TDR : Is the Unthinkable Becoming a Possibility?

Let's put it this way: if i had posted this article only one week ago probably everyone would have thought "Tokyo Disney theme parks in danger of radioactivity? Is he totally insane?". The devastating Japan earthquake and tsunami happened only six days ago and it's a catastrophe of such gigantic proportions that in less than six days what was unthinkable is becoming possible.

The nuclear reactors of Fukushima nuclear plant are almost out of control, the nuclear agency declared yesterday that the accident is now considered to be on "level six" - next level is level seven which indicates a nuclear accident as serious as the one which happened in Tchernobyl - and when you hear a president saying that the situation is "totally dramatic" or a minister who declares after a meeting with his Japanese counterpart that the situation "is extremely serious" you begin to understand that they know something that we don't know. In two words, the gates of hell have just opened at Fukushima nuclear plant and the situation is almost totally out of control. Which means that the risk to reach a situation similar to what happened in Tchernobyl in 1986 - with radioactive elements sent in the air - exist and can't be exclude. And at Fukushima they have problems on four nuclear reactors instead of one...



Above and below new pictures of Fukushima nuclear plant showing the damaged reactors



As you probably all watched these last days on TV this dramatic event i'm not going to play the "Bill Nye the Science guy" to explain what would be the worst scenario, you all know that the risk is to have highly radioactive elements like xénon, krypton, césium-137 and iode-131 being sent in the atmosphere, without a possibility to stop them. To give you an idea how long the effects of a "level 7" nuclear disaster can last, in Tchernobyl, 25 years after the nuclear accident there is still a forbidden zone 30 kilometers all around the site where NO ONE can enter and another zone more than 100 kilometers all around the site in which it is always forbidden to live. And this will last for a looong time... Because the japanese reactors have a different design than the one at Tchernobyl the same kind of explosion that happened 25 years ago might not be possible but unfortunately that's not the problem. The problem is to have radioactivity elements leaked and moving in the atmosphere whether it is by an explosion or gentle winds.



The picture above show the location of towns with more than 500000 inhabitants and distances from Fukushima nuclear plant

Let's come back to Tokyo. I wish with all my heart that we won't reach the worst scenario - we will know that in the next days - but if it happens it will be a tremendous tragedy. Tokyo, one of the biggest city in the world with 13.5 million people, is only at 200km from the Fukushima nuclear plant and chances of contamination by radioactive elements sent in the air are high - yesterday, radiation levels in Tokyo were 10 times higher than normal but this is still an "acceptable" safe level. In case of a radioactive cloud the contamination might touch not only Tokyo but also, depending of the winds, a big part of the country, not to mention foreign countries near Japan. The impact on Japanese economy will be dramatic - just look to what is happening at Tokyo's stock exchange since last Monday - and as Japan is the third economy in the world it will have an effect on other countries economy...



If radioactive elements reach Tokyo what do you think that will happen to Tokyo Disney Resort? I hope you don't think that TDR is living under a bubble which won't be affected by what will happen outside. If there is a radioactive contamination through the air which reaches Tokyo it will also reach TDR, there is little doubt about that. Depending of the level and dangerousness of the radioactivity Oriental Land Co will have to decide if guests can enter the parks or not, right? Do you think they will say "come in the parks, don't pay attention to the césium-137 and iode-131 floating in the air, just enjoy the rides and take a good shower when you'll be back home and everything will be fine"? Probably not. What we will see - although i doubt they will accept anyone to be a witness - is surrealistic scenes with TDR people all around the parks checking the radioactivity level with Geiger counters and then announce that parks are closed "until further notice" if the radioactivity is too high.

I know it looks unbelievable, but what is even more unbelievable is how - in less than six days - what was so unthinkable that it didn't even enter our minds just became a possibility that we can't exclude - even if, once again, i really really hope that it won't happen and that we will never see "Warning! Radio activity!" signs at TDL or TDS.

There is something fascinating when you look at the destiny at work: you understand that we don't control anything, that man is not stronger than nature, that it was just an illusion. An illusion which, when everything goes awry, can have serious dramatic consequences.




