Despite fans' visions of Islands of Adventure Japan, USJ Co. eventually clarified that the second gate would not be a Universal-themed park. One thing led to another, and eventually NBCUniversal owner Comcast announced that it was buying a controlling stake in USJ Co., giving Universal ownership and control of its Japanese park and its management.
One of the top sites that follows Tokyo Disney in Japan and I tweeted about the report:
@tdrexplorer Should we assume from this that USJ Co.'s plan to build a non-Universal park there is now officially dead?
— Theme Park Insider (@ThemePark) December 9, 2015
@tdrexplorer I thought the NBCU takeover of USJ Co. would doom the second-park plans, so Okinawa turning to OLC doesn't surprise me.
— Theme Park Insider (@ThemePark) December 9, 2015
Does this mean fans will be seeing a third Disney park in Japan? Don't hold your breath. Even if Oriental Land were to sign on to the project, OLC - like USJ Co. before it- could choose to develop a park without branding from its American partner.
The land in question is supposed to come available following the relocation of a US Marine Corps Air Station. But that move has become a political issue itself in Japan, further complicating any potential plans for redevelopment, especially for something as capital-intensive as a theme park.
An Oriental Land spokesperson told the South China Morning Post that the company "will take time in studying" the Okinawa proposal.
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Maybe Disney wouldn't, but they don't run TDR, do they? So who knows? Maybe OLC might be interested in a non-IP-based park. I couldn't answer that though since I don't know much about the company other than that they're some Japan-based corporation that owns TDR but still has to pay Disney for licensing fees.
That said, I believe that OLC has said in public statements before that it is open to developing a non-Disney park. (Don't have a link handy - just going on memory here.) So perhaps that is what Okinawa is hoping. But Elsa herself couldn't have put any more frost on OLC's reply.
Okinawa wants a theme park to boost its tourism industry, but they probably will have to look beyond Universal or Disney to find a willing partner/investor.
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