Mediterranean Harbor is a themed area in Tokyo DisneySea, the second park in the Tokyo Disney Resort, located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, near Tokyo, which opened in 2001.[1] Mediterranean Harbor is the entrance "port-of-call," or hub, themed as an Italian port city named "Porto Paradiso", complete with Venetian gondolas that guests can ride. The majority of places of interest throughout the port are various shops and restaurants.[2]
Theming and layout
Mediterranean Harbor's layout differs from the entry lands of other Disney parks as it is a large "V" shape rather than the main street that leads to a hub (as found in Disneyland's Main Street, U.S.A. or Disney's Hollywood Studios' Hollywood Boulevard).[3] The right path leads to Mysterious Island, while the left leads to the American Waterfront. Built into the architecture of the port is the Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta. The hotel itself serves as a full-scale reproduction of the various buildings of Portofino and Venice's ports. The design choice of combining a real hotel within the theme park areas helps to further the illusion that (as either a park or hotel guest) you are in an actual city. Since the hotel is a functional building (rather than a "set facade"—the general standard in theme park designs), the effect of onlooking hotel guests that may observe the park from hotel's rooms, balconies, and terraces serve in adding a level of kinetic authenticity in passing for an authentic Italian villa for park visitors, while the hotel guest enjoys the harborside views and novelty of location.[4][5] Additionally, the Hotel MiraCosta also serves as the southern border of the park. Mediterranean Harbor also features attractions such as the Fortress Explorations, which is a meticulously themed, large-scale interactive play area for guests that features exploration-themed activities and attractions.
^Russell, Chick (May 2010) [3/12/10]. "Explore Tokyo DisneySea"(PDF). SimonSeeks (1). Archived from the original(PDF) on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
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