Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast
| Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast | |
|---|---|
| Park | Tokyo Disneyland |
| Land / area | Fantasyland (New Fantasyland) |
| Type | Trackless dark ride |
| Opened | September 28, 2020 |
| Designer | Walt Disney Imagineering |
| Duration | About 8 minutes |
| Status | Operating |
Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast is a trackless dark ride in Fantasyland at Tokyo Disneyland, based on Disney's Beauty and the Beast (1991). Guests ride through the Beast's Castle in large enchanted cups that glide, turn, and sway to the film's music, retelling the story of Belle and the Beast in a series of musical scenes. It opened on September 28, 2020, as the centrepiece of the park's New Fantasyland expansion.[1][2]
The attraction was the first ride-through attraction themed to Beauty and the Beast at any Disney park, and it anchors a Belle's Village area of shops, dining, and Maurice's Cottage beneath a castle rising about 30 metres. It remains unique to Tokyo Disneyland.
History
Enchanted Tale formed part of the largest expansion in Tokyo Disneyland's history, adding about 4.7 hectares across Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, and Toontown.[1] The Beauty and the Beast area was built largely on land formerly used by the Grand Circuit Raceway in Tomorrowland, which closed to make way for the project.
The expansion was originally scheduled to open in spring 2020, with April 15, 2020 — the park's anniversary — widely reported as the target date. The COVID-19 pandemic forced Tokyo Disney Resort to close and pushed the debut back by more than five months.[3] After a soft opening on September 21, 2020, the attraction and the wider expansion officially opened on September 28, 2020.[4]
Imagineering described it as one of the largest and most technically complex attractions it had built, combining a trackless transport base with an on-board motion base so each vehicle could perform dance-like movements in time with the show.[1]
Experience
The story begins before boarding, in the castle foyer, where Belle and the Beast figures set up the tale. Guests then board cups holding up to ten riders each and enter the dining room as "Be Our Guest" begins. Dishes, cutlery, and serving pieces come to life around a long banquet table while Lumiere leads the number, and the cups turn and rock as if joining the performance.[5]
From there the cups move to a snow-covered courtyard for "Something There," gliding as Belle and the Beast grow closer, then through a darker passage as the castle's curse reaches its climax. The transformation of the Beast back into the Prince is staged with a Pepper's Ghost illusion combined with projection on a moving figure, one of the attraction's most discussed effects. The finale returns to the ballroom, where Belle and the Prince dance and the cups circle the room before heading to unload.
In total the ride runs about eight minutes, uses around 35 Audio-Animatronics figures, and synchronises vehicle movement, lighting, projection, and effects to Alan Menken's music throughout.[1]
See also
- Tokyo Disneyland
- Pooh's Hunny Hunt
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh