New ticket system is a mixed bag for fans of Studio Ghibli anime.

Ghibli Park is going to be different from other theme parks in a number of ways. Instead of rides and parades, the focus is more on art and atmosphere, and to ensure visitors’ memories are of stepping into the world of Studio Ghibli’s anime films, not fighting crowds and standing in long lines, Ghibli Park has daily attendance caps in place. The caps vary by park area and specific day, but the highest is only 4,000 people per day in the Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse on weekends, and on the low end just 650 people will be allowed into Dondoko Forest, a.k.a. the forest and house from My Neighbor Totoro, on weekends.

Those are miniscule amounts compared to the number of fans of the anime of Hayao Miyazaki and his studiomates, so currently getting a ticket to Ghibli Park requires some luck. You have to apply for a reservation three months ahead of time, with winners of a lottery granted the option to purchase tickets.

Applications open on the 10th of each month, and that’s the system that’s been in place for the last few months, in the runup to Ghibli Park’s grand opening on November 1. However, the park has announced that starting on November 10, when tickets go on sale for admission in February of next year, they’re abolishing the lottery system, and tickets will instead be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

It’s a mixed bag in terms of convenience for fans. It definitely gives an advantage to those who are able to access ASAP the Boo-Woo or Loppi ticketing service websites/kiosks (the exclusive purveyors of Ghibli Park tickets) over people with work/school/family commitments that prevent them from doing so. On the other hand, doing away with the lottery system will at least let you know, right away, whether or not you’re going to be going to Ghibli Park or not. Under the current lottery system, applications are accepted between the 10th and 21st of the month and winners aren’t notified until the 5th of the following month. That means you could be waiting almost four weeks to find out whether your Ghibli Park plans are a go or not, and whether that’s going to require you and your companions to arrange time off from work, train or air tickets, hotel accommodations, or any other logistics involved in making your way to Nagakute, Aichi Prefecture, where the park is located.

▼ It’s not like you can just crash at Mei and Satsuki’s house.

The lottery system will remain in place for tickets on one day per month, though, the 27th, when Ghibli Park grants special priority to Aichi residents. And on all days, the ticket purchaser is required to show a photo ID at the park’s entrance, in order to prevent ticket scalping and resales.

Accompanying the change in the ticket buying process is a new ticket class. Initially, Ghibli Park will consist of three separate zones, Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse, Dondoko Forest, and the Whisper of the Heart-themed Hill of Youth, all located on the grounds of Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park. Currently, admission to each section requires a separate ticket, but starting with tickets for February (i.e. the tickets that go on sale November 10), a new two-zone ticket that gives access to both Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse and the Hill of Youth will go on sale, priced at 3,000 yen (US$20.30) for adults on weekdays and 3,500 yen on weekends, and 1,500/1,750 yen for children aged 4-12. This ticket class replaces the previous Hill of Youth-only ticket and was created due to popular demand for a multi-area pass, Ghibli Park says. 650 Grand Warehouse/Hill of Youth tickets will be available on weekdays, and 770 on weekends.

Source: Ghibli Park via Impress Watch
Top image: Studio Ghibli (edited by SoraNews24)
Insert images: Studio Ghibli
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