Tokyo Disneyland Enjoying A Boom

While most company is either having a down year or bracing for an economic slow down, Tokyo Disneyland (and even Disneyland Paris) is enjoying a significant increase in business.

The park's operator, Oriental Land Co., estimates a record 26.5 million people will visit Tokyo Disneyland and its nearby sister park, Disneysea, during the fiscal year ending in March. The company is forecasting sales of a record $4.2 billion, up almost 10 percent.

"In a way, the slumping economy works well for Tokyo Disneyland," said Hiroshi Watanabe, an economist at the Tokyo-based Daiwa Research Institute. "Because of the recession, people have stopped buying cars and houses or going to Hawaii, and Tokyo Disneyland offers an affordable and pleasant alternative."

Wonder how well the 2 Disney theme parks in the US are expecting to do. They are already aggressively promoting WDW during the first quarter of 2009 with the "stay 4 days, get 3 days free" offer. Whether such visitors will spend as much as they expect while they are at the parks is another matter.

Zz.