Disney Shares New Look at Stark Flight Lab Ride Coming to Disney California Adventure’s Avengers Campus

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Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.) is set to make a grand entrance at the Avengers Campus in Disney California Adventure Park, and true to his character, he’ll be arriving in an impressive fashion. The iconic Iron Man will employ advanced technology for his brand-new ride. At this year’s SXSW event, Robert Downey Jr. himself unveiled concept footage and sneak peeks of the upcoming Stark Flight Lab attraction. This ride is set to introduce a unique design, with a track transporting guests to a robotic arm that lifts them up, offering an immersive experience of flying like Iron Man.

At the SXSW 2025 event in Austin, Robert Downey Jr. made a surprise appearance during Disney’s “The Future of World-Building at Disney” panel. He shared the stage with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and Bruce Vaughn, the President and Chief Creative Officer for Walt Disney Imagineering, to talk about the creation of Stark Flight Lab. This is one of two significant new attractions, alongside Avengers Infinity Defense, that will soon be available at DCA (Disney California Adventure).

On the E-ticket ride, visitors will find themselves in spinning capsules called gyro-kinetic pods. These pods will travel along a track until they reach a colossal robotic arm. According to Disney Parks’ blog, this arm will lift you up into the sky where you’ll perform multiple quick movements reminiscent of Iron Man and other Avengers, inspired by their high-speed maneuvers. Once your test flight concludes, you’ll be gently returned to the track.

Vaughn expressed his enthusiasm about a unique, unprecedented attraction in our theme park: “We’ve never attempted anything like this before, and we can’t wait to share it with you!” He also mentioned that the ride mechanism itself will be a significant part of the experience for visitors. Instead of concealing the technology as they typically do to emphasize the storyline, Vaughn explained that in this case, the technology is integral to the narrative: “Here, the technology takes center stage and becomes the very essence of the story.

Robert Downey Jr. playfully hinted that only those Avengers who promptly answer his FaceTime calls will join him on his upcoming ride, and he commended the Imagineers crafting the attraction. He also shared his involvement in shaping the ride’s themes. While touring the highly confidential WDI headquarters, Downey Jr. observed a robot arm resembling Tony Stark’s DUM-E. This observation led to the inclusion of DUM-E within the experience. The Imagineers employed both dancers and motion capture technology to create a “virtual mirror,” which they utilized as a guide in initial ride prototypes. Their aim is to make the ride’s arm appear as realistic as DUM-E.

1) We’re really into it, and thematically it all fits together nicely (though the potential wait time for this ride does give us pause). If Stark Flight Lab manages to make us feel like we’re soaring in Iron Man’s suit, then it will be one of Earth’s most powerful theme park attractions.

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2025-03-10 20:32