See in the New Year with some Disney magic, and maybe some sleep deprivation.

Where, and how, will you spend New Year’s Eve? For those living in Japan, the evening can be a world apart from the Hogmanay festivities back home, with very few fireworks going off at the stroke of midnight, and the only rendition of Old Lang Syne to be heard is the jingly kind played to inform customers that a shop is closing. There is one place where the party goes on throughout the night and the new year is rung in to the sound of fireworks, the Tokyo resort in Chiba that makes up two of Japan’s top three theme parks, and the ‘New Year’s Eve Passport’ as the special ticket is known, will go on sale next month.

▼ You too could be this happy for 26 non-stop hours!

Visitors with the pass will be able to enter either Tokyo Disneyland or the neighbouring Tokyo DisneySea from 8 p.m. on 31 December, although the conditions state that visitors are only allowed to stay on site for a mere 26 hours of merrymaking, far longer than the usual 1-Day pass. Can we expect to see people falling asleep on rollercoasters, since they can manage it too easily on trains, and snoozing in their Disney-fied curries? For those who can resist the call of the Land of Nod, and the chill of the early hours of a January morning, the parks will be open for business as usual throughout the early hours with revellers able to see in the new year in style.

Unlike normal day passes that expire when the park closes, visitors will see the park by night, which will hopefully be a glorious whirlwind of lights and colours from dusk until dawn, and not just look like Universal Studios Japan’s zombie-infested Halloween horror nights as sleep-deprived attendees traipse the park emitting groans. Possibly best of all, instead of osechi dishes to eat, you can tuck into the park’s delicious themed snacks and fast food.

▼ It’ll also mark the end of the resort’s 35th anniversary year.

There will be two types of passes, which will go on sale on 11 September: one for Tokyo Disneyland and one for Tokyo DisneySea. While visitors will only be able to spend the night at the one they plumped for, from 4 a.m. on New Year’s Day the pass will grant them access to both parks. The tickets can be used by children or adults, and will cost an average 9,700 yen (US$88) per person. Those wanting to get their mitts on the passes will need to apply through the special website, where there will be three chances to purchase. If, as is highly likely, there are a large number of applicants, a lottery will be held to see who gets to go to the ball, with the third opportunity only open to those not drawn in the first or second lots.

For those not able to make it, you could always make your way to your local temple; there are fewer characters willing to sing and dance for your pleasure, but what you miss out on in smiling faces, you can make up for with a traditional New Year’s celebration of watching TV and the tolling of bells, 108 times in fact.

Source: JIJI via Otakomu
Images: ©SoraNews24