Disney Announces Avengers Attractions Opening Timeline, New Details & Celebrity Heroes Reprising Roles

During the Disney Experiences Horizons Showcase at the 2026 D23 Expo, Disney superfan John Stamos took over temporary hosting duties from Neil Patrick Harris to quibble about who is bidding on what priceless parks finds during the auction…and also chat about new updates for Avengers Campus in Disney California Adventure at Disneyland Resort.

Stamos was joined by Walt Disney Imagineer Brent Strong and President of Marvel Studios and Chief Creative Officer of Marvel, Kevin Feige. The three discussed updates on the growing lineup of Avengers-themed experiences across Disney parks. We’ll cover the developments at Shanghai Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland (there was also a cool model on the show of HKDL) later this week, but first, let’s focus on DCA.

Strong and Feige discussed specifics for Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab at Disney California Adventure, including the celebrity super heroes who will reprise their on-screen roles in the upcoming attractions, new details about the rides, and the long-awaited opening timeline for the second phase of the Marvel Land.

Avengers Campus expansion has been in the pipeline for a while, with this being the second or third iteration of the E-Ticket attraction depending on how you count. The project was first teased when Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout opened in 2017, with the first phase officially announced in 2018 and the Avengers Headquarters attraction announced in 2019.

Unsurprisingly, plans changed post-COVID closure. When re-announcing the project at the 2022 D23 Expo, then CEO Bob Chapek revealed a new Marvel Multiverse attraction. Following that Disney pulled back the curtain on the headliner, Avengers Infinity Defense, at the 2024 D23 Expo while also announcing the addition of the supporting player, Stark Flight Lab.

This is the final incarnation of the plan, which is actually being built as we speak. As I sit here in my room typing this at the lovely Desert Palm Hotel & Suites Anaheim Resort, I can see work on the backside of the show building. In fact, let’s start with a quick look at that:

Ground was broken on this Avengers Campus expansion towards the beginning of last year, and we’ve been closely watching the project’s construction progress since. First from the former Fun Wheel, and now from the ground (or more accurately, the elevated platform) in Avengers Campus as the show building and canopy continue growing in size.

Construction continues on these attractions being built backstage, with the massive Marvel expansion show building stretching all the way behind Cars Land. It’s tough to see progress from inside Avengers Campus, as the canopy appears complete, but the backstage show building itself is now being enclosed.

Suffice to say, it’s been a long and winding road for Avengers Campus. While the first phase was only delayed by a year, the second half of the project was originally intended to open long ago before being derailed by the year-long closure of Disneyland. But now, it’s full steam ahead, and Disney has made major strides in just the last year.

During the 2026 D23 Expo, a couple of key timeline details were revealed. First, that Avengers Campus will “soon reconnect” with Cars Land, meaning the walkway between the two lands that’s currently closed by a construction wall will reopen. No specific timeline was given, but our guess is before Fall Break in October. Perhaps even earlier, but that’s when the path is really needed for crowd flow purposes.

Second, Disneyland Resort announced that Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab will both open sometime in 2028! No specific season, let alone a month or precise opening date were announced.

This is mildly disappointing, but not a huge surprise. As recently as midday Saturday, we predicted a Late 2027 opening for Avengers Campus. Disneyland likes the sweet spot between Halloween and Thanksgiving, right around the time Christmas season starts. That would have put the opening date for Avengers Campus Phase 2 around November 12, 2027.

However, we also noted that it might be a challenge to have everything done by Late 2027 given the current pace of work. That made late 2027 to mid-2028 is probably the most realistic window for Avengers Campus Phase 2.

This is only disappointing in the sense that Disney already knows 2027 is completely out of the question even as a stretch goal, which means even an early 2028 debut is also an ambitious target. Our hope is that Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab are on track for Spring/Summer 2028 openings, but our fear is that this is closer to a full year later than we predicted, and will end up opening in Late 2028.

Obviously, we have no clue when the Avengers Campus expansion will actually open. There’s zero visibility into the show building construction, so it’s impossible to say. Here’s hoping that it debuts ASAP in 2028, and that Coco follows it less than 12 months later. The longer it takes for Avengers Campus to open, the more everything else is pushed back–including Tomorrowland!

When Avengers Infinity Defense officially debuts at Disney California Adventure, you’ll be welcomed to inside the Avengers HQ as new recruits, where your journey begins with a pre-mission briefing from Ms. Marvel, played by Iman Vellani.

Here, you’ll get your key mission: reassemble the Avengers to battle King Thanos, preventing the mad titan from wreaking havoc everywhere. Some of your favorite on-screen heroes are reprising their roles for this attraction, too!

On-Screen Heroes Reprising Their Roles in Avengers Infinity Defense:

• Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye
• Anthony Mackie as Captain America
• Chris Hemsworth as Thor
• Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man

Once on board, you will be surrounded by massive physical sets blending seamlessly with huge media scenes, putting you into the middle of the action as you feel like you’re hurtling across many worlds. You’ll travel to iconic locations like Asgard, Wakanda, and New York City, while you and the heroes come face to face with King Thanos himself.

Disney also shared new details about Stark Flight Lab. Specifically, the instructors who would provide pre-flight briefings.

On-Screen Heroes Reprising Their Roles in Stark Flight Lab

• Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man
• Anthony Mackie as Captain America
• Brie Larson as Captain Marvel

Here’s concept art of the different celebrity super hero instructors:

If you’re unfamiliar with Stark Flight Lab or Avengers Infinity Defense, here’s more info…

Stark Flight Lab

In Stark Flight Lab, guests will sit in “gyro-kinetic pods” and roll along a track before stopping in front of a giant robot arm. This robot arm will hoist you into the air where you’ll make several high-speed maneuvers inspired by Iron Man and some other Avengers.

A familiar face will join you at the Stark Flight Lab, as Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as Tony Stark for the attractions in the land. Stark Flight Lab seems sweet and simple, and should be a fun supporting player; DCA could use more of that to boost the ride roster.

It reminds me a lot of Sum of All Thrills at EPCOT, but as an open air attraction. That extinct attractions in the former Innoventions used KUKA Arm technology. Sum of All Thrills was pretty cool, and ahead of its time. It was also woefully inefficient, with atrocious hourly throughput. Turning this into an actual ‘ride’ with a track and multiple robotic arm stations should address that issue.

You can read more about this attraction in our Stark Flight Lab: Everything We Know So Far post.

Avengers Infinity Defense

Avengers Infinity Defense will occur in a version of the Multiverse where Thanos won. When joining battle with the Avengers, you never know what foes you’ll face from anywhere and everywhen. Avengers Infinity Defense is a family-friendly attraction giving guests the opportunity to team up with the Avengers and their allies from across the Multiverse to battle against enemies, led by King Thanos.

The conceit of Avengers Infinity Defense is that technology that allowing the Marvel heroes to jump between worlds has gone missing, and King Thanos is using it to wreak havoc everywhere. Recruits will travel to iconic locations like Asgard, Wakanda, and New York City alongside the likes of the super heroes.

Based on what Imagineering has shown so far of Avengers Infinity Defense, it’ll be a screen-centric attraction that also moves through impressive physical sets with show scenes and built environments. When it comes to domestic attractions, the best comparison is probably (ironically) the Spider-Man and Harry Potter attractions at Universal.

The ride vehicle for Avengers Infinity Defense was on display at the last D23 Expo, and it’s the same as the one utilized by Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure. You can read our review, which describes that as Avatar Flight of Passage meets Universal’s Spider-Man, for somewhat of a “sneak peek” at what to expect from this Marvel E-Ticket. This is the best comparison of all, as it’s our strong suspicion that Avengers Infinity Defense will be a lot like that, except in the Marvel Multiverse instead of Never Land.

I love Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure. Unfortunately, it makes Sarah nauseated. I would expect the ride profiles to be fairly similar, with Avengers Infinity Defense being a bit more intense while still fitting the family-friendly label. (I don’t know how you do a completely family-friendly Marvel ride with a battle against King Thanos, but the Peter Pan ride does the same with Captain Hook–so who knows.)

The bottom line is that Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure is excellent–a long and meaty E-Ticket that leaves guests (well, except those who get sick on it) feeling satisfied. I will be really happy if Avengers Infinity Defense is a clone of that ride system, profile, and track layout, and just swaps out Peter Pan and pals for Marvel.

Read more in Avengers Infinity Defense: Everything We Know So Far.

Ultimately, we’re looking forward to Avengers Campus expansion, even though it is (admittedly) not one of my favorite lands at DCA. I’m very bullish on Avengers Infinity Defense, which will hopefully be a meaty E-Ticket. I’m not even concerned that the show building looks like a Costco, especially since it’s concealed behind Cars Land.

I’ve seen a lot of disappointment from Disneyland diehards about what Avengers Infinity Defense isn’t, but it being the equivalent of Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure is a great thing. And as sick as I am of no-stakes multiverse nonsense in the Marvel films, I think that idea actually lends itself to a theme park attraction.

It’s an excellent way of playing the ‘greatest hits’ of the voluminous Marvel Cinematic Universe, and offering a little something to everyone since it’s not possible to do rides for every single super hero or villain. I’m not the biggest MCU fan anymore, but I’m really looking forward to Avengers Infinity Defense. Don’t make the mistake of underestimating it–like so many of us did with Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout!

Obviously, Avengers Infinity Defense is the more exciting addition, but Stark Flight Lab is like icing on the cake since it was not previously part of the plans. I’ll certainly take another attraction in Avengers Campus, even if it is a fairly basic. Filler isn’t bad. DCA needs more filler, as does pretty much every park that isn’t Disneyland.

This reminds us of the secondary attractions in Cars Land, which are pretty much perfect from a ‘payoff’ perspective and really round out the land. Avengers Campus will never be as good as Cars Land, but this should go a long way in improving it. With Avengers Infinity Defense, the DCA version of this land should maintain its crown as the #1 version of Avengers Campus. Not exactly high praise, but a win’s a win.

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YOUR THOUGHTS

What is your reaction to the model for the second phase of Avengers Campus? Excited for Stark Flight Lab and Avengers Infinity Defense? Have you seen progress in person? Optimistic that Avengers Campus Phase 2 opens in the first half of 2028? Concerned that this timeline makes the Coco boat ride a 2029 opening? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!