Spider-Man & Avengers Rides, Ant-Man Restaurant & More Coming to Marvel Land
Disney has announced two new rides for its upcoming Avengers Campus Super Hero Land, plus dining, entertainment, and more. In this post, we’ll cover what’s coming to Disneyland Resort at California Adventure and to Disneyland Paris in its Walt Disney Studios Park.
We’ll start by focusing on Disney California Adventure, where the Avengers Campus will open in two phases, both of which were (thankfully) covered at the 2019 D23 Expo. Before the start of the event, Disney had shared new concept art and revealed the Avengers Campus name. Now, we have some substantive info about this new Marvel Land.
First up is Worldwide Engineering Brigade or WEB (presumably a play on WED, or Imagineering) which will house the new Spider-Man attraction, the attraction that will debut in 2020 as the first attraction in the Avengers Campus. This will be the first Disney ride-through attraction to feature this iconic Marvel character.
During an open house at Worldwide Engineering Brigade, guests are invited for a test drive of the WEB team’s latest invention: the “Web Slinger” vehicle, which allows you to sling webs just like Spider-Man.
This interactive Spider-Man attraction gives guests a taste of what it’s like to have actual super powers as you help Spider-Man collect Spider-Bots that have run amok.
Next up for the first phase of the Avengers Campus is the Pym Test Kitchen, which we’ve previously identified as a hybrid counter service restaurant and microbrewery. During the 2019 D23 Expo presentation, nothing was mentioned about the microbrewery component, so either that’s changed or it was simply omitted.
In any case, this restaurant is named after the “Pym Particles” that Ant-Man and The Wasp use to grow and shrink just about anything. Here, Pym Technologies is using the latest innovations to grow and shrink food at this restaurant.
Also debuting with phase one of the Avengers Campus is the meet and greet experiences.
Guests will find heroic encounters throughout the campus, including Black Widow, Ant-Man and The Wasp, Doctor Strange, the Guardians of the Galaxy, characters from Wakanda and Asgard, and Iron Man.
Next, we move to phase two of the Avengers Campus. This being covered was one of my predictions/hopes for the 2019 D23 Expo, and I’m glad to see it came true.
In the land’s subsequent expansion, the Avengers Headquarters will debut. This will become the future entrance to a brand-new E-Ticket attraction where guests will step on board a Quinjet and fly alongside the Avengers in an epic adventure to Wakanda and beyond.
In this attraction, guests will team up alongside the Avengers in a battle to save the world from one of the most powerful villains they have ever faced. Disney has indicated that Imagineers are conceiving an all-new innovative ride system to put you in the middle of the action in this Avengers E-Ticket.
My Reaction
Let’s start with phase two. Not a lot of details were shared here, but I’m mostly just relieved that something was shared. As anyone who has followed Disney for a while can tell you, phase two of projects are often quietly canceled, so having more concrete details helps ensure that won’t (or at least is less likely to) happen.
There have been a lot of rumors about this second phase, and what kind of attraction it would feature. One persistent one a couple of years ago was that it’d be an indoor Captain America Vekoma bike coaster. There are a number of reasons that might not be happening now (I won’t spoil any recent films in case you’re the one person who didn’t see it), but I’m glad they’re doing something different.
If I had to guess–and that’s exactly what this is–I’d say that the Avengers attraction is probably going to be the same as what’s slated for Hong Kong Disneyland in 2023. That attraction has similarly been described as innovative and a blockbuster addition, and it’d certainly make sense to build the same thing in both locations if there’s a strong concept.
Phase two, light on details as it is, actually has me looking forward to Avengers Campus. Of all the big projects on the horizon for the Disney Parks around the world, the first phase of Avengers Campus is probably the least interesting to me.
Saying, “I don’t care” about the Spider-Man ride and other stuff would probably be a bit harsh, but it just doesn’t excite or interest me like other additions. Universal already has an exceptional Spider-Man attraction, and I’m skeptical that Disney’s will compare to that classic ride.
Plus, after this summer’s debut of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, it seems wild to me that the next big expansion at Disneyland Resort–in the Disney California Adventure park that needs much more help–appears to be so pedestrian and industrial.
That’s likewise where I stand with the new Marvel Lands at Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris and first phase of Hong Kong Disneyland’s expansion. At least with the France expansion, there is a ton more happening at Walt Disney Studios Park. It’s simply one component of a $2.5 Billion Disneyland Paris Expansion that includes Star Wars, Frozen & Marvel.
Same goes for Hong Kong, where a Frozen Land and new castle are also part of that park’s larger plans. There, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle! and Iron Man Experience have already debuted, and an Avengers mega E-Ticket is also coming down the road.
Admittedly, I’m not the biggest Marvel fan in the world, but I also don’t think the environments featured in the films really lend themselves to immersive worlds in the same way as Star Wars (save for Wakanda, and I can’t think of anywhere at Walt Disney World or Disneyland where that would be anything other than a cringeworthy fit, thematically). Hopefully these Avengers Campus lands prove me wrong, and the industrial design and flashy style makes for inviting and engaging lands. Failing that, hopefully at least the Spider-Man and (more likely) blockbuster Avengers E-ticket attractions live up to the hype and power of the Marvel brand.
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Your Thoughts
What do