Two Amazing Marvel Rides to try at Hong Kong Disneyland


Iron Man inside 'Stark Expo'
Iron Man inside 'Stark Expo'
Did you know that Hong Kong Disneyland has two Marvel rides in its park?  One ride ‘Iron Man Experience’ opened in 2017. The other, ‘Ant Man and the Wasp’ opened in March 2019. We were fortunate in having timed our visit to Hong Kong Disneyland one week after Ant Man opened.

Confession time – at the time of visiting Hong Kong Disneyland – I had not seen many Marvel Movies. Yes, I had seen Hulk and Spiderman and so forth – but had not seen the Avengers or Ant Man and the Wasp. So my Disney experience of the new Marvel rides comes from limited background knowledge. After our trip in April 2019 – I have started watching the Marvel Universe of movies so playing ‘catch up’ big time. I have enjoyed immensely watching ‘The Avengers’ and ‘Ant Man and the Wasp’.

Back to Hong Kong Disneyland. Disney have incorporated two Marvel rides which form part of a multi-year expansion at Hong Kong Disneyland. Hong Kong Disneyland is currently renovating their castle (bigger and better) and they are also creating ‘Frozen Land’ which will be awesome once completed. 

The two Marvel rides are currently in an area of Tomorrowland –and in 2023 Hong Kong Disneyland will be adding yet another Marvel ride based on the Avengers. Here are my reviews of the Marvel rides:

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Nano Battle

You must defend the Data Core (which has classified contents) and together with Ant-Man and The Wasp stop Zola and the Swarmbots.  

Do you need to know whom Zola and the Swarmbots are? No not at all. Its pretty easy to work out whom the good guys are from the bad ones. This ride is basically the old ‘Buzz Lightyear’ shooting laser blasters ride but themed to the Ant Man movies. 

All the targets to aim for on Ant Man are screen based. 

It’s a dark ride and fun for all ages. It is not scary at all for young kids. There are quite a lot of Ant Man props and scenes from the movies to look at in the pre-ride queue. The lines move fast though so you don't get a lot of time to look at them.

I must say I was very underwhelmed by this ride. It’s basically a point and shoot ride which allows for you to be competitive with your family members. You get a score during the ride which you can compare at the end with friends/family members. 

We only rode this ride once. I think the imagineers (Disney designers) relied heavily on immersion in the Marvel Universe (as it does look impressive), and less on innovation in providing a brand new ride. My thoughts only but I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this.

The lines for this ride, whilst an extremely new ride, were always under 30 minutes (unheard of for a new ride in other Disney parks, although the queues in Hong Kong Disneyland are not that bad in general with most rides a 10-20 minutes wait).
The Entrance to Ant Man and the Wasp ride
The Entrance to Ant Man and the Wasp ride

The Entrance to Ant Man and the Wasp ride

The Iron Man Experience

This is the only Iron Man Experience ride in the world. Basically you hop on board a flying ship (Iron Wing) and wear some Stark Vision glasses (for the 3D effects).  It is very similar to the Star Tours ride, where you are strapped into a motion simulator vehicle. Instead of exploring different worlds as in Star Tours – you actually fly over the Hong Kong skyline (skyscrapers to Victoria’s Peak) which make this ride totally unique in the world – and exciting as you are in Hong Kong!

We really enjoyed this ride and rode it about 3 times in a row. The line moved quickly and the queue was never more than 30 minutes long. The first time we rode it the line was only 10 minutes long! This ride is suitable for all ages although some people do get motion sickness. If you get sick in Star Tours or motion simulators – you are likely to get sick with this one too unfortunately.

Iron Man Ride Poster

Iron Man Ride
The entrance to the Iron Man Ride
Iron Man Ride Poster
Iron Wing Vehicles - these are the vehicles you 'board' on Ant Man

Iron Man Ride Poster
Posters around the park advertising the Marvel rides and exhibits

Stark Expo 

There are several exhibition halls that include the iconic Iron Man MARK III suit and the Iron Wing spacecraft. These are exhibited ‘along the way’ to the Iron Man ride. They were super cool to look at though and if you are a big fan of Iron Man – you would be impressed by this pre-ride queue.

Iron Man Ride

Iron Man Ride


Iron Man Ride
Some of the artwork in the exhibit

Iron Man Tech Showcase

This is where you can meet Iron Man himself and get some photos done. We skipped this section.
Iron Man Ride Tech Showcase
This is where you get to meet the Marvel characters
Do you need to have some background knowledge of Marvel to ride these rides?

No not at all.  We just knew in general terms about these movies. However I am sure our enjoyment would have been enhanced had we watched the movies prior to going to Hong Kong Disneyland and experiencing the rides.

Overall

The Iron Man ride is fantastic and not to be missed. The Ant Man ride was ok, but I was expecting more. The theming for Ant Man however was awesome and I think would be more fully appreciated by an Ant Man fan.

There is plenty of the Marvel Universe to see at Hong Kong Disneyland. There are many photo opportunities and a lot of movie memorabilia, props, vehicles from the movies and costumes are on display. If you are a Marvel Fan, you can fully immerse yourself in this Marvel universe and you will not be disappointed.

I hope you enjoyed reading about Hong Kong Disneyland. If you would like to comment please do so in Comments as I would love to hear about your experiences.

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Until next week,
KJ

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