 From the time it opened in 1983, Tokyo Disneyland was a smash success;
in fact, it had the highest attendance of any single theme park in the
world. In the mid 1990s, plans were put in place to expand Tokyo
Disneyland from a theme park to a full-fledged resort. The Tokyo Disney
Resort grew up around Tokyo Disneyland in a big way.
The first phase of the Tokyo Disney Resort became a reality in mid 2000
with the opening of Ikspiari and the Disney Ambassador Hotel. In 2001 Tokyo DisneySea Park was opened, along with its posh
Hotel MiraCosta. The Disney Resort Line, a monorail system which circles the entire resort,
also opened in 2001.
In addition to the Ambassador and MiraCosta, there are five "official"
hotels around the perimeter of the resort that borders Tokyo Bay: Sunroute Plaza Tokyo, Tokyo Bay Hotel Tokyu, Sheraton
Grande Tokyo Bay, Hotel Okura Tokyo
Bay, and Hilton Tokyo Bay. Although these hotels had been there since before
Tokyo Disneyland became a Resort, they are now accessible by monorail.
Another element of the Resort that had existed already is the Maihama
train station. It was upgraded somewhat with the opening of Ikspiari. It
is a short walk from Maihama station to
Tokyo Disneyland Park, the Resort Line monorail station, and Ikspiari.
If you're going to Tokyo DisneySea Park you definitely want to hop on the
monorail for a ride over there.
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