Tokyo Disneyland Remains Closed in Wake of Earthquake

Gadget's Go Coaster (Tokyo Disneyland)

LOS ANGELES – The Walt Disney Co. said Monday that it will resume some operations that had been halted by the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan over a week ago, but that its theme parks Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, owned by partner Oriental Land Co., will remain closed for now.

On Friday, Oriental Land said that an inspection showed no major damage to buildings and facilities and that the parks are in good condition. But the lack of a stable electricity supply and transportation issues to and from the parks led it to postpone their re-opening. A portion of its flat parking area suffered liquefaction, when soil loses its shape and begins to behave like water, due to the 9.0-magnitude earthquake.

Disney said Monday that it would resume some operations in Japan on Tuesday, but it did not immediately make clear what operations those were. There are Disney Stores in Japan and its movies are shown in the country.

The parks are owned by Oriental Land, which pays licensing fees to Disney based on a percentage of revenue.

Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne said last week that revenue from the Tokyo parks amounted to about $240 million in fiscal 2010 and that Disney was likely to lose about 5 cents to 6 cents of earnings per share based on the disaster.

The quake and resulting tsunami are estimated to have killed 18,400 people, displaced 452,000 others, and damaged a nuclear power facility about 140 miles north of Tokyo.

Disney shares rose 59 cents, or 1.4 percent, to close at $41.82 on Monday.