Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kyoko Kato and her daughter would visit Tokyo Disney Resort and its twin venues around three times a week ¡ª making the most of the hefty sum spent on annual all-you-can-use passes at one of the world¡¯s most popular theme parks.
¡°It¡¯s just a bus ride away from our home,¡± says the freelance writer and mother of two living in the capital¡¯s neighboring Chiba Prefecture, where the Disney venues are located. ¡°We used to frequent the facilities like we do public parks, but it was obviously much more entertaining and the children loved it.¡±
However, COVID-19 and the various restrictions associated with the health crisis forced most amusement parks to curtail operations and services to varying degrees, keeping both casual visitors and die-hard theme park fans such as Kato at bay. But with life gradually returning to normal and with new attractions and theme parks opening ¡ª including the much-anticipated Ghibli Park in Aichi Prefecture on Nov. 1 ¡ª the industry looks set to roar back to life.
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