New Details on the Stark Flight Lab Experience Revealed

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Hey Disney Vacationers! Disneyland’s Avengers Campus is about to get a serious upgrade. Announced at last year’s D23 event, two brand-new attractions are on their way: Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab. At the recent SXSW panel, The Future of World-Building at Disney, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and Walt Disney Imagineering’s Chief Creative Officer Bruce Vaughn shared exciting new details about the Stark Flight Lab experience —and it’s going to be unlike anything ever built in a theme park.

Step Inside Tony Stark’s Workshop

Becoming an Avenger isn’t easy. You don’t just get handed a super suit—you’ve got to train. That’s where Stark Flight Lab comes in. This attraction will drop guests right inside Tony Stark’s high-tech workshop to check out his latest inventions and—more importantly—test them out. And who better to introduce the experience than Tony Stark himself?

At SXSW, Robert Downey Jr. made a surprise appearance, calling the Imagineers behind the project “the living embodiment of the Stark Enterprises mission statement.” He went on to say:

“The curiosity, the passion, the inventiveness, the occasional flair for the dramatic—most of all, a drive to put something good out into the world to make life better, at the minimum more fun by a mile.”

Downey also had a little fun with how secretive Imagineering can be, joking: “You wanna talk about a closed set? It’s the Area 51 of fun!”

A Ride System Like No Other

Imagine sitting in a gyro-kinetic pod, rolling along a track, and then stopping in front of a giant robot arm. That’s when the real action starts. The robot arm lifts you into the air, throwing you into high-speed maneuvers inspired by Iron Man and his fellow Avengers.

Bruce Vaughn made it clear this is something completely new:

“Transferring from a track to a robot arm and then back again—nothing like this has ever been done before in a theme park, and we’re so excited about it.”

Unlike traditional rides, where the technology stays hidden to keep the focus on the story, Stark Flight Lab is flipping that approach. Here, the tech is the story, and Imagineering wants guests to see it up close.

DUM-E Joins the Action

Fans of the Iron Man films will be happy to know that Tony Stark’s robotic assistant, DUM-E, is making an appearance. When Downey visited Imagineering, he pointed out how much the ride’s robot arm looked like DUM-E, and Imagineers quickly worked that into the attraction.

To make sure the robotic movements feel as lifelike as possible, Disney used motion capture technology with real dancers to create a virtual mirror of DUM-E’s personality.

More to Come for Avengers Campus

The Stark Flight Lab experience is just one piece of what’s coming to Avengers Campus. Downey made it clear that he’s all-in on the future of the park, telling Feige and Vaughn:

“Even after we finish with the Flight Lab, I want to stay with you all for the long haul. This isn’t a one-time deal. You need more me.”

With groundbreaking technology, deep Marvel storytelling, and Tony Stark’s signature wit, Stark Flight Lab is shaping up to be one of the most unique theme park experiences ever built. If you’ve ever wanted to step inside Tony Stark’s world, your chance is coming soon.

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