Tokyo Disneyland confirms opening date for Mickey's Philharmagic

Tokyo Disneyland has confirmed that its version of the Mickey's Philharmagic attraction will open on January 24, 2011.

The 3D show has already proven very popular at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom and Hong Kong Disneyland, prompting Tokyo Disneyland to spend $6 billion yen (around $65 million) to install it. It will be housed in a 454-seat cinema, and will feature the same 11-minute running time as the existing versions.

The plot of Mickey's Philharmagic sees Donald Duck gatecrashing a concert being conducted by Mickey Mouse. In the resulting chaos, guests are taken on a journey through the world of Disney's classic animated movies - including Beauty and the Beast, Fantasia, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Peter Pan and Aladdin.

Mickey's Philharmagic replaces the Mickey Mouse Revue, one of the original attractions at the Magic Kingdom before it was transplanted to Tokyo Disneyland. The audio-animatronic show originally opened in 1971, before its closure and move to Tokyo in 1980. It closed for good in May 2009.

Tokyo Disneyland's owners, the Oriental Land Company, are pursuing an aggressive expansion policy at the resort's two parks. As well as Mickey's Philharmagic, 2011 will see the opening of Cinderella's Fairy Tale Hall at Tokyo Disneyland and Jasmine's Flying Carpets at Tokyo DisneySea. This will be followed in 2012 by the opening of Toy Story Mania at Tokyo DisneySea.

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