Following very positive visitor feedback and the amazing success of the recent Madame Tussauds temporary attraction in Tokyo, Merlin Entertainments (‘Merlin’) is delighted to announce that it will open a full size permanent Madame Tussauds at Decks Tokyo Beach Mall, Odaiba, in Spring 2013; alongside the company’s new LEGOLAND Discovery Centre which opens later this year.
 
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The ultimate celebrity experience, the temporary Madame Tussauds closes today after three months, and has broken all records both for visitor numbers and positive response – making the case for a permanent exhibition overwhelming.   Madame Tussauds Tokyo will be one of the biggest opened by the brand and the fourth Madame Tussauds to open in the region – alongside the highly successful Hong Kong, Shanghai and Bangkok attractions.     The company is also looking to open a fifth in South Korea, and is close to finalising a suitable site; underlining the company’s commitment to fast tracking its business in the dynamic Asia Pacific region.
 
Madame Tussauds Tokyo will feature more than 60 of the most popular Japanese and international celebrities from the world of sport, film and television – all in exciting interactive themed areas so that visitors will really be able to get  ‘up close and personal’ with their heroes.  And, like all the Madame Tussauds around the world, Madame Tussauds’ Tokyo will reflect the culture, people, history and colour of the City in which it is located.
 
Commenting, Russell Barnes, Merlin Entertainments Divisional Director Midway Developments said: “Our daily customer feedback survey has shown that visitors to the Tokyo attraction, both local and tourists, have obviously loved the experience, and been fascinated by the wax figures of their heroes.  They were not prepared for the quality of the figures or just how lifelike they are – and have really taken the opportunity to ‘meet’ and be photographed with them.     The new exhibition will take this experience to another level – not just with three or four  times as many figures, but with no ropes and barriers, and really immersive sets,  visitors will have no problem believing that they really are standing beside, or even ‘interacting’ with their heroes .....great fun and great figures!”
 
Taro Saito, General Manager DECKS Tokyo Beach said:  “We are delighted that Merlin has made the decision to open a permanent Madame Tussauds in Decks Tokyo Beach Mall, in addition to the planned LEGOLAND Discovery Centre.  The temporary attraction drove a huge number of visitors to the Mall showing that the combination of high quality retail and leisure is exactly what consumers are looking for – and Merlin’s global brands add a new dimension to Tokyo’s family leisure offer.”
 
Its popularity to date means that the new Madame Tussauds attraction is destined to be a ‘must do’ attraction for all visitors to the City.      Even the celebrities themselves do a double take when they see their figures.  Madame Tussauds’ expertise and painstaking research means it takes a minimum of 3 months to make every figure, and many are produced following sittings with the celebrities themselves, taking hundreds of separate measurements, hours matching skin tone, eye and hair colour - with every individual hair inserted separately.     No one else has this relationship with the famous – who regard inclusion in Madame Tussauds as a huge honour and recognition of their status and achievement.   
 
MERLIN ENTERTAINMENTS is the leading name in location-based, family entertainment, and has seen the most successful and dynamic growth of any company in the sector over the last eight years. Europe’s Number 1 and the world’s second largest visitor attraction operator, Merlin now operates nearly 80 attractions, six hotels and two holiday villages in 17 countries across four continents. The company aims to deliver memorable and rewarding experiences to its 44 million visitors worldwide through its iconic global and local brands, and the commitment and passion of its managers and more than 17,000 employees. Merlin Entertainments operates the following attractions - SEA LIFE, Madame Tussauds, LEGOLAND, The EDF Energy London Eye, Dungeons, Gardaland, LEGOLAND Discovery Centres, Alton Towers Resort, Warwick Castle, THORPE PARK, Chessington World of Adventures Resort, Blackpool Tower, Heide Park, Earth Explorer, Sydney Aquarium, WILD LIFE Sydney, Sydney Tower Eye and SKYWALK at the Sydney Tower Eye, Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic Encounter and Underwater World, Oceanworld Manly, and WILD LIFE Hamilton Island.  All brands are distinctive, challenging and innovative, and have great potential for growth in the future. Visit www.merlinentertainments.biz for more information.