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Universal Studios Japan has announced the closure of The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man: The Ride, with the attraction to cease operations permanently in early 2024
Lauren Heath-Jones | Planet Attractions | 17 May 2023
The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man: The Ride will close at Universal Studios Japan in early 2024 Credit: Universal Studios Japan
The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man: The Ride will close permanently at Universal Studios Japan in early 2024.
The iconic dark ride, which also operates at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida, US, first opened at Universal Studios Japan on January 23, 2004.
Offering the same experience as its Orlando counterpart, the Spider-Man dark ride takes guests on a high-paced adventure with Spider-Man, as he tries to prevent the Sinister Syndicate - a supervillain criminal organisation made up of Doctor Octopus, Scream, Hydro-Man, Hobgoblin and Electro - from stealing the Statue of Liberty.
Combining an Omnimover system with both 3D and 4D elements, the ride was developed by an A-list of attractions industry veterans, including former senior VP and chief creative officer at Universal Creative Thierry Coup; Scott Trowbridge, portfolio creative executive at Walt Disney Imagineering; and Philip Hettema, president and creative director of The Hettema Group.
The ride came as part of a major expansion of Universal Studios Japan - the first since the park first opened to the public in 2001. It will close on January 22, 2024, just one day shy of its twentieth anniversary, as Marvel's 20-year licensing agreement with Universal for the Japanese rights expires.
While the licensing agreement with Marvel is expiring in Japan, it's unlikely that the Orlando version of the attraction will suffer the same fate, as Universal's rights agreement with Marvel for the region continues indefinitely.
This closure follows the recent shutdown of the nearby Terminator 2 3D attraction. Universal has not yet announced replacements for either attraction, leading to speculation that a permanent Pokémon land could be planned for the park.
To commemorate the ride's closing, Universal Studios Japan will launch The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man final campaign ride experience, available from July, which includes a special sticker celebrating the ride. Commemorative merchandise is also likely to be released.
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