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.
More abandoned places.
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First few photos reminded me of the carnival stage in Left4Dead @_@
With it being an abandoned spot, most people would probably take shelter at that place instead in the event of a zombie outbreak.
I weep a pone the abandon arcade T_T
Looks much like the theme park in Fragile.
Man, what a giant waste of Earth's resources. It's just left there abandoned and rotting/rusting in the sun. But I guess this is what's to expect when people just straight up abandon the place with no care in the world. Oh well.
Considering Japan's legendary lack of natural resources, you'd think the metal alone would be of interest to the heavy industry. In addition to steel and aluminium, there'd most likely even be plenty of copper just waiting to be recycled.
Thanks to globalization Japan actually has fairly convenient access to resources without too much transportation costs.
Still, I agree they could probably save a lot of money by at least recycling the more valuable parts.
Doubt they'd want it, given the time frame most of this crap was built in, it's probably rusting inside out. Just like every Datsun known to man.
The wooden coaster in particular looks like a safety nightmare.
Wooden coasters are a safety nightmare even when kept up. After all, wood can only hold so much weight compared to modern, metal coasters. The uncertainty of the frame giving in because of a single plank that is rotten from weather, age, or termites is what makes wooden coasters much more thrilling, which is why they maintained popularity.
As for someone badmouthing the legendary Datsun... shame on you.
Lesson to learn:
Never to screw with the creators.
Too bad, if they have played the right card, this would be an epic place to hang around.
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
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.
Not just someone, it was a giant blue ogre. After he demanded tribute.
fags give me a neg not knowing that's what an oni is. fags.
Reminds me of Ao no Exorcist
*Comments on the first commenter so they can see my comment*
Lulz
I lol'd
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.
The acrades might still work. People loving those things could like, drive there with a car with trailer, put that on there, get it home, smash the payout (which might even still contain some dosh, we wouldn't know), and then have a free Arcade station for free at home.
Do want?
Do want!!
Sadly those machines wouldn't fit into an Japanese home bar the imperial palace.
It's always sad to see abandoned places like these, as their original purpose (aside from emptying wallets) was to entertain.
The wooden rollercoaster looks almost identical in design and carts to the Psyclone(which was based on the Cyclone from Coney Island, NY) that used to be at Six Flags Magic Mountain(CA) and the steel coaster also looks somewhat similar in design and cart to Viper which is still in Six Flags MM today. Looking at the train station I was surprised to see that it was an exact copy of Disneyland's train station. lol
Overall, this is a very trippy article to look at. Both surreal and sad to look at.
when I get there imma get those arcade games
Is that a white guy?
I seen him too. White as sour cream.
Russians are white fyi
"The park proper, as photographed by a Russian explorer:" He is russian, why wouldn't he be white?
Because of the black Russian guy in Durarara :D
parking lot? WHAT A LOT! so much space =D
Looks funny!!
Japan is a beautiful country, even the abandoned infrastructures are a tourist attraction.
Just save this Amusement Park from demolition, it's a perfect place to film horror movies.
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.
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.
Hey, HEY! If you're gonna tear down the park, at least send me those arcade machines!
Yeah, I'd definitely get some guys and a flat bed together to get those out of there.