It would seem unlikely that the items were made to serve a dual purpose, however they tend to make one believe that they are closer to license plates than serving trays. If they are truly license plates, they would have been the first license plates made/produced for Tokyo Disneyland. The first positively identified license plate (TD-GN-02) was produced/released in 2000 for the resort.
Japan has very strict regulations on the production and use of non-official license plates, and if they were the first "license plates" produced, they may have been made in this format to identify them as "souvenir license plates." Souvenir license plates that were produced after these two items, carried a warning sticker on the back of the plates, detailing their use and imposed restrictions .
TD-GN-01 was produced/released in 1988 for Tokyo Disneyland's 5th Anniversary and special event birthday party. The event was held October 1, 1988 to November 23, 1988 at the resort.
The size of the item is a little larger than the standard size (12" X 6") license plate with it being 13" X 6½" in size. If the item was used as a serving tray, the size would limit what could be served with it.
There are two non-license plate features which tends to show its purpose as a serving tray. There is a ¼" raised lip on the outer edge that you don't find on the standard souvenir license plates. The item also lacks bolt holes or slots, that would be drilled or cut into the item for mounting as a license plate.
It appears that the plate was constructed from two sheets of aluminum, as the top sheet can be seen crimped around the edges of the back sheet. While the two sheets make it a sturdy license plate, it would lack strength to use it as a serving tray in some circumstances. Several of the plate image features, Mickey and the lettering ("Mickey Mouse"), were embossed or stamped into the plate. The embossing can also been seen from the back side of the plate. It would seem that the raised areas would be a problem if the item was used as a serving tray.
The image below was provided by David Simpson of Bend, Oregon and shows the "lip" in better detail for the entire item.
TD-GN-06 was made similar to TD-GN-01 and has also been described as a license plate and a serving tray. It was first seen on e-Bay in May of 2001. The plate surfaced once again in June of 2010. The first seller noted that the item was sold at Tokyo Disneyland in the early 1990's. It was produced to promote a safe driving campaign and numerous merchandise items were also made using the same "safe driving" graphic. The background of the plate is pink/flesh in color. The plate is also 13" X 6½" in size.
In the original image posted on e-Bay, you can see the raised lip on the edges of the plate. You can also see the embossed/stamped areas on the item (Mickey, Minnie and lettering). The item does not have bolt holes or slots drilled or cut into the item, instead it has graphically reproduced "holes" in each of the corners. The item was sold wrapped in clear plastic.
The image below is of a bumper sticker made using the safe driving graphic. The background is actually reflective silver, which images black when scanned.
