TOMORROWLAND

TOKYO Disney RESORT

東京ディズニーリゾート

Attraction Design

The Oriental Land Company (OLC) don't tend to do things by half measures, and the plans for this Tomorrowland upgrade are substantial. OLC initially committed ¥56 billion for a completely rebuilt Space Mountain and the surrounding area, and a further ¥29.5 billion for a Wreck-It-Ralph replacement of the old Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. With the Space Mountain price tag rising to ¥70.5 billion per the revised reports, we have a total budget of ¥100 billion for the land expansion. At today's rate this is a staggering US $640 million, and this number arguably understates the cost given the current weakness of the Yen. Using the rate from the time at which this project was announced, we'd be looking at a US $800-900 million total cost. To put this into some perspective, estimates suggest that Rise of the Resistance cost around $700 million (per park) while EPCOT's Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is estimated to have cost around $500 million.

Space Mountain: Earthrise

Before D23 2026, official details were slow to be released, although the fact that the ride track had been assembled largely in the open allowed for some very solid guesses as to what the track was going to look like. An architectural design student in Tokyo named Matsu created this incredible track layout based on what we have seen with the installed track to date. A couple of elements are worth a closer look:

TILTING TRACK PIECE

HELIX

Keen observers first noticed what looked like it could be a "drop track" piece, suggesting an element like we have seen on attractions like Hagrid's Magical Creatures at Universal Orlando. However, based on the track placement it looked like what we actually have is a track piece which "tilts" once the ride vehicle rolls onto it. This seems to align with the on-ride video simulation we were shown at D23 which shows a ride vehicle travelling at quite a steep angle, and would align with the tilted element shown in the predicted model above.

Tokyo_s_New_Space_Mountain_Earthrise_Name_Ride_Vehicles_Revealed_at_D23.gif

Space Mountain: Earthrise is being manufactured by Intamin, who don't currently have experience with true "tilt" coasters (like Gravity Max in Liphao Land Discovery World, Taiwan) but they did create the excellent Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, which of course features a (less pronounced) tilt/drop element near the beginning of that attraction. Intamin's past record with Disney coasters is limited - and not overly impressive- with the Swiss company having previously developed Incredicoaster, Raging Spirits and its close relative Indiana Jones at le Temple du Peril, and the three RC Racer attractions in Shanghai, Paris, and Hong Kong. Of course, Intamin's more recent catalogue boasts world class coasters like Falcons Flight and Velocicoaster, so there are plenty of reasons to assume this will immediately go down as their best coaster at a Disney park.

Which brings us to the current biggest question mark for this attraction at the time of writing: do the ride vehicles have a "rotating" element to them, akin to what we see at EPCOT's Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. Back in the May 2026, a vehicle was spotted on the Earthrise work site which sported a huge clearance between the visible road wheels and the body of the vehicle. This, together with a couple of helix sections in the projected layout (above) led some to conclude that Earthrise is going to be "Cosmic Rewind minus Marvel". However, at D23 we then got a glimpse at Earthrise's ride vehicles which (a) look very little like the one spotted back in May and (b) don't obviously appear to be rotation trains (at least not in a classic "omnimover" style).

Credit: TDR Explorer

As noted above, Earthrise is being manufactured by Intamin, which is itself a notable piece of information given Disney's long (and successful) history with Vekoma. Vekoma have developed a who's who of Disney attractions from TRON to Expedition Everest to two Space Mountains (Paris and Hong Kong), and notably, the aforementioned Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. Given this extensive history, and a recent one installing a wildly popular rotating attraction at EPCOT, it does seem likely that if Disney did want to simply re-create that attraction "minus Marvel" then Vekoma would have been a more obvious pick. Of course, there are other factors at play here - cost, relationships at the Oriental Land Company rather than Disney etc. but this point does seem somewhat persuasive to me.

All that said, it's also perhaps interesting that Intamin does offer one kind of "rotating" ride vehicle, and it's their Multi Dimension Coaster which also happens to be their one model which offers a "tilt" element. The exact tilt into a launch feature isn't mentioned on Intamin's website, but the"edge tilt" element does look like something that could work, and Intamin confirms that this would work with rotating ride vehicles.

Looking at the ride brochure, Intamin offer a number of different ride vehicle for their multi-dimension coaster but only a couple of them rotate.

Of these options, the second one clearly looks most like what we saw at D23, with a more classic set of train wheels holding the weight of each car. The centre of gravity on the spinning cars needs to be more centralized, which simply doesn't seem to work based on what we have seen so far.

Perhaps less persuasive but relevant nonetheless is that in the D23 teaser video, and short segment on stage, there was no mention of any ride rotation, which seems like something that would potentially play well to a wide audience. Indeed, with Mark Rober (somewhat inexplicably) on stage, they could have done a little feature on centrifugal force!

Some have suggested that the ride vehicle we saw could have been a test vehicle, and that is certainly possible, although a typical push-pull test would I think typically be done with your actual ride vehicle (with added "limbs") rather than a bespoke vehicle of another kind. This picture is a few years old now, and I don't work in the industry so this could be extremely outdated tech, but this testing vehicle was spotted at Dorney Park's Talon, which - as you can see in the background - is an inverted coaster and so features a very different ride vehicle to one doing testing here.

Could that mystery ride vehicle in Tokyo be something similar, used to follow the track to perform some kind of test and not therefore indicative of the actual vehicle? We'll soon see.

Sugar Rush: Sweet Rescue

Whereas Space Mountain has largely been built in the open, the new Wreck-It-Ralph / Sugar Rush attraction - now confirmed as "Sugar Rush: Sweet Rescue" has been constructed completely under wraps so we have almost nothing to go on other than a single piece of concept art and a two year old press release:

"[E]nter the candy-themed racing game Sugar Rush, which is being attacked by Sugar Bugs – glitches created by King Candy. Guests team up with the beloved film characters Ralph and Vanellope to transform the Sugar Bugs back to their original “kawaii” confectionery such as cookies and cakes. Guests can look forward to this new attraction at Tokyo Disneyland and immerse themselves in the world of the candy-themed racing game, Sugar Rush, while embarking on a thrilling adventure."

On it's face, although this is just a single piece of artwork, given what we already know about the Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters attraction, we can make several assumptions:

The blasters look like the handheld variety which recently debuted at Mgaic Kingdom, rather than the old static ones from the old Tokyo Disneyland attraction.

While the press release references a "thrilling adventure" and being immersed in a "racing game", the ride vehicle doesn't seem to have materially changed to the point where the basic structure of the ride would change. I also wondered whether Disney would take a shot at Universal Studios' Mario Kart: Koopa's Challenge with some kind of augmented reality headset to generate some kind of "driving" sensation, but that doesn't seem to be the case from the artwork.
Though a minor point, and possibly just a case of concept art not matching reality, it would be slightly surprising if the lasers for each guests are indeed the same shade of purple as pictured. Not knowing where you are firing was a common complaint on Buzz Lightyear attractions around the world, but something Disney seem to have fixed with the latest upgrade at Magic Kingdom. It would be surprising if that tech didn't find it's way into this iteration too.

That all sounds fairly straight forward then, but there is one piece of information that doesn't really square with this simple explanation: the price tag. OLC have set a budget of almost ¥30 billion (US $190 million) which seems like an enormous amount to merely upgrade an existing attraction. Comcast recently spent a reported ¥40 billion to build the entire Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan, which includes not only Mario Kart: Koopa's Challenge but also the smaller Yoshi's Adventure, not to mention retail, food & beverage locations, and some fairly elaborate theming. We do know that the refurb includes some extensive work to the exterior and a newly appointed gift shop, but that still doesn't feel like enough to justify that price tag.

Perhaps this project budget has just ended up eating a bunch of shared costs for the new Tomorrowland courtyard area - which as we already mentioned is huge - and that's the driver of the surprising budget. I'm hopeful though that the Imagineers have snuck a few surprises into the new attraction though and eagerly await seeing some more news on this one.

Tomorrowland Plaza

The two new attractions (understandably!) get the attention here, but there is potentially a bit more to see in the new plaza area, located where the old Space Mountain used to be. First, it's worth noting that this area is huge. In a time where Disney parks around the world are jamming attractions into relatively small, previously backstage areas, or tearing up beloved rivers to accommodate them, it's somewhat surprising (perhaps refreshing) to see this area planned, which:

"represent[s] a future where humans are in harmony with nature. It will also give guests areas to rest and relax, while enjoying various icons and design elements that will create a sense of hope for the future. In the evenings, guests can enjoy lighting and sound effects that will further enhance their experience in this new area." (Disney Parks Blog)

The three or four displays in the front of the plaza (as we look at it above) look like art installation pieces which presumably have a theme around space / earth / nature. They have a great EPCOT vibe and will undoubtedly look outstanding at night. I think there's a subset of Disney fans who are my age (older millennial) who really grew up with Tomorrowland being their favourite place in their home Disney park, and capturing those visuals and messaging would make this somehow both cutting edge and nostalgic.

Soon after D23 2026 we got a bit more info from OLC, confirming the name of this area as simply Tomorrowland Plaza while also given us an updated vision for the area:

"Tomorrowland Plaza embodies the idea of mankind and nature living in harmony. The area will be decorated by structures inspired by the elements that make up nature such as fire, water, earth and wood, and by the light from celestial objects such as the Sun and Moon. For guests resting at Tomorrowland Plaza, these many monuments will serve as reminders of the interconnectedness of humanity, nature and space. When night falls, the area will transform with lights and sounds to deliver a world filled with hope, dreams and surprise."

A fly through video posted by Disney shows some of these elements coming to life, and there is little doubt this is going to be a beautiful area of the park to wander. The scale of this area comes to life in that video and I am still surprised that OLC have been willing to use so much space for something that ultimately isn't revenue generating, but will certainly add some well needed space to escape crowds.

Attraction Location

No speculation is needed here as we know with certainty where the two new Tomorrowland attractions will be located. Sugar Rush will be housed in the former Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters show building and there's no indication that space will receive any material changes in size. As for Space Mountain, we haven't needed any insider reports to know exactly where the new coaster will go, as we've been able to see it grow over recent months; at first alongside the original Space Mountain, and more recently taking over that space for itself:

SPACE MOUNTAIN

STICH ENCOUNTER

HAPPY RIDE WITH BAYMAX

sugar rush

tomorrowland plaza

STAR TOURS

With the benefit of Google Earth's historic images, we can also see nicely how the new space mountain building is set a bit deeper into the expanding Tomorrowland. Also of note is that - unlike the original space mountain - the new version also includes an additional show building and the whole attraction is no longer held in the stylized circular structure. This is similar to other newer coasters such as TRON: Lightcycle Run or Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, which feature a large "gravity box" hidden behind a more ornate facade. This one, however, seems to be designed far better in terms of maintaining sightlines throughout the park.

Mar 2022

NOV 2024

NOV 2025

The newly created plaza area is bigger than the entire footprint of the original Space Mountain attraction, which will bring some useful space to alleviate crowds for what is going to be the focal point of many guests when these new attractions open. Indeed, the opening of these new attractions is going to create a huge centre of gravity shift towards the right side of the park, with Space Mountain (and possibly Sugar Rush) joining The Happy Ride with Baymax and Monsters Inc, Ride & Go Week as top-five most popular attractions, all located in Tomorrowland, along with Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast which is just outside in Fantasyland.

Timeline

As is often the case with new attractions, the big question here is when can we expect them to open? The original announcement said the new land would be fully open "by 2027", while the OLC's 2035 Long Term Management Strategy told us that the Sugar Rush attraction would open in "FY2026 or after" with Space Mountain joining in 2027.

OLC's fiscal year runs through March 31 so FY2026 would have meant Sugar Rush was originally expected to be open by March 31, 2026, which has now come and gone. With the announcement of the budget increase for Space Mountain, it is fair to conclude that this project is slightly behind schedule, though details of how and why are not really forthcoming.

Online speculation suggests that an April 15, 2027 opening dates makes sense, to align with Tokyo Disneyland's anniversary. There are a few reasons why this makes sense, but also some why it doesn't:

We have seen a handful of attractions open on April 15 in past years so there is precedent here, such Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters (now being replaced by Sugar Rush) in 2004, Monsters Inc, Ride and Go Seek (2010), and the re-opening of it's a small world (2019). However, this is hardly a conclusive trend with recent openings like The Happy Ride with Baymax and Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast debuting in September.
More common has been the launch of new parades and fireworks shows on the anniversary date, which have tended to accompany new celebration events, such as the Sparkling Jubilee celebration kicking off in 2026, or Disney on Parade in the early 2000s. This is arguably an argument against Tomorrowland opening on April 15, as they might prefer to generate excitement from that event separately from any other events launched that day.
In a recent Q&A for the release of the 2026 financial statements, management were asked what factors led to their confidence in growing revenue as expected by 2030. To this they responded that "[i]n the fiscal year ending March 2029 the new Space Mountain will be operational for the full year, and we will hold Tokyo Disney Resort® 45th Anniversary events, creating a convergence of two major content initiatives". This is curious wording because while it is true that Space Mountain will operate for all of FY2029 (April 1, 2028 - March 31, 2029), if the ride was going to open earlier than April 15, 2027 then the same would also be true for FY2028. This might be reading too much into a small comment, but this makes me slightly less bullish on anything happening before that April anniversary in 2027.
In the OLC's management plan section of the website, at the time of writing (May 2026), the opening date for Sugar Rush is set as "Spring 2027" while Space Mountain is ominously listed as just "2027". Given the recent upwards revision to the budget, one wonders if the project is slightly behind schedule.

For anyone visiting in 2027 (like me!) who might be hoping this Tomorrowland expansion is open for their visit, it is worth noting that the last couple of additions to the Tokyo Disney Resort have all "soft opened" shortly before their official opening date:

The Happy Ride with Baymax and Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast both soft opened on September 21, a week before their formal opening on September 28.
Fantasy Springs soft opened several weeks early on May 15, before the official June 6 opening.

Opening an land expansion like this possibly falls in the middle of these two. With two attractions, an interactive plaza that will draw crowds at night, and at least one retail location this opening requires more than simply turn a new attraction on and testing ride operations. It isn't, of course, also as complex as opening Fantasy Springs at DisneySea which boasts four attractions, multiple dining locations, and huge crowds and thus has a bigger need to test crowd patterns and operations.

In short then, we don't really know much for certain, but spring 2027 seems locked in for SUgar Rush while Space Mountain is likely to slip into summer and possibly even the fall.