EDITED : I will update this article with the latest news of the situation. For those of you who might think that this article is excessively alarmist (it's not my goal but i know that some of you will think it is) here is the latest facts:

But first, you can watch the latest news, live on the site of the japanese NHK TV HERE. It's translated in english. Also, for all donations to help japanese people please go HERE.

- LATEST: Director of Nuclear Security Institute announced today that, so far, the radioactivity released at Fukushima nuclear plant is equal to 10% of what has been released at Tchernobyl in 1986.

- LATEST: Taiwan and South Korean authorities announced thursday March 17 that unusual high radioactivity levels were detected on passengers coming from Japan.

- LATEST: Tadashi Nishimura, an official with the Osaka Ryokan and Hotel Association, said Wednesday that "Due to last Friday's quake, our members have been reporting increased cancellations. But we do need to start thinking about what would happen in the event Osaka suddenly sees large numbers of people from Tokyo looking for rooms," he said.

In Kyoto, where hotels and ryokan over the next couple of weeks were previously almost fully booked for the cherry blossom season, the prefecture said it is starting to consider measures to deal with sudden spikes in mid- and long-term demands for hotel rooms. Kyoto is only about two hours and 20 minutes from Tokyo Station by the fastest trains. "Discussions on a scenario that requires responding to the arrival of refugees from Tokyo are expected to begin soon," said Shinya Iwako, a prefectural official.

In Kyoto and Osaka prefectures, there are more than 500 hotels and ryokan, plus another 340 or so in Hyogo Prefecture. Over the past few days, a number of people from Tokyo have been arriving at Kyoto Station and Kansai and Itami airports with plans to stay in the region for an indefinite period.

- LATEST: UK Foreign Office asked british citizens living in Tokyo and North-East Japan to move away from these regions. The German government suggests to all Germans in the area to leave Tokyo and go south of Japan as soon as possible.

- Japan prime minister Naoto Kan announced this morning that "radioactivity levels have considerably increased in north-east region of Japan and up to Tokyo. At Ibaraki, north of Tokyo, the radioactivity level was 300 times superior to the normal level with 15,8 microsieverts per hour". Nevertheless, Japan authorities consider that this level of radioactivity is not dangerous for human beings. So why is the "normal radioactivity level" has been fixed 300 times lower than the one currently measured at Ibaraki? And this is just five days after it all began. We'll check the radioactivity level in one week, let's hope it go down.

- Yesterday, as the level of radioactivity became too high at Fukushima nuclear plant they decided to send water on the reactors from helicopters. This morning it was announced that it was no longer possible to do it with helicopters because the radioactivity which is released from the reactors is now too high to get close to them even from an helicopter. Hopefully this might change but i wouldn't bet on it.

- It's now almost sure that TDR Parks will not re-open on March 22 and apparently Oriental Land might decide to don't resume parks operations before the end of April. All this situation is smelling so bad that yesterday Oriental Land has announced that "they offer to send any international cast member back home if they want, with the promise that their job would be available when the situation returns to normal".
They have to check everything in the parks to make sure there is no hidden damages, repair the damages caused by the earthquake on the parking lot, and not to mention reduced power supply which makes park operations difficult if not impossible. The hidden truth is that they're probably just like everyone in Tokyo, praying that the unthinkable don't become reality.

Official Oriental Land Company press release confirms that Tokyo Disneyland Resort will be closed at least until March 21

The Oriental Land Company has issued a press release which confirms that Tokyo Disneyland Resort will be closed at least until March 21:

"Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea suspended operations today due to the effect of the Tohoku Region Pacific Coast Earthquake on 3/11. Theme park operations will continue to be suspended tomorrow and thereafter. We will target 3/21 for a decision and notification on when to expect operations to resume.

This earthquake did not cause major damage to the facilities and buildings in the theme parks, and we have already begun safety verifications. We will make a decision on the timing of restarting operations carefully, taking into account the safety of the parks, and the recovery of transportation systems as well as neighboring infrastructure".

It couldn't be more clear, and not only it confirms that the parks will be closed until March 21 but also may be after that date as Oriental Land still have to decide and notify when parks operations will resume.

Here is some new reports from people who were at TDR last Friday:

"No injuries and only superficial damage, but of course the situation is near chaotic...We were fortunate here at TDR to avoid major injuries among Guests and Cast, and while safety inspections are ongoing there was no catastrophic damage to the infrastructure. No tsunami waves reached the seawall surrounding the property, either.

