Tokyo DisneySea is a 176-acre (712,246 m²) theme park at the
Tokyo Disney Resort located in
Urayasu,
Chiba,
Japan, just outside Tokyo. It opened on September 4, 2001. It is owned by The Oriental Land Company, which licenses the theme from The Walt Disney Company. Tokyo DisneySea attracted an estimated 12 million visitors in 2009, making it the fifth-most-visited theme park in the
World. In 2010, the park hosted 12.6 million visitors, making it the fourth most visited theme park in the world. Tokyo DisneySea was the second theme park to open at the Tokyo Disney Resort and the ninth park of the eleven worldwide Disney theme parks to open.
Tokyo DisneySea was the fastest theme park in the world to reach the milestone of 10 million guests, having done so in 307 days after its
Grand opening. The previous record-holder was
Universal Studios Japan 338 days after its opening. Tokyo DisneySea is also the most expensive theme park ever built, estimated to have cost over U.S. $4 billion. Tokyo DisneySea and its companion park
Tokyo Disneyland are the only Disney parks in the world not owned by The Walt Disney Company.
Tokyo DisneySea has an overall nautical exploration theme to it. The idea for the park can be traced to a proposal to build a second theme park in Southern California called "DisneySeas" in Long Beach, California. However the idea was scrapped after the company endured financial trouble with the Euro Disney project. Later the idea was passed on to the Oriental Land Company to expand their resort. Unlike Tokyo Disneyland, the overall intention was to create a more adult-themed park, including faster, scarier rides and shows designed more for an older audience. By the time Tokyo DisneySea opened in 2001, its concepts and designs had been in development at Walt Disney Imagineering for well over 20 years.
