan’s utter disregard for intellectual property strongly resembled that of China today.
The Japanese developers initially received free technical support and the blessing of Walt Disney himself, with the understanding that they would be independently developing a uniquely Japanese park.
However, after it became apparent they had simply made a cheap copy of Disneyland whilst tricking Disney into helping them, Walt Disney is said to have been outraged and Disney was to harbour profound mistrust of the Japanese for years to come, going so far as to block the companies behind the project from participating in its own flagship Tokyo Disneyland, which opened in 1983.
It is of course ironic that today it is Japanese companies in China complaining of precisely these kinds of antics…
The ruins themselves seem unlikely to endure much longer, as Nara is considering levelling the site for use as a parking lot for more cultural attractions such as the nearby Heijō Palace – although given the level of taste displayed in the park, a parking lot might represent some improvement.
Which is more impressive, the amount of expensive fixtures left to rot in the sun or the fact that so little of it has been looted or vandalised, is left to the observer to determine.
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I want to ride around in the pikachu bumper car.
same!!! I totally want to ride in the pikachu bumper car too!!!
And I want to steal it, nobody would notice it anyways...
Looks like someone tried to steal it but gave up.
I want to bump and ride the pikachu in the car!!
I'm sure it'll be an electrifying experience.
Just save this Amusement Park from demolition, it's a perfect place to film horror movies.
Even though this was a 'copy' this place stood (is still standing after over 60 years. With most of the wooden roller coasters probably being there since the park opened. That shows a great amount of dedication and hard work. Despite it being a 'cheap clone.'
It's a shame that something like this has been left to rot. I don't know what happened that resulted in the park's closure. (why it was only open on the the weekends and why attendance was down.)but leaving it like this is a damn shame. It looks like they closed the park for the day and never reopened.
If this had been built in China, it probably wouldn't have been there as long as it was. Not because of spotty craftsmanship (though that probably would be a unlined cause) But because it would have been constantly been under 'rushed' renovated when ever the 'creature' (ie the original) added or took away an attraction.
Also to all of you saying that all those arcade cabinets are worth taking. Understand this. There isn't much demand for the large ones. Since most people don't have space for them. So they're probably best sold off for parts. The small ones, yes. Assuming they still work. Though judging by the pictures, probably not. Since they've been left exposed to the elements for almost a decade.
BTw lol pirate viking!
eeeehhh....dude
sorry, but you put
a little too much thought/response
for the people of this site
just a heads up
Are you implying that Sankakians are stupid or something?
Anon @ 15:57
Not stupid, just here for the laughs. Very little stuff posted here is taken seriously even when it should be.
Survival horror movies, involving a lost group of high schoolers, their teacher, a slightly deranged survivalist and fifty thousand zombies...
there's a manga already out about that lol
Sarcasm at its finest affecting people seriously.
I WAS THINKING MORE OF SILENT HILL 3, THE ONE WITH ALISSA'S DAUGHTER.
The guy's only mistake is to not take all of these pictures... AT NIGHT...
Lakeside Amusement Park?
Now we need some monster cosplayers and maybe a bloody Robbie or two.
Wow theres litterally a small treasure of arcade machines there im very surprised to see those havent been sold or looted yet since its relatively easy to do. I Would take them at least.
that's the whole difference between eastern and western thinking.
Nah man, we have places that are deserted and just sitting around rotting also.
Look at Detroit and Cleveland.
And North Philadelphia [PA] too...
Even with the various revitalization projects going on there, the place still looks like a war zone in a lot of places.
They're just rotting anyway, though. *Not* stealing them would be a waste, in this case. =(
There's absolutely nothing ethically wrong about that; to think that letting treasures like that rot away is in anyway "right" in some moral sense is naive. The world is not as black and white as you think.
it's not about the value of what is rotting. fact is - it is still someone's property. someone paid for it. and that someone can do what he wants with it.
i wouldn't really want someone to steal my rake out of the backyard because he felt that it was "rotting away"
It's probably all owned by a bank at this point. It looks like there's little intent to sell them after ten years. Though it would be great if people interested could get in touch with the owners.
If I had the spare dough and the space I'd consider pursuing the 3rdmix Machine.
in some misguided and ethically wrong way I agree.
No, they're just rotting away because there's nowhere to store them. Seriously, where would your average teenage thief keep a deluxe cabinet arcade machine and more importantly, how would he transport it? Those babies won't fit in the back of a Civic.
my bedroom got enough space for that pump it up arcade e.e
But your bedroom is not a 1-room japanese flat.
It really is a waste they should have donated those arcade machines to a youth group or sold them on ebay.
that's the whole difference between schneizel's and charles' thinking...
I thought the same thing.
Nice place for a Joker's secret hideout from Batman
I though the same, or even the abandoned amusement park that appears in one of Cowboy Bebop's episodes
Loot all the roller coasters and install them in your backyard >.>
The PCB boards are probably long gone.
Nobody needs those, but i saw a lot of arcade monitors there and the cabs alone are a dream for any MAME arcade builder.
Arcades from China? it'll probably explode
Looks like Sanzenin Nagi's private theme park.
Her grandfather must be the person who tricked Walt Disney.
Knowing the sod, he probably did do something like this.
LOOT ALL OF THE THINGS!
I'd take that Pikachu ride.
That entire melancholic and ruined place...
It reminds me of the amusement park in the videogame "Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon"...
The ruined roller coaster section is giving me deja vu vibes to be exact...
It reminds me of what Chihiro's father was talking about at the beginning of Spirited Away.
Spare parts always useful
Would not mind raiding those old arcade machines
All it needs is a few zombies to come at you.
Fking truth. and a baseball bat and a pair of cup G students.
Same here I'd want to bring a moving van and load up some of those arcade machines.
Really if this place was in the US I'd give it the Marisa Kirisame treatment.
In this case it's not stealing as that stuff is just rotting away it's salvaging.
Reminds me of Ao no Exorcist
*Comments on the first commenter so they can see my comment*
Lulz
I lol'd
Loot all those arcade machines those fetch a pretty penny beside i want the 3rd mix machine lol
Same the arcades is all I want there!
Same here! I can't believe they just left them (and no one has taken them so far), I mean they COULD fetch a nice price on ebay at least. Personally I would build many different MAME machines of it.
I bet someone pissed in water of the pool rides, thus it became abandoned.
fags give me a neg not knowing that's what an oni is. fags.
Not just someone, it was a giant blue ogre. After he demanded tribute.