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The events following this morning’s 8.9 magnitude earthquake felt in Tokyo Disneyland have unfolded via pictures and updates posted online depicting tens of thousands of guests stranded in the theme parks.
Now, two videos have surfaced on YouTube shot during and moments after the earthquake, showing the calm and collected nature of the Japanese guests within the park, seemingly unaffected by the shaking ground. A number of aftershocks were felt throughout the day and into the night, so it’s not completely clear which of these are shown.
Below are the videos from YouTube users bounonushi, x3mendo, and davidgibbo which include announcements made over the park’s loudspeakers.
It was almost time for the afternoon parade at Tokyo Disneyland when the first earthquake hit, as shown during this video, followed by an aftershock near the parking structure:
This video shows the Tower of Terror and nearby buildings during an aftershock, while crowds calmly wait it out on the ground:
At Tokyo DisneySea, a show was being performed as the earthquake hit. Watch as tall speaker towers sway:
This one was shot just as one of the day’s earthquakes (or aftershocks) took place:
The second video shows guests calmly walking through the park’s streets while more announcements are made:
I don’t speak Japanese, so I can’t translate any of the spoken words in the videos, but the English announcement that was delivered to guests was as follows:
“We have just experienced an earthquake. Please move away from the buildings to an open area and wait there until our cast members can instruct you further. Please be assured that the park has been designed with earthquake safety in mind. We will provide you with more detailed information as soon as possible. Thank you.”
Japanese guests and cast members in this unexpected situation should be applauded for their ability to stay calm under extreme circumstances. It’s clear from the videos that the devastation seen elsewhere in Japan fortunately did not reach Tokyo Disneyland, but I can only imagine the panic that would have come over guests had a similar incident taken place within the United States.