Happy 10th, Tokyo DisneySea!

Tokyo Disney Resort offers Guests a timeless Disney experience right in the heart of the Japanese capitol city. Featuring two separate Parks, Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, a shopping and entertainment venue called Ikspiari, and five Resort hotels, Tokyo Disney Resort appeals to locals as well as visitors to the greater Tokyo area.

In September of 2011, Tokyo DisneySea celebrated 10 magical years since its grand opening on September 4, 2001. The celebration continues through March 19, 2012, with special events and a variety of “be magical” experiences where Guests can discover new wonders and thrills when they visit the Park.

Tokyo DisneySea Park contains seven maritime themed ports of call, full of adventure and discovery, myths and legends. Mediterranean Harbor, American Waterfront, and Lost River Delta overflow with international flavor, transporting Guests to the coastlines surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic seaboard of North America, and the Central American jungle shores of El Rio Perdido. Creative imagination pulls visitors into the fictional lands of Sinbad the Sailor and Aladdin at the Arabian Coast, Captain Nemo’s secret base on the Mysterious Island, and Ariel’s undersea playground of Mermaid Lagoon. An elevated trolley connects the American Waterfront to Port Discovery, where Guests can check out the latest weather experiments and other futuristic possiblilities. For this 10th anniversary year, Mickey Mouse and six of his friends have become magical ambassadors, with the task of awakening the magic that has lain dormant at Tokyo DisneySea. Look for them at the Magical Hat monuments at each of the themed ports.

Mediterranean Harbor is the place to be for spectacular shows. It hosts the Tokyo DisneySea 10th anniversary show Be Magical! which features a whole cast of Disney friends decked out in special costumes singing and dancing in celebration. This 20-minute show is performed 2-3 times daily. Check Park guides for times. Also at Mediterranean Harbor is the nighttime multimedia pyrotechnics/waterworks display of Fantasmic. Mickey Mouse, as the Sorcerer's Apprentice, brings Disney fantasy to life through his powers of imagination. Characters from timeless Disney films appear in this dynamic nighttime spectacle.

In honor of Tokyo DisneySea’s 10th anniversary year, two Character greeting areas have opened, Mickey & Friends' Greeting Trails and Village Greeting Place, along with Jasmine's Flying Carpets, an attraction that takes Guests on a magic carpet ride.

Located inside Tokyo DisneySea Park, the Hotel Mira Costa is also celebrating its 10th anniversary and is offering a variety of special programs.

Today’s Takeaway:
Architecture and entertainment in the Mediterranean Harbor area of Tokyo DisneySea reflects styles and cultures of the nations surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The Sea itself is one as rich in historical importance as it is in marine life. Although it covers less than one percent (only 0.7%) of the worldwide marine surface area, it holds 9 % of its biodiversity! The Mediterranean is almost entirely surrounded by land, and its waters are shared by nearly two dozen countries. It is one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, seeing roughly 30% of the industry’s travelers.

In 1869, in cooperation with the governments of the United Kingdom, France and Egypt, the Suez Canal opened, connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea and allowing shipping access to the Indian Ocean and to Australia and Asian nations. While it has proved an invaluable service to industry and economics, it has brought alien life to the waters of the Mediterranean.

Waters from the Red Sea flow freely into the Mediterranean. Over the century-and-a-half the Suez Canal has been open, species of marine life have migrated from the Red Sea and colonized in the eastern portions of the Mediterranean. According to one article, “Invasive species have become a major component of the Mediterranean ecosystem and have serious impacts on the Mediterranean ecology, endangering many local and endemic Mediterranean species.”

For Today’s Takeaway, research this topic further. Discuss what impact this process, referred to as Lessepsian migration or Erythrean invasion, has had on marine life in the area. What long-term effects will this invasion have on the Mediterranean’s biodiversity?

Choose one assignment:
1) Write an opinion piece stating your position on this topic: Do the economic benefits outweigh the ecological effects of Lessepsian migration?

OR

2) Select a specific species that has relocated from its native Red Sea to the Mediterranean. Write about: How has this invasive species impacted or endangered indigenous species?

SCHOOL SUBJECT: Marine Biology
SKILL LEVEL: High School


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