Lately, people have been wondering when the heroes of the Marvel Universe would start popping up in Disney’s theme parks. Plans are in place to bring them to Hong Kong Disneyland within the next few years, and right now, Tony Stark is showing off his Hall of Armors inside Innoventions at Disneyland to promote the release of ‘Iron Man 3’, but it appears that a whole Marvel theme park will be popping up before Disney gets a chance to fully integrate one of their latest acquisitions into the parks.
Originally set to open in June, Dubai’s Marvel City has met a few delays and is will now open in December. Not a theme park per se, Marvel City is being advertised as a “family entertainment center” featuring the characters of Marvel, who are being licensed out for this project. Basically, it looks like it’ll be an equivalent to DisneyQuest, the indoor interactive “theme park” in Downtown Disney at the Walt Disney World Resort.
The 111,485 square foot building was designed by Falcon’s Treehouse. Here’s how the designers describe the upcoming attraction:
As you explore the indoor ‘superhero city”, you’ll encounter one incredible attraction after another, with interactive experiences featuring some of the most advanced entertainment technologies and special effects ever devised. Along the way, you’ll also discover an assortment of ingenious educational/informational experiences that will propel you to a new understanding of the real-life scientific principles behind the superhero action.
The supercharged atmosphere of Marvel City gets much of its energy from the cleverly themed designed treatments and varied materials that give each floor its own distinctive character, tying the surroundings visually and texturally to that floor’s resident superhero. At the same time, the original background music is specific to each floor, giving the guest spaces a rich emotional dimension that perfectly reflects the mood of the surrounding attractions. It all adds up to a totally immersive guest experience that is endlessly intriguing…and often aw-inspiring. In a word, Marvel City is simply super.
The site (via Comic Book Movie) also provides a series of concept art pieces depicting various parts of Marvel City. You can check out what they have in store for the interior, exterior, and the attractions in the gallery below:
The concept art looks quite amazing and I’m very curious about what these attractions are involving Iron Man, Spider-Man, the Hulk, and the X-Men. However, did you notice that someone pops up in the art that shouldn’t be there? I spied Raphael from ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ standing next to Captain America in one picture. Considering that he’s not a Marvel character, I don’t imagine that he’ll appear in the final product.
What do you think of Dubai’s Marvel City? If this is the type of thing that they’re building without Disney’s direct involvement? What do you think the House of Mouse has in store for the Marvel Heroes when they finally pop up alongside Aladdin, Buzz Lightyear, and the Disney princesses? Share your thoughts in the comments.
