Disney's animatronic Spider-Man will swing over Disneyland crowds this summer

[Cal Jeffrey]

Looking back: I still remember my first trip to Disneyland as a child. There were so many Amazing things that made you wonder, "How did they do that?" The animatronics were particularly awe-inspiring for a 7-year-old, but on subsequent visits, they seemed — well, robotic. If early testing is anything to go by, the park's newest automaton puts the rest to shame.

Disney engineers (aka Imagineers) have developed an animatronic Spider-Man that will be flying over Disney California Adventure Park soon. DisneyParks announced that the mechanical superhero would debut this summer along with the grand opening of Avengers Campus. It will be performing Spectacular acrobatic flips and classic Spider-Man midair poses over the buildings of the new plaza.

The teaser video, captured at a "top-secret location" (above), gives a small taste of what to expect. However, the behind-the-scenes testing video (below) hammers home how Amazing the Spider-Man animatron will be when it swings into action.

After being flung from a cable, the life-sized robot executes picture-perfect Spider-Man poses in midair. Even a seasoned stunt man would have a hard time pulling off such graceful tricks without quite a bit of practice. Imagineers were able to get the endoskeleton perfectly balanced and articulated so that it does not over-rotate or look clumsy. It is a real engineering Marvel.

Even as an adult, walking in and seeing this would bring back the same feelings of awe and wonder I had on my very first trip to the park. Although I will probably not get a chance to go back, I can't wait to see video of the Spectacular Spider-Man in full costume above the crowds at Avenger Campus.

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[Uncle Al]

Uh huh and the first time it falls into a crowd and kills / injures a bunch of spectators they are going to scream holy sh** batman .... or spiderman ..... LOL

 

[VitalyT]

So if it breaks off on someone's head, imagine a headline of the spider-man breaking bad.

 

[Cal Jeffrey]

Uh huh and the first time it falls into a crowd and kills / injures a bunch of spectators they are going to scream holy sh** batman .... or spiderman ..... LOL

So if it breaks off on someone's head, imagine a headline of the spider-man breaking bad.

Although their press release did not specify, I suspect that they will have it doing the stunts in a closed off area.

 

[mbrowne5061]

Although their press release did not specify, I suspect that they will have it doing the stunts in a closed off area.

I'm betting they're going to leverage their impressive park layout skills here - like slight of hand, but for architecture. From the angles it's "flight" can be seen from, it will probably look like is flies right over streets and paths, but never actually passes over any crowds.

 

[Cal Jeffrey]

I'm betting they're going to leverage their impressive park layout skills here - like slight of hand, but for architecture. From the angles it's "flight" can be seen from, it will probably look like is flies right over streets and paths, but never actually passes over any crowds.

Precisely. And I have to admit, they are good at that. Even when I went back to Disneyland as a young adult who was much harder to fool than the younger version of me, I still found myself confounded at some of their illusions. The castle is a good example because from a distance it looks much much larger than it really is.

 

[That Dude There]

But it only jumps a short distance. I'm having a hard time picturing how they want to pull this off.