Disneyland Introduces Their First Marvel Exhibit with Iron Man Tech:
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While Hong Kong Disneyland has an entire Marvel Comics section in the works, the first notable Marvel presence in a Disney park is opening this weekend, at the original Disneyland in Anaheim.
At a press event, I got an early look at this exhibit, officially called “Iron Man Tech Presented by Stark Industries” and located inside Innoventions in Tomorrowland, a day before it opens to the general public, this Saturday.
The main draw at Iron Man Tech is Iron Man’s Hall of Armor, as seen in the films – with the Mark I through Mark VII armors worn in Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and The Avengers all on display, just as they appear in Tony Stark’s workshop in the films. Standing in front of the older armors is Tony Stark’s main suit from Iron Man 3, the Mark 42.
Jay Dreves from Walt Disney Imagineering explained to me that these were not replicas, but actual suits made for and used in the Iron Man films. And that alone is certainly tantalizing to fans, considering the only place to see these suits before was at San Diego Comic-Con, if you were lucky enough to get a ticket before it sold out.
Outside of Innoventions, I had several intrigued Disneyland attendees ask me about the exhibit, who were clearly quite excited by the prospect of seeing the suits in person. It is indeed very cool to examine these suits and the detail on them, as the Disneyland exhibit allows you to get very close to the suits – much closer than seeing them onstage at SDCC has allowed.
Besides the Hall of Armor, Iron Man Tech also features a simulator game — labeled “Become Iron Man” — that works much like Kinect. You initially see yourself onscreen standing there, only to be encased in an animated Iron Man Mark 42 suit of armor, which flies onto you like the suit in Iron Man 3 does for Tony Stark. You then take part in a series of “tests,” in which you fire repulsor rays and fly through Tony Stark’s workshop, with the Iron Man figure onscreen mimicking your movement. It’s a brief but fun little game, and Dreves told me that soon — this feature won’t be ready for the opening day of the exhibit, but likely in the next week or so — you’ll be able to retrieve images of yourself in the game, including wearing the armor with the mask open, and your face underneath.
Guiding you through your tests is JARVIS, whose voice is provided, as in the Marvel films, by Paul Bettany. While waiting in line for the game, you can also view some pieces of armor from the films in a display case, including helmets and chest pieces from the earlier films and the gauntlet and boot Robert Downey Jr. has teased are part of a big action sequence in Iron Man 3.
Disney is typically tightlipped on their exact future plans for Marvel attractions at their theme parks – Dreves couldn’t confirm anything specific was in the works – but it’s hard not to see the Iron Man Tech exhibit as a stepping stone, finally bringing something substantially Marvel into Disneyland beyond select merchandise. No, it’s not the Marvel rides we’re all waiting for, but for fans of the Iron Man films, it is a great opportunity to see the ever-cool suits from the movies they love in person, while also having some family fun with the game portion.
Tied to Iron Man 3’s release, the Iron Man Tech exhibit is currently scheduled to stay open until September, though Dreves acknowledged that you never know – Disney could decide to keep it there beyond that.
by Eric Goldman
Eric Goldman is Executive Editor of IGN TV. You can follow him on Twitter at @EricIGN, IGN at ericgoldman-ign and Facebook at Facebook.com/TheEricGoldman.