Marvel Super Hero Island
Marvel Super Hero Island | |
---|---|
Universal's Islands of Adventure | |
Status | Operating |
Soft opening date | March 27, 1999 |
Opening date | May 28, 1999 |
Ride statistics | |
Attraction type | Marvel Comics–themed area |
Designer | Universal Creative |
Theme | Pre-Disney Marvel Comics |
Marvel Super Hero Island is an area at
History
What is today known as Marvel Super Hero Island was originally conceived as "DC Superhero Land", an area featuring
Meanwhile,
Construction of
Attractions
Marvel Super Hero Island currently features four attractions.
The Incredible Hulk Coaster is a launched roller coaster themed after comic book superhero character, the Hulk. From 1999 to 2015, guests entered the science laboratory of Dr. Bruce Banner with many televisions showing a cartoon of the story centered around the Hulk. After the Hulk roller coaster was opened in 2016 as part of the refurbishment, a new, original storyline was added with a completely redesigned queue experience that places guests inside a perilous scientific experiment led by General Thaddeus Ross, which shows CGI animations of test subjects being exposed to gamma radiation and being transformed into Hulk-like creatures.
Doctor Doom's Fearfall is a space shot ride based around the Fantastic Four's main villain, Doctor Doom. The plot involves Doom's latest invention by using the guests' fear as part of an effort to defeat the Fantastic Four. The guests become a subject of Dr. Doom and traps them so he can have their fear extracted.
Storm Force Accelatron is a teacup ride themed after a popular member of X-Men, Storm. It opened on May 28, 2000, a year after the rest of the Marvel Super Hero Island attractions opened. Riders are made to spin around in order to power the Accelatron, a device that amplify the mutants' abilities, to allow the X-Men, Professor X and Storm, to defeat Magneto.
Dining, merchandise shops, and meet and greets
Marvel Super Hero Island is also home to dining and merchandise shops. Cafe 4 is a futuristic command center-like restaurant themed after characters from the Fantastic Four universe, featuring a
Disney's acquisition of Marvel
On August 31, 2009, The Walt Disney Company (Universal's largest rival in the theme park market) agreed to purchase Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion. The deal was finalized on December 31, 2009 in which Disney acquired full ownership on the company.[4] Universal stated that the acquisition would not impact its theme park licensing agreement with Marvel, while Disney CEO Bob Iger acknowledged that Disney would continue to honor any contracts that Marvel currently has with Disney competitors.[5]
The 1994 agreement between Marvel Entertainment and Comcast/NBCUniversal (Universal's current parent companies) governs the use of Marvel properties in non-Universal theme parks and dictates what parks in the region can use such properties. Currently, Islands of Adventure uses the Avengers, Spider-Man, X-Men, and the Fantastic Four. The contract forbids Walt Disney World from installing these characters, as well as the other characters in the same "family" (i.e. any team members, side characters, and villains closely associated with the superheroes). In addition, Disney is not allowed to use the "Marvel" name in all of the U.S., nor create a Marvel-themed simulator ride within the legal designated regional distances of any Universal theme park in the United States regardless of whether the Marvel characters are being used by Comcast/NBCUniversal.[3]
The
Meanwhile, Disney World has taken other measures to promote its Marvel properties within the Resort. At the
Halloween Horror Nights
In 2002, during
Characters used at Marvel Super Hero Island
The following list of characters are or may be seen at Marvel Super Hero Island. This includes from actual costume appearances to 2D drawings all around buildings to videos seen at attractions.
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Gallery
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Kingpin's Arcade
References
- ^ Schneider, Mike (July 5, 1998). "Theme Parks Set in Motion Around Conference Tables". Lakeland Ledger. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
- ^ Krosnick, Brian (May 21, 2017). "This Amazing Adventure May be One of the Best Rides Ever Built. Here's the Inside Scoop". Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ a b c "Marvel Agreement between MCA Inc. and Marvel Entertainment Group". sec.gov. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016.
- ^ Donley, Michelle (December 31, 2009). "Marvel Shareholders OK Disney Acquisition". MarketWatch.com. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014.
- ^ Strauss, Bob (May 7, 2013). "Disney buying Marvel for $4 billion". Los Angeles Daily News.
- ^ "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and BIG HERO 6 Coming Soon to Tokyo Disneyland - Nerdist". April 5, 2017.
- ^ "Guardians of the Galaxy theme park characters appear for first time as Walt Disney World welcomes Marvel". Inside the Magic. August 24, 2014. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016.
- ^ Slater, Shawn (July 3, 2014). "Exclusive 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Sneak Peek Debuts July 4 at Disney Parks". Disney Parks Blog. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016.
- ^ Kubersky, Seth (November 5, 2016). "Dr. Strange now appearing at Disney's Hollywood Studios". Attractions Magazine.