Disney Banks On Iron Man to Boost Floundering Hong Kong Venture

Marvel-themed thrill ride plays on spectacular success of Iron Man franchise in China

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Dale de la Rey / Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Tinker Bell Castle is illuminated at Hong Kong Disneyland during the resort's 5th anniversary celebrations in Hong Kong, China, on Friday, Jan. 21, 2011.

Disney has announced the addition of the world’s first Marvel-themed thrill ride at its Hong Kong park. It’s hoped that The Iron Man Experience will boost attendance figures at the park, which has lost hundreds of millions of dollars since its 2005 opening because of low visitor numbers.

Set to open in late 2016, the $100 million attraction is meant to draw on the stellar performance of the movie trilogy at the Chinese box office (‘Iron Man 3’ reaped $121.2 million in China this year). It also adds an extra dimension to the Hong Kong park ahead of the scheduled 2015 opening of Shanghai Disneyland — two resorts Disney hopes will be able to complement each other in the same way as their counterparts in California and Florida.

[New York Times]