Hawaii Mom Blog: Visit Phoenix: The Marvel Experience

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January 2, 2015

Visit Phoenix: The Marvel Experience

Just about every night before my kids go to bed, they play "super heroes." One will be Spider-Man, another will be The Incredible Hulk, and another will be Captain America.

They'd battle the "bad guy" (my husband), and be victorious each time.

Their fondness for the Marvel super heroes made them very excited to preview The Marvel Experience while in Phoenix, which is set to have its World Premiere in Dallas, Texas later this month, before moving on to San Diego and San Francisco.
The Marvel Experience
About The Marvel Experience
Join forces with Marvel’s mightiest Heroes on a mission to save the planet. The Marvel Experience is a first-of-its-kind attraction that covers over two acres and encompasses seven colossal Domes. As S.H.I.E.L.D.’s newest recruit, you’ll swing with Spider-Man, smash with Hulk, and fly with Iron Man in next generation hyper-reality as you prepare to face the forces of Hydra.

Highlights of Our Hosted Experience

Ready for training!

Upon arrival at The Marvel Experience we were all in awe of the set-up and excited to start our training.

We were given some wristbands and entered a dome where we watched a short video to learn about the Adaptoids and how we were the newest S.H.I.E.L.D. recruits to help defeat the villains.

Learning about the Adaptoid Crisis
Recruits were then ushered into the Analysis Lab where we got a closer look at weaponry, had a chance to review video fragments from a wreckage, and play an Excavation Site Game.

Recruits can view video from the super Adaptoid wreckage
Adaptoid Excavation Site Game
Then we went to the Training Academy, where there were lots of interactive stations that really engaged and entertained the recruits, such as the Holo-Blaster Training Simulator (we had to shoot at various targets), Mark 47 Flight Training (my oldest son's favorite training center), the Black Widow Agility Maze (my personal favorite - you could participate with your child and also pick the level of difficulty), and the Hulk Out (a family fave).

Holo-Blaster Training Simulator
Mark 47: Flight Training
Black Widow Agility Maze
We all had a lot of fun shooting, flying, and crawling our way through training.

Throughout the academy there were also other interactive areas where recruits could customize the super heroes' costumes on interactive screens, read classified files on them, and more.

Once we completed our training, we went into the Quinjet for Villain Tracking & Surveillance.

Quinjet

Villain Tracking
We then watched a 3-D video projected onto a 360-degree dome.
3-D Video
It was a bit difficult to keep track of everything going on in the video, as the dome was huge and we had to constantly look around.  I'm sure I missed some parts of the story, but it was still very cool.

We then proceeded into the Transport Hangar for our final mission.

In the Transport Hangar we went onto the 4-D Experience motion ride, where we watched an action-packed movie in which the super heroes battled the villains.  And with help from all of the new recruits, the mission was a success.

4-D Experience
It was an exciting end to The Marvel Experience, which lasted about two hours for us (tickets are sold in 30-minute increments and experiences last 90-120+ minutes).
After the motion ride you leave through a Marvel Shop - great for those who wish to buy souvenirs or add to their Marvel collection.
The Marvel Experience is very family-friendly and great for all ages.  Even if you or your kids are not big super hero fans, it still offers a lot of entertainment, but Marvel fans, like my kids, really enjoyed seeing their favorite super heroes and "training" with them.
Dining 
On site is the Energy Cafe, where recruits can fuel up with a quick bite or drink before continuing with their training or going on to their final mission.

Final Thoughts 
Overall, our family had a great time at The Marvel Experience. At times I did feel like there was a lack of direction and we were left to figure things out on our own. For instance, we weren't sure how long we needed to stay in the Analysis Lab before moving on to the Training Academy, or when we could enter the Quinjet.

However, I thought the story, animation, technology, and props, as well as the enthusiasm of the staff, combined for a very fun and unique experience that seemed to especially thrill the little ones.

I loved the many interactive areas, and the short movies shown on the 360-degree, 3-D stereoscopic projection dome and in the 4-D Experience were pretty awesome (but they were a little scary for my youngest two sons).

Prior to our visit I had read about numerous glitches and delays throughout the first day of the experience, but it appears they fixed most of the glitches or created workarounds. For instance, on the day we went we did not register our wristbands (originally wristbands were to be registered to personalize the experience and track points), and fortunately to me it did not seem to impact the experience negatively.

I also read about very lengthy wait times, but while we were there (we had a 10am ticket time), the wait times were very minimal. The longest line we had to stand in was for the Agility Maze (about 20 minutes).

As The Marvel Experience continues to preview in Phoenix through January 3, I can only assume it will keep improving so everyone will leave with a positive experience, just as our family did.

The Marvel Experience
Salt River Fields at Talking Stick Tickets
7555 N. Pima Rd.
Scottsdale, AZ 85258
Click here to purchase tickets.  Parking at Salt River Fields at Talking Sticks is $10.

Thank you to The Marvel Experience for hosting our admission. Parking was paid on my own.


1 comment:

  1. Overall I am glad I went and my kids were glad they were taken. However I highly doubt I will return next year if it comes back to town. The cost is too high for what you receive and the lines are to long for what you are waiting for.

    review of The Marvel Experience

    ReplyDelete

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