The parks closed after the quake (which occurred at 14:46 JST Friday) and have remained closed. Several thousand Guests and Cast were stranded due to transportation disruptions and had to spend the night in various park and hotel facilities, but all were kept warm and provided with simple food and beverages. Train service is being gradually restored and roads are reopening throughout Tokyo.

The damage in northern Japan is devastating, from the violent shaking of the quake and its seemingly endless aftershocks, as well as from the numerous tsunami waves that have hit virtually the entire coastline of Japan. We're simply lucky that the epicenter wasn't closer to Tokyo - it could have been a lot worse."

Another report:

"Everyone at OLC is safe. Those who were at work that day ended up staying at the office overnight. Among the Guests there were NO injuries and the Resort only had some minor damage. But outside the Parks and Backstage areas there was a lot of damage and liquefaction. Water and mud flooded the street between the Parks and Ikspiari. The Cast Members and everyone at OLC and WDAJ did a great job taking care of the Guests and all of the Cast Members, too. There was electricity, water, heat, food and drinks for everyone."

I remind you that you can see many TDL and TDS videos filmed during Japan's earthquake in my previous report HERE.

First Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea videos filmed during Japan Earthquake - 3/14 : Updated with new videos

The first videos filmed inside Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea during the earthquake or the aftershocks are appearing on Youtube. As the damages in the parks appears to be relatively minors - which is good news - don't expect to see a collapsed Tower of Terror. The cast members in the parks seems to be well prepared for this kind of dramatic event and it seems that the instructions from TDR cast members to the guests during an earthquake is: "Everybody down!".



The earthquake happened while TDL guests were waiting for the day parade and as you can see on the first videos above and below everyone has been asked to remain sit on the ground. The message coming out TDL loudspeakers is not the one you generally hear in a Disney Park: "Ladies and Gentlemen, your attention please, we have just experienced an earthquake...Please move away from the buildings to an open area..."



New and interesting video showing what happened to the poor TDL guests who were stuck in the park and the cold weather during all the afternoon and early evening. Apparently the guests were allowed to leave the park five hours after the earthquake.



Inside Tokyo Disney Sea now with this video filmed during the earthquake while the show on the lagoon was happening. The show stopped almost instantly.



NEW VIDEO: During the earthquake, near the Tower of Terror. At TDS too, everyone was asked to sit down, wherever they were.



NEW VIDEO: JTCent of jtcent.com web site was at Cape Cod in TDS when the earthquake happened, here is his video and you can have more infos on his site HERE.



This next TDS video was filmed during the earthquake aftershocks.



This next one shows TDL guests inside the Tower of Terror after the first earthquake.



Hours later, at sunset, TDL guests stuck in the park as the main rail line from Tokyo to TDR, Keiyo Line, has been damaged. "We"re all homeless!" say the video title.



NEW VIDEO: On this next video entirely from TDR monorail going all around the resort you'll see clearly at 4.10 minutes the liquefaction damages in TDR parking lot. TDL and TDS buildings looks in good condition.



Two other videos showing minor damages on the ground, apparently in the streets around the parks.



On this second video, recorded near Tokyo Disneyland Maihama-Station, TDR workers are already repairing the damages due to the earthquake.



However, another threat may come from the North as Japan nuclear agency announced that the Fukushima nuclear plant exploded this morning and there is fears of a nuclear meltdown after the plant blast. The blast happened while workers tried to cool nuclear rods as the plant have been damaged by the earthquake. A huge radioactive cloud - as you'll see on the video below - came out from the nuclear plant and dozens of thousands of people living nearby have been evacuated. As it happened when Tchernobyl nuclear plant exploded in 1986 the radioactive cloud will move and it's not known yet in which direction - but whatever the direction it will move it will be bad. This earthquake was already a tragedy of gigantic proportions, now it seems that the gates of hell are open.



Also, and i don't want to be too pessimistic, but all earthquake experts are saying that yesterday's earthquake probably had effects on another tectonic plaque located in the south, closer to Tokyo. It's too soon to tell how big the effects will be and if the earthquake had increased the tension on this other plaque but the experts seems to be afraid that it might increase the chances of another earthquake, this time close to Tokyo who didn't had a major quake since 1920. Yesterday's earthquake was really big but it might be nothing in comparison with the "big one" that earthquake experts are awaiting and afraid of. As always, no one can predict when this "big one" will happen although quake experts are saying they might be able to know more about the risk when they will have finished to study the infos collected from yesterday's earthquake.


