Earlier this week Oriental Land Company, operators of Tokyo Disney Resort, released their 10 year management strategy. This included fiscal plans, future investments and some vague concept art. I can confidently talk about one of those things – the vague concept art! There were two ideas given in this strategy presentation, one was a refresh of Tokyo Disneyland’s Adventureland (which I’ve already written about) and the other was DisneySea’s Port Discovery. In this post, I’ll share five questions and answers about that Port Discovery concept art, including whether or not this will actually happen in Tokyo DisneySea.

Like our previous Adventureland post, I’m going to stick to a Q&A style. The goal is to give some black and white facts about this concept art before diving into more commentary. Port Discovery opened with DisneySea in 2001. Aquatopia and the Electric Railway have remained since opening day but the current Nemo & Friends: SeaRider building housed an attraction called StormRider previously. Is it changing now? We’ll answer that below!

Is Port Discovery being replaced and/or updated?

No, not officially. The concept art released was directed at investors as possible ideas of what could happen at Tokyo Disney Resort in the next 10 years. There have been no announcements of attractions closing or land refurbishments at this point.

What the concept art does tell us is that this idea is on Oriental Land Company’s radar. The two theme parks almost always have one major project happening between them. Right now, the focus is on a new Space Mountain and surrounding area in Tokyo Disneyland. That project is set to wrap up in 2027 with nothing major having been announced beyond that for either park.

When would this proposed concept happen?

Well, I kind of spoiled this in the last answer but (assuming it happens) I could see this starting construction in late 2026 or early 2027. I think this proposal is far more likely than the Adventureland concept art in Tokyo Disneyland, in large part because Tokyo DisneySea’s turn comes next. For over a decade, the resort’s 2 parks have traded major projects. The last four big attraction/land additions at TDR go like this:

• Soarin’ debuts at DisneySea (2019)
• Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast at TDL (2020)
• Fantasy Springs at TDS (2024)
• Space Mountain opening at TDL (2027)

It’s not hard to follow the pattern, DisneySea would be next. And if they keep with a recent timeframe, expecting something new to debut around 2030 makes sense. That is all conjecture but if things move forward I would expect an announcement on this in the next 2 years. Time will tell!

What would be different about Port Discovery?

Let’s peer into some vague concept art!

They couldn’t have drawn this on a sunny day?? Kidding! This is way less clear than the Adventureland concept art, which is funny considering I think this has a much better chance of happening. The big change here is a very large building on the mid-left portion of this photo. There’s a very large building at the top left, which leads me to believe that’s a ride of some kind. Recent history points to a Disney tie-in of some kind to the ride instead of an original story but it’s too early to guess on that. Across the pathway from the show building is a much smaller building that I’d assume is full of shops and/or restaurants.

To get back to the black and white answers, what would be added are a few big buildings that look to be in the same Port Discovery architecture theme. There’s also a new pathway in here that would connect to DisneySea’s Cape Cod area.

What in the current Port Discovery would be replaced?

Much of this possible expansion is undeveloped at the moment with one big omission – Aquatopia. This is an open-air ride where guests glide around on boats. The other obvious thing that’s being replaced would be water. Pretty much all of the area that’s added is replacing either a waterway for the Disney Transit Steamer Line or a water based attraction (Aquatopia).

Several pre-existing rides and restaurants are still in this concept art. The building for Nemo & Friends SeaRider is still there, although it’d be relatively easy to put a different attraction inside of the 3D simulator. Horizon Bay Restaurant and the Electric Railway are also still there.

What do you think of a possible change?

I’m sure a great philosopher warned about asking yourself a question just so that you could spout off your own opinion. That person clearly wasn’t familiar with the seriousness of Disney theme park blogging. I’m in favor of this move! In short, Port Discovery is the weak link of DisneySea’s ports-of-call. The theme is great and the buildings are absolutely gorgeous but there’s nowhere near the depth that almost all of the areas in DisneySea have. Adding more to it would counterbalance that while also adding more capacity to a park that desperately needs it.

A drawn out answer will have me add a few caveats. I like Aquatopia quite a bit! It’s a charming and unique attraction that doesn’t take up a lot of room. Disney doesn’t build many rides like that anymore. But it’s replaceable and a similar ride system could be put in a less valuable area, say a small portion of a new Adventureland!

My thoughts on the change would also depend on the type of ride that replaces it. I’d hope for something original and interesting to fit inside of the discovery theme. DisneySea isn’t short on movie tie-ins anymore and I’d hope that an IP isn’t shamelessly shoehorned in. But that’s so far down the road that it’s barely in the back of my mind right now. I think this area is prime for upgrading and it looks as if Oriental Land Company and DisneySea are heading in that direction.

What do you think of a Port Discovery makeover? Let us know, and add any questions you have, in the comments below! If you are planning a trip to Tokyo Disney Resort, check out our Trip Planning Guide. If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. All of those links are on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!