We have good news and bad news.
Let’s start with the latter: the long-awaited theme park that Ghibli fans the world over have been itching to see was initially supposed to open next year, but it has now been delayed to 2023. However, some attractions will be completed in time for a soft opening in autumn 2022.
Based on the initial artist’s impression released in 2019, the park would be divided into five sections. The first section is dedicated to the Large Ghibli Warehouse, an indoor facility featuring elements from various Ghibli films including 'The Secret World of Arrietty' and 'Castle in the Sky’, complete with a cinema and playground. The other four sections are the Valley of Witches, the ‘Princess Mononoke’ village, the Dondoko Forest from ‘My Neighbor Totoro’, and the Hill of Youth area.
Studio Ghibli has just teased a new artist’s impression of a real-life Howl’s Moving Castle, which will be in the Valley of Witches. The image is generating a fresh wave of excitement among those who’ve always dreamed of being whisked away in the whimsical fortress.
Now for the good news: some Ghibli Park attractions are set to open in 2022. Unfortunately, the castle isn’t one of them, but the Hill of Youth, the Large Ghibli Warehouse and Dondoko Forest are all expected to open next year, while the Valley of Witches (including the castle) and Mononoke’s Village will take an extra year to complete.
An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the Howl’s Moving Castle replica would be in the Hill of Youth area, which is opening in 2022.
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