Finally, it seems that the official TDR web site has deleted all opening hours until March 21 which could mean that both TDL and TDS might be closed until March 22.
I'll try to post more TDR videos when they will be available. Yesterday's article with the latest news about Japan devastating earthquake and its effects on Tokyo Disney Resort is HERE and you'll find below a new video to be watch full screen of the massive tsunami destroying a whole town of north-east Japan.

Devastating 8.9 Earthquake hit Northern Japan - Tokyo hit by Tsunami - Minors structural damages in Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea

Breaking News: An 8.9-magnitude earthquake AND a major tsunami hit northern Japan this Friday morning sending a massive body of water filled with debris that included boats and houses inching toward highways. The epicenter was 373 kilometers (231 miles) away from Tokyo, the United States Geological Survey said. This is a MAJOR earthquake which have already (and will have) important "replicas" . If you are in Japan, i hope you're safe. All my thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan and those of other countries who will be hit by the tsunami.

No news yet about TDL and TDS. Did the park have been damaged by the earthquake? Did Tokyo Disney Sea which is close to the sea been hit by the tsunami? If you're a D&M reader living in Japan, thanks to let us know!

Update: According to Jiji, press agency TDR parking lot is completely flooded.

According to JoeInJpn, a mice chat member currently inside TDS "In this part of TDS, lots of people shaken up but no one hurt. No visible damage anywhere. Had a big aftershock 30 minutes after the first quake. I'm still stuck in Cape Cod in front of Aunt Pegs... We are just waiting outside for further info from CMs. It's currently 3:50pm sun is shining with some clouds, cool weather still.

From another person: "I'm looking at Sendai airport where the terminal looks like it is in the middle of a lake. People all on the roof of the terminal...". Here is a short video of the devastating tsunami in Sendai.



Steve Davison is saying on his Facebook fan page: "Rehearsal for Fantasmic tonight has been canceled due to the earthquakes here in Japan. It was crazy. The team is fine here. A little shaken up but doing fine. The parks have shut down".

Steve Davison posted two Tweeter pics HERE and HERE, the last one showing damages from the quake.



You can see HERE a picture of TDL visitors waiting out their fate after the 8.9 Earthquake. Right now TDL and TDS have been shut down which is probably the best thing to do, knowing that important quake replicas will happen in the next hours.

Those of you who live in countries or islands at risk to be hit by the tsunami in the next hours you can find the "tsunami arrival time" HERE . Just scroll down once on the page.

Update: "TDR Crowds are being properly evacuated. The tsunami only reached the parking lot and has seemed to settle. The park will most certainly be closed for an extended period of time".

Update: "Lots of structural damage in both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea. Parking lots flooded, can't confirm the carpark was destroyed, No injuries reported. The evac and process has been very organized".

Latest from TDL: The latest twitter reports are saying that people are not allowed to leave Tokyo Disneyland and have to spend night in the park as the main rail line from Tokyo to TDR, Keiyo Line, has been damaged. Picture of people stuck in TDL HERE and HERE. According to a TDL cast member, there is a huge logistics issue at the parks with so many people stuck there with no where to go.

You can watch live video coverage of tsunami hitting japan on CNN.com HERE.

Today's earthquake is now supposed to have been the strongest earthquake in Japan's history. If you're living in countries that are supposed to be hit by the tsunami be extremely cautious. You can see on the picture below the arrival time of the tsunami wave, depending where you're living. And yes, this also include U.S California coast.



Considering that this is the biggest Japan earthquake in decades, if not in history, there is no doubt that TDR will have to check and test all rides and infrastructures in days to come. I will not be surprised if the parks remain closed during the next days. If you were planning a trip to TDL and TDS this month it might be a good idea - if you can do it - to postpone your trip.

Latest: TDR confirmed that both parks will be closed tomorrow and probably Sunday too. No injuries were reported by TDR management and apparently damages could be minor - although this remains to be confirmed.

More news on Mice chat HERE.
Developping.....