Disneyland News & Rumors: Marvel Land, Tomorrowland, Etc.
It’s been a while since we’ve shared a Disneyland and Disney California Adventure news & rumor round-up. In this post, we’ll do exactly that, with info and commentary about the potential Tomorrowland overhaul, Marvel/Super Hero Land coming to DCA, Pixar Pals Parking, and a ton of other recently announced entertainment changes for the summer and beyond.
We’ll start with the latest Disneyland and Disney California Adventure news, all of which has been officially announced. First, the Disneyland Forever fireworks will return for the summer. Starting June 7, 2019, the popular fireworks show that debuted during the 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration will make its return.
Remember… Dreams Come True is my unequivocal favorite fireworks show I’ve ever seen at Disneyland. However, I like that they seem to be rotating through their lineup, revisiting fan favorites. So long as RDCT returns at some point in the future, I’m perfectly happy with other fireworks shows returning for encores.
Sticking with the front of the park, Sleeping Beauty Castle continues its refurbishment with more of the castle emerging from behind construction walls. No end date has been announced for the project, but the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walk-Through is scheduled to reopen May 28, 2019–and that’s a logical end date for the entire castle refurbishment.
We have yet to see the fruits of this project in person, but the latest photos circulating on social media make it look like a mixed bag. On the one hand, this was all absolutely necessary; the roof was badly damaged by the Diamond Celebration additions.
On the other hand, what has emerged thus far looks a bit on the vibrant side. Between all of the bright colors and the sparkles on top, it almost looks like an Instagram aesthetic, which is concerning. (My favorite paint and lighting scheme for Sleeping Beauty Castle was the understated look at Hong Kong Disneyland…which was also abandoned for something more aggressive.)
This summer, Disney California Adventure park will present an outdoor musical production entitled, “Tale of the Lion King.” The show features a cast of 18 actors, singers, dancers, and drummers who form an ensemble called the Storytellers of the Pride Lands.
As you can see from the concept art, this will be presented on the Palisades Stage in Paradise Park, which is the World of Color viewing area. Backdrops, props, and costumes inspired by the spirit of Africa are an odd juxtaposition against Pixar Pier in the distance, and an even odder fit for the California-themed park.
Nevertheless, we’re pretty forgiving of the thematic cohesiveness of temporary entertainment, and this is most likely a one-and-done for the summer. It’s probably being funded by the studio’s marketing budget for the “live action” Lion King remake, meaning it was this or nothing. With that in mind…I’ll take this.
On another note, we’ve yet to hear anything about Paint the Night returning to Disney California Adventure this summer, which is a bit surprising. We assumed it was a foregone conclusion that the parade (which is still backstage in California) would return for a summer run.
Offering as much Star Wars counter-programming as possible to draw guests to DCA and away from Disneyland certainly makes sense. Maybe it’s assumed that World of Color will be enough? Maybe a Paint the Night announcement is still on the horizon? We shall see.
In other “exciting” news, work races to finish the Pixar Pals Parking Structure by the July 2019 deadline that was previously announced. Work is beginning to wrap up on the structure itself, with signage being installed on each level and brickwork being laid outside the structure. Given the recent pace of construction, we’re assuming the new target opening date is June 24, 2019.
One of the final pieces of the puzzle is the pedestrian bridge (pictured in the above concept art) that will connect from the parking structure–over Magic Way–to the rest of the resort, allowing guests the option to walk through Downtown Disney to the Esplanade instead of taking the tram. This will ease foot traffic congestion at Disneyland Drive and Magic Way, which has been bad in recent years and only will get worse once Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens and more people are parking back here.
Next, there are rumors swirling about the future of Tomorrowland. To our knowledge, none of these have any basis in reality, save for the general notion that an overhaul of Disneyland’s Tomorrowland is planned at some point in the future. However, we do not expect that to entail TRON Lightcycle Power Run at the entrance to the land (it wouldn’t even fit there) nor any cloned attractions from Hong Kong Disneyland.
We have heard very little credible info about Tomorrowland recently, and our speculation as to why that’s the case is because the plans are still fluid and nothing has been greenlit. A comprehensive Tomorrowland overhaul being announced at this summer’s D23 Expo would not surprise us, but we don’t expect it. There are other, higher priority projects slated for both parks at Disneyland Resort.
[OUTSIDEXCLU] Voici en exclusivité d’avantages de visuels et les plans de l’attraction Slingshot, nom de code pour l’aventure sur le thème de SpiderMan. L’attraction ne sera pas Trackless, Á l’instar de Toy Story Midway Mania ! pic.twitter.com/Xh1OudSGfy
– OutsidEars (@OutsidEarsDLP) May 5, 2019
Next, OutsideEars (a Disneyland Paris news source) has posted blueprints for the layout of the Spider-Man ride coming to both Walt Disney Studios Park in France and Disney California Adventure. They’ve also posted exterior renderings showing a New York industrial warehouse style, which is unique to Disneyland Paris.
As we previously reported in our “Rumor: Marvel Land California Campus w/ 3D Ride & Microbrewery” post last year, the DCA version will be set on an Avengers campus set in real-world Southern California. It will be a place where Marvel super heroes can share their technology and methods of helping the world with the public.
Phase one of the Disney California Adventure super hero expansion will contain a microbrewery/counter service restaurant, merchandise shop, a small quad space with various avenues, and an interactive 3D dark ride that will be an expansion of the existing ‘It’s Tough to Be a Bug’ theater. That last item is the subject of these blueprints–the Spider-Man shooter attraction, which vaguely resembles Toy Story Mania.
This comes as little surprise. As we speculated in our Marvel Land rumor post (which has other details about this project, all of which remain accurate to the best of my knowledge), the Spider-Man ride will likely be a screen-heavy dark ride judging by the limited space of the show building, and the desire to shoe-horn it into that space.
As with the Hong Kong Disneyland incarnation of Marvel/Super Hero Land, the Disney California Adventure incarnation of the expansion is backloaded. What opens first is not going to be the marquee draw, and is probably going to be anti-climactic after the highly-themed Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opening the year before it. Phase 2 of this land is still several years away, and is slated to contain the bigger-budget elements of the land.
My biggest worry isn’t that the Spider-Man ride will be underwhelming, as my expectations have been tempered for the first attraction for a while. (Although I do think it’s ill-advised for Disney’s first domestic Marvel attraction to be an unambitious one based upon this particular character; Universal’s Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man is one of the best theme park attractions in the world, and the direct comparisons here are unlikely to be favorable towards Disney.)
Rather, my concern is that the place-making of the ‘campus’ will resemble an office park in Irvine with red and blue paint and cool lighting, instead of having a design that’s immersive and engaging. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is going to set a high bar, and while not everything can or should be on that level, Marvel–which is quickly becoming the world’s biggest franchise–does deserve to be on that level. Whatever style is chosen for this land now will likely be carried through to Phase 2; here’s hoping it’s more than a boxy and industrial setting.
If you’re preparing for a Disneyland trip, check out our other planning posts, including how to save money on Disneyland tickets, our Disney packing tips, tips for booking a hotel (off-site oron-site), where to dine, and a number of other things, check out our comprehensive Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of the Avengers Southern California Campus and Spider-Man ride? What about other entertainment changes in the California parks? Do you expect an announcement on the Tomorrowland overhaul at the D23 Expo? Anything on your wish list for that project? Any questions? Hearing your feedback is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts or questions below in the comments!
“Remember… Dreams Come True is my unequivocal favorite fireworks show I’ve ever seen at Disneyland”. Same here and I even like it better than any of the MK fireworks show.
My pipe dream for Tomorrowland: bring back Peoplemover, create an original dark ride similar to Adventure from Inner Space, and replace Launch Bay with Tokyo’s Big Band Beat or One Mans Dream type show. Please no cloning of the Tron Ride to DL.
I have very low expectations for Marvel Land since I am not into the Marvel stuff and I am always underwhelmed by screen based attractions.
Overhaul Tomorrowland? Why isn’t anyone talking about Toon Town? That’s something that needs attention and has for years. It feels forgotten about.
I’m sure they will overhaul toon town when run away railway opens in 2022.
In regards to the Tomorrowland overhaul, I cant wait. Tomorrowland has been my least favorite part of the park for a long time. I enjoyed it as a child, and now only venture over for Space Mountain and Star Tours. Tomorrowland is facing a bit of an identity crisis now that Star Wars has its own area. I do hope Tomorrowland gets a second coaster. Disney does need to expand rides for adult guests. Tron would be great, and would add that futuristic theme Tomorrowland is missing.
For DCA, I am a fan of replacing Bugs land. It was a deserted area of the park, and needed to go. That being said, i feel like Disney is missing out on the theming of Marvel land. They could have created their own storyline just for the park. Could have easily been explained as a different reality timeline of the Marvel universe we know. It could have been a land where all important areas are next to eachother such as Wakanda, New York, and Asgard set up next to eachother similar to how the world showcase is set up in Epcot, but on a smaller scale.
Why would a roller coaster be the answer for Tomorrowland? Roller coasters generally appeal to teenagers and twentysomethings, not adults. Personally I’d like to see Tomorrowland offer up more in the way of discovery, attractions that entertain and expand the mind – a new version of Adventure Thru Inner Space or another dark ride would be awesome, but Disney has turned into a version of Six Flags, sadly.
Yes on your ATIS idea
Glad to see Marvel Land progressing, but given that Spider-Man is effectively a re-use of an existing building, couldn’t they have put this attraction into one of the many underutilized buildings in Hollywoodland, and re-themed that area to Marvel, while at the same time keeping Bugs Land? Not that I was a huge fan of Bugs Land, but it drives me crazy when Disney replaces rides, rather than adding rides, especially in a park that needs more to do in the first place.
There are future plans for DCA that will essentially replace all of Hollywood Land, as well.
Whether that all ends up coming to fruition is another story, but razing ‘a bug’s land’ was not an arbitrary move.
I know they have announced “recruiting “ for the Marvel themed land beginning in 2020. It looks like they have a long ways to go. Any thoughts on when they might try to open phase 1 of this land? The resort as a whole can probably use as much capacity as possible after this summer. Do you think they will aim for the following summer for Marvel?
DCA is California themed? Really?!
They should build a New York in DCA like the one at Tokyo DisneySea..
In regards to Sleeping Beauty Castle, I like the new color scheme. It’s vibrant, but also well-blended and I think a few years in the So-Cal sun should get it tonally to somewhere almost everyone will enjoy. The “fairy dust” though looks cheesy and definitely has an Instagram filter feel to it. I could easily do without it.
Is there any word on the reasons for the rather last-minute closing of Storybook Land and Casey Jr. this month? That’s one of my favorite parts of the whole park and the main reason I am happy I wasn’t able to make a May trip happen. I would have been seriously disappointed as a photographer with both the castle AND Storybook Land being down.
The Tomorrowland rumors have had me nervous and I am glad to hear that there is no substantiating evidence supporting them. I know the chances of ever getting the People Mover back is next to nil (and that to remove the tracks would require removing a few of the buildings the tracks support) so a radical reconstruction is a possibility, but I would hate to see the very last of my great Googie Tomorrowland.
I think the biggest challenge in creating Marvel Land is that superhero comics, by design, are constantly rebooting their franchises with new iterations of each character. This also means that the design of certain locations, such as Stark’s building, also changes with each new artist (or production designer). So just creating Tony Stark’s office building in New York City or Shuri’s lab in Wakanda would be risky, because in a generation or two these places may be depicted differently in future comics, movies, and TV shows.
By creating a sort of satellite campus with an original design, Imagineering can avoid these problems and reduce the likelihood of the land becoming outdated. In fact, I would argue that using screen-heavy attractions is a smart move for a similar reason; these characters will inevitably be portrayed by different actors in future reboots, and screen-based rides are easier to update with current performers.
I think Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge got it right by creating its own, highly-detailed setting that could be incorporated into the overarching universe and canon. I know Marvel works differently, but that wouldn’t be a terrible idea here, either.
Alternatively, creating a gritty and realistic San Francisco area as the window into various Marvel attractions or a Googie-inspired Stark Expo-like area would’ve worked just fine. Fits the California theme of the park, and provides a decent jumping off point for Marvel attractions.
Any word about the return of RunDisney to Disneyland? I thought they were coming back relatively soon (after Star Wars land opened).
I haven’t heard anything.
For what it’s worth, the construction of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge was an excuse. Registration numbers had been slipping for a while, and construction made continuing the events difficult. However, I think had numbers been strong, runDisney would’ve found a way to continue. There’s probably pent-up demand now, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see a return in 2020–albeit with a more limited lineup of events.
The main problem with RunDisney was that the Anaheim City Council had switched over to one less friendly to Disneyland and much less inclined to close the streets down. Perhaps when a more Disney friendly council gets elected.
“Perhaps when a more Disney friendly council gets elected.”
That’s what happened in 2018.