The abandoned double-corkscrew coaster in the mist is one of the most iconic photographs of a coaster I've seen

From 1961-2006, Nara Dreamland had a long run!  At least the original owner got to reap the benefits of this "bootleg" Disneyland before he passed away.  To him, it was a success!

I cannot believe its been 9 years since your original Abandoned Nara Dreamland video!

So, a few years ago I had a really excellent Scottish Clarinet Teacher and he used to be in a British military band. During one lesson I was telling him that I'm about to go on a trip to Japan, he then started telling me one time he played in this band during the opening ceremony of a kind of Disneyland theme park in central Japan, this clicked in my brain and I asked him. 'Was it called Nara Dreamland?' and he said yes it was (really surprised that I replied with that). I asked him some questions about what it was like and all I can remember saying was that it was a really unusual and uncanny experience. It was really exciting and has lived in my mind ever since. :)

09:00 "Photo Credit - Unfortunate Bystander" is absolutely killing me

I had the strange opportunity to visit the Dreamland near Tokyo in 1989. I was actually working for Disney at the time and I went with my native coworker. It was a strange day but laughably so. It was raining and there were maybe 10-12 people in the whole park, and not many more employees. In fact, as we went from ride to ride the same ride operator would follow us and send us off on each ride as we got on it. We were always the only two people on any ride. I remember the submarine ride's water being ridiculously cloudy. You could barely see anything through it. The jungle cruise ride was looking bad too. But it did have dinosaurs, which was different! The park was obviously on its last legs and I believe it closed not long after. But it was a really interesting day. I'm glad I got to experience it.

I got to visit Nara but by the time I got there the Dreamland was already a crater

I love how at 4:17 it shows two women in the tea cups barely turning around and right behind them is two men spinning so fast they're about to fly out!!

this is my favorite black friday drop

I love that Jake is going back and redoing his older videos. His research and videos have only gotten better!

I find that this story is a bit sad.  Its my understanding that Tokyo Disney is very different from the American versions.  Some say the Disneysea Park is one of the best theme parks in the world.  That said, you have to give credit to a man who wanted to bring joy to others and was inspired by Disney.  It may have been a sort of "knock off." but the memories and experiences those people had going to that park are slowly fading.  Now there's not even a commemoration to him or the experiences of those who visited his park.

Man…it’s been nearly a decade since I’ve seen you cover this story. Nara Dreamland was certainly…something.

I was born and raised in Nara, Japan. The place was my favorite place as a kid! Good memory.

6:26 This was after the park sold. It's original owner died, & his family sold the park at the height of the Japanese property bubble. The bubble burst, & it's new owners, a major grocery store chain, struggled throughout the 90's & early 2000's; they'd bought a ton of property at the height of the bubble.

I went to the site of nara dreamland a few months ago, it still has an aura about it even post-demolition that I really enjoyed. I'd recommend visiting if you're ever in the area. I'll also add that there are a few abandoned buildings left around the perimeter of dreamland, and a pretty large piece of jungle cruise signage left around the rear of the park, hidden in foliage.

Japanese amusement park culture as a whole is a fascinating deep dive. Dreamland is just the gateway!

@4:18 - Those x2 fellas hyper rotating that teacup are having a grand old time

99 more to the 200th episode

What really killed this park was universal studio Japan bc it was so close to Nara which killed it

this is originally what got me into urban exploring I discovered nara dreamland in 2014 and I've been obsessed with abandoned places since !