There’s a common refrain that you’ll hear in Disney theme park circles on social media. The phrase is “Be fair to Florida.” The idea is that, in the opinion of many who primarily visit the Florida resort, Disneyland often seems to get a lot more cool stuff than the bigger vacation kingdom. However, the truth of the matter is honestly, that Disney Parks need to be fair to the rest of the world because Tokyo Disney Resort seems to be the location that really wins. The latest look at Tokyo DisneySea’s Fantasy Springs is no exception, as the new Tangled attraction opening next month looks breathtaking.
Tokyo DisneySea’s Rapunzel Attraction Is Incredible
Rapunzel's Lantern Festival is a new Tangled-inspired dark ride that is part of Tokyo DisneySea’s Fantasy Springs expansion, which includes new attractions dedicated to Peter Pan and Frozen as well. Some video from the new ride, set to open in a month, was recently shared on TikTok and the lantern scene from Tangled has been truly brought to life. This has to be seen to be believed.
@disneyparks ♬ original sound - Disney Parks
The newest generation of Disney audio-animatronics, as we’ve seen in Hong Kong Disneyland's World of Frozen or the soon-to-open Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, are incredible, but this shot looks like it came straight from Tangled, not a theme park attraction about the movie.
As somebody who loves Tangled, and thinks it's one of the best animated Disney movies, and has always felt it deserved more respect and attention in the Disney Parks, this is everything I dreamed of. The lantern scene in the original movie is, to this day, one of the best uses of 3D in modern film I’ve ever seen. This ride will make that moment three-dimensional once again and I need it.
And if that wasn’t all, Fantasy Springs also includes Rapunzel’s Tower, where an animatronic of the Disney Heroine will sing to you from on high.
ランタンフェスティバルの中からラプンツェルの塔見えます#ファンタジースプリングス pic.twitter.com/S89LmRQdZ9May 7, 2024
Unfortunately for a lot of us, a trip to Tokyo Disney Resort isn’t the easiest thing in the world. Which is why I’m hoping we get something like this closer to home. Luckily, there’s every reason that could actually happen.
How The New Tangled Attraction Could Come To Disneyland Resort
As I write this the Anaheim City Council is getting ready for their next meeting this evening. At that meeting, a final vote will be taken to approve DisneylandForward, a major expansion of Disneyland Resort that will expand both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. Considering a preliminary vote taken by the council a couple of weeks ago was unanimously in favor, tonight’s vote is all but a sure thing.
What will be part of this expansion hasn’t been officially announced yet, it’s unclear if Disney itself has settled on a final plan. But it has already been suggested that recent additions in other Disney Parks, like the Zootopia land that recently opened at Shanghai Disneyland, could become part of the expansion. And the new additions of Fantasy Springs have also been included in that speculation.
While there’s an argument to be made that creating something new in Disneyland’s expansion is better than simply recreating something that’s been done before, the fact is that a trip to Japan or China is simply not in the cards for a lot of theme park fans, while a trip to Anaheim or Orlando is much more feasible.
Not only that, but even if a trip to those parks happened, for many it would likely be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so experiencing these attractions is something that might only happen once. Putting multiple versions of the land in different parks makes it more accessible to more people more often. I have a feeling riding this only once would not be enough.
Rapunzel's Lantern Festival would easily become one of the best rides at Disneyland if it were to open. And let's be honest, building it a second time would make it easier, and therefore cheaper, than building anything else, and Disney wouldn't hate that. Unless somebody wants to send me to Japan, hope to see this ride come to Disneyland soon.
