A new Tangled-themed attraction in Japan that has been called Disney’s “most romantic” ride ever and dangled as a possibility for Disneyland is fast becoming a hot spot for marriage proposals.
The new Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival attraction that opened in June at Tokyo DisneySea has been pitched as a possible project for the recently approved DisneylandForward theme park expansion plan.
Walt Disney Imagineering Portfolio Executive Creative Producer Emily “Emo” O’Brien described an iconic moment in Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival as “one of the most romantic scenes we’ve ever created in an attraction” during the Bringing the Worlds of Disney Animation to Life in Disney Parks panel discussion at the D23 fan event at the Anaheim Convention Center.
“The overwhelming feeling of romance is actually tangible,” O’Brien said during the D23 fan event. “So much so that we know of two, not one, but two marriage proposals that have actually happened in the attraction. And they were both successful. They both said, ‘Yes.’ It must work.”
The Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival attraction in the new Rapunzel’s Forest themed land at Tokyo DisneySea. (Courtesy of Oriental Land Company)
The new Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival attraction takes riders on a romantic gondola journey as Rapunzel escapes her prison tower, falls for the thief Flynn Rider and explores the kingdom of Corona.
The ride begins outdoors with Rapunzel singing “When Will My Life Begin” from her tower window as Flynn and Maximus watch nearby. Rapunzel and Flynn visit locations from the film before singing the duet “I See the Light” beneath the film’s iconic scene of countless floating lanterns.
Flynn Rider and Rapunzel figures in the Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival attraction in the new Rapunzel’s Forest themed land at Tokyo DisneySea. (Courtesy of Disney)
Rapunzel’s Forest plays a key role in Fantasy Springs, the newest port at Tokyo DisneySea that also features Frozen Kingdom and Peter Pan’s Never Land.
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The backstory for Rapunzel’s Forest brings to life the fairy tale story of the kidnapped princess with the magical long golden locks, her kingdom of Corona and the annual Lantern Festival from Disney’s 2010 computer-animated film.
Rapunzel and Flynn Rider figures in the Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival attraction in the new Rapunzel’s Forest themed land at Tokyo DisneySea. (Courtesy of Disney)
A Tangled-themed land was among the possible projects floated in the DisneylandForward expansion plan approved by the Anaheim City Council in early May that updates a 1990s city plan to allow for a mix of theme park, hotel, retail, dining and entertainment on the eastern and western edges of the Disneyland resort.
DisneylandForward dangled 10 themed lands based on Tangled, Avatar, Frozen, Peter Pan, Zootopia, Toy Story, Black Panther, Coco, Tron and Encanto as potential expansion projects in Anaheim.
Disney announced during the D23 fan event that a new Coco-themed attraction is coming to Disney California Adventure in the near future and an Encanto-themed attraction is heading to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida in 2027.
