Photo/Illutration Visitors take snapshots with “Beauty and the Beast Castle” in the background in Tokyo Disneyland in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, on Sept. 28. (Tsubasa Setoguchi)

URAYASU, Chiba Prefecture--Tokyo Disneyland opened a new area themed on the Disney film “Beauty and the Beast” here on Sept. 28 that had been delayed from April due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

One Tokyo 10-year-old girl gave it a big thumbs-up.

“The characters were so nice because they look like the real ones. It was also amazing that the music was the same as in the movie,” said Konatsu Ito, who came to the park during a school holiday with her family and a friend.

“But before getting something to eat or visiting the attractions, I want to disinfect my hands," she added.

The park, designed to immerse visitors inside the world of the movie, is carrying out preventive measures against the virus.

Its new area reproduces the town depicted in the movie. The main attraction is “The Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast,” which is inside a 30-meter-high castle. There, visitors ride "magical" teacups that move along to music and pass through well-known scenes from the movie.

The number of visitors is currently restricted for new attractions to avoid congestion. People who wish to visit them must make a reservation through a lottery system by using a special app after entering the park.

Reservations are also required to enter restaurants and shops.

Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea have been experiencing tough times due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

They reopened on July 1 for the first time in about four months, but have limited the number of visitors to less than half the usual capacity as an anti-virus measure and canceled major events and parades, according to Oriental Land Co., which operates the parks.

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