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Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man at Universal Studios Japan closing January 2024

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Giga Poster
The Japan version of the Universal Spider-Man dark ride will close permanently on January 22nd, 2024, exactly two decades after it opened, Universal Studios Japan announced today.

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The park put out a press release stating that a ”final campaign” will kick off on July 4th, which will include commemorative merchandise and a special Express Pass package to allow guests to easily get their final rides on it.

Edit: There’s been rumors over the past few months that Japan’s contract regarding the Spider-Man license is about to run out (Japan has to pay for it separately unlike Orlando) and so the ride is going to be re-themed to a different IP. There’s no official word on what will happen to the attraction yet, however.
 
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Yeah clearly due to Japan not being covered by that in-perpetuity Universal(Florida) licence agreement that seems so strange now but was a good bet back when IoA was being built! It being a standalone ride in Japan too (rather than the "land" at IoA) makes a difference.

You gotta hope that Universal creatives come up with a new use/IP for the tech - rather than just skin it with Transformers (is Transformers even a thing in Japan?)

(was it just "Florida" or "East of the Mississippi" - I forget, but it's complicated and there's plenty of discussions out there on t'internet into the detail)
 
cookie said:
Edit: There’s been rumors over the past few months that Japan’s contract regarding the Spider-Man license is about to run out (Japan has to pay for it separately unlike Orlando) and so the ride is going to be re-themed to a different IP. There’s no official word on what will happen to the attraction yet, however.
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I was worried when I first saw this as I initially thought that the other Universal parks might follow suite, but glad to see it's only looking to be Japan.

It would be a huge shame to lose this awesome dark ride!
 
I would like them to use a Japanese IP in replacement instead of Transformers. Japan has such a fantastic anime and manga scene, and although I'm personally not a huge fan, I know there is a huge audience that are.

When I visited a few years ago, they had an anime VR overlay over their spinning coaster, and the queue was 3+ hours at points. I think it was part of their 'Cool Summer' event or something like that. But it was the most popular ride at the park, so clearly there was a demand for that style of IP.

I think something along the lines of a 'Great Detective Conan' car chase would suit really well, and they'd be able to keep a lot of the theming too.
 
cookie said:
The Japan version of the Universal Spider-Man dark ride will close permanently on January 22nd, 2024, exactly two decades after it opened, Universal Studios Japan announced today.

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The park put out a press release stating that a ”final campaign” will kick off on July 4th, which will include commemorative merchandise and a special Express Pass package to allow guests to easily get their final rides on it.

Edit: There’s been rumors over the past few months that Japan’s contract regarding the Spider-Man license is about to run out (Japan has to pay for it separately unlike Orlando) and so the ride is going to be re-themed to a different IP. There’s no official word on what will happen to the attraction yet, however.
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FWIW Universal__Core mooted Pokemon as a possibility.
 
davidm said:
is Transformers even a thing in Japan?)
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Transformers is technically a collaboration between a Japanese and US toy company in the 1980s. Not sure about the modern films but the figures are still popular there. I'd be surprised if they weren't considering the general affection for all things mech.
 
Still pretty crazy that they are closing what is still the best dark ride in the world imo.

The ride layout isn't the same as Transformers is it? So will still take quite a considerable amount of work to turn this into Transformers.
 
Lori Marie Loud said:
FWIW Universal__Core mooted Pokemon as a possibility.
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Imagine simping for that guy of all the so-called “insiders” online.
davidm said:
You gotta hope that Universal creatives come up with a new use/IP for the tech - rather than just skin it with Transformers (is Transformers even a thing in Japan?)
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Back in January, Screamscape reported that Universal Creative was hiring internally to relocate US staff to Osaka for a year around 2024/25, the listings of which I did also see myself. Can only hope that this is a good sign for something more than a reskinning of Spider-Man.
 
cookie said:
In related news, both Backdraft and Terminator 2 3D — the last standing iterations of both attractions — are also gone for good. Both attractions closed during the pandemic and never reopened, and now Universal Japan has confirmed their removal.

wdwnt.com

Terminator 2 3-D & Backdraft Now Permanently Closed at Universal Studios Japan - WDW News Today

Universal Studios Japan has announced the permanent closure of Terminator 2 3-D and Backdraft after three years of limbo.
wdwnt.com wdwnt.com
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Damn. Both looked like fun rides, especially Terminator 2 3D
 
bummer I was just there a couple of weeks ago!
I was very pleased to see JAWS and Waterworld still running at Universal Japan!
sad that we lost T2 and Backdraft though!
 
Forgot this was closing. Been looking at queue times recently as planning a trip this year and wondered why it was getting 3 hour lines at the weekend.

Seems the park has a lot of major rides out of service this year (Spiderman, Jurassic Park , Space Fantasy and Jaws).
 
peep said:
Sad this is gone. The rumour mill seems to suggest it's going to make way for a new Pokemon attraction, using the same building and layout but potentially new ride vehicles. It'll be interesting to see what happens, hopefully they'll reveal more soon now that its closed.
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Interesting, I guess with Universal getting the rights to use Nintendo, Pokémon may have been included in that?
 
It probably helped, Pokémon would have needed extra agreement with the many forces involved - but the synergy 💥
 
Shigeru Miyamoto (Mario etc creator) and Eiji Aonuma (Zelda producer) are at USJ today overseeing construction.... probably of Donkey Kong Country and definitely not of a Zelda themed dark ride to replace Spiderman.
 
spicy said:
Interesting, I guess with Universal getting the rights to use Nintendo, Pokémon may have been included in that?
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Universal made a deal for the Japanese park with the Pokemon Company some years back (press release) and we've been patiently waiting for some sort of attraction announcement since. The same year the deal was made the characters started appearing in parades.


Bowser said:
Shigeru Miyamoto (Mario etc creator) and Eiji Aonuma (Zelda producer) are at USJ today overseeing construction.... probably of Donkey Kong Country and definitely not of a Zelda themed dark ride to replace Spiderman.
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The rumours are that Lost Continent in Islands of Adventure will be Zelda themed. I've not read anything regarding Japan getting something similar but I get the impression that park is a lot tighter on expansion pads.
 
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