Meet the World
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Meet the World (ミート・ザ・ワールド, Mīto za Wārudo) was an attraction at Tomorrowland in Tokyo Disneyland from 1983 until 2002.
It was a show which explored the history of Japan over the course of 19 minutes, focusing specifically on the history of Japan's engagement with the outside world. The show featured an animated crane explaining Japanese history to a young boy and girl from Yokohama. The show featured dialogue between a number of audio-animatronic figures (including Sakamoto Ryoma, Ito Hirobumi and Fukuzawa Yukichi) and a movie screen in the background. Park guides and maps said "explore Japan's heritage in an incredible time-travel adventure!"
The show was presented in a rotating theater, similar to the Carousel of Progress at Walt Disney World and previously at Disneyland However, they were designed in the opposite way. In Tokyo, the audiences sat in the rotating theater inside with the stages built around them, whereas, in the Carousel of Progress the audience sits in the rotating outside with the stages being the center of the building. Meet the World's layout meant less audience capacity but a larger stage area, while Carousel of Progress's format has more capacity but smaller stages.
Meet The World featured a title song by the Sherman Brothers.
Plot
The show opens with two children from Yokohama discussing the ancient creation of Japan. Soon, an anamorphic crane appears to tell them the whole story. She takes them back through time to uncover the ancient Jōmon people and the difficult relationship they encountered with the sea and land. But it changed in the next era when Prince Shōtoku devoted his efforts to the 'meet the world' and created a constitution and explored Chinese culture and in turn brought Buddhism, arts, and writing systems to Japan. The crane then takes them forward into the past.
They arrive at Tanegashima where Portuguese traders meet with locals introducing Japan to new trade opportunities as well as the outside world. Additionally firearms and Christianity are introduced during this period, however because of these elements the Sakoku policy of self-exile is enacted leaving the country in isolation apart from limited trade with the Dutch and Chinese at Nagasaki. Only when US Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry arrives with his Black Ships does the exile end and Japan 'meets the world' again. The shogun retires and signals the time of the Meiji Restoration. However, the ruling power takes the idea of 'meet the world' from a peaceful one to a destructive and aggressive one.
However Japan soons enters dark days, but crane reveals those days have ended and Japan leads the way of today. The young boy asks if she is the "Spirit of Japan", but she responds that he and all the other people are the "Spirit of Japan". A final montage of Japan's modern accomplishments are shown to close as the young children and crane soar to the sky on a hot-air balloon.
History
Konosuke Matsushita, founder of the Matsushita Electric Industrial Company, had a strong interest in Japanese history and in Walt Disney's visions, and pressed Disney to build a Japanese analog of the American "Hall of Presidents" attraction. It was originally planned as part of the Japan section of World Showcase at Epcot in Orlando, Florida. Planners went so far to build the building shell, which was never used.
Among other issues, certain politically sensitive issues such as World War II were noticeably under-emphasized in the show. The show mentions that there were some "dark days" between the Meiji Restoration and the "Japan of today", which left Disney management nervous over possible reactions from guests (specifically American veterans and other groups) over such a dramatic conflict in history could be 'glossed' over as 'dark days', despite other attractions in the Disney cannon having unbiased references to the same time period. Concept work and models were featured in the 1982 book, "Walt Disney's EPCOT Center" along with a proposed Africa Pavilion.
The attraction opened as one of the initial Tokyo Disneyland attractions on April 15, 1983, and closed on June 30, 2002. Matsushita Electric was its initial sponsor, and subsidized the attraction so that it was one of the few free attractions while the park still used ride tickets. Konosuke Matsushita died in 1989 and Matsushita shifted its corporate sponsorship to the Star Tours ride around that time; Japan Airlines then took over sponsorship of Meet the World for a short period.
In summer 2006, the show building was demolished to make way for the new attraction.
Meet the World was one of the few attractions in the park that dealt with Japan; the other was a film, Eternal Seas, found in the future Magic-Eye Theater. The Oriental Land Company, the owners of the park, specifically wanted the park to focus on the American way of life and American parks of Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
Recently, The Oriental Land Company, owners of the Tokyo Disney Resort, have announced plans to build a Monsters, Inc. attraction in the former site of Meet the World . It is planned to open in 2009, with a budget of ¥10,000,000,000. [1] It will be a different and more elaborate attraction than the Disney's California Adventure counterpart, Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!
Attraction Facts
- Grand opening: April 15, 1983
- Closure date: June 30, 2002
- Designer: WED Enterprises
- Sponsor: National-Panasonic/Japan Airlines
- Future attractions:
- Monsters, Inc. (2009)
- Show length: 20 Minutes
- Required ticket: Free
- Ride system: Rotating theater with Audio-Animatronics
References
- ^ OLC. "Investment: Approx. ¥10,000,000,000" http://www.olc.co.jp/en/news_parts/2006013001e.pdf