Visitors to Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea increased on a year-on-year basis in August, recovering from the sharp dropoff following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the president of operator Oriental Land Co. said in a recent interview. Oriental Land will be able to book a profit for the business year to next March despite a loss of ¥3.8 billion in the April-June first quarter "if the number of visitors continues to increase," Kyoichiro Uenishi said.

The two amusement parks were closed after the catastrophe due to liquefaction in the parking lot and the electricity shortage. Disneyland reopened April 15 and DisneySea followed on April 28. Visitors began to pick up in May and returned to the year-before level in July as self-restraint eased and the theme parks added new attractions, Uenishi said.

"To all of you who come to this happy place, welcome. Here you will discover enchanted lands of Fantasy and Adventure, Yesterday and Tomorrow. May Tokyo Disneyland be an eternal source of joy, laughter, inspiration, and imagination to the peoples of the world. And may this magical kingdom be an enduring symbol of the spirit of cooperation and friendship between the great nations of Japan and the United States of America.” was what E. Cardon Walker said on 15 April in 1983, when Tokyo Disneyland first opened its doors.

(The Japan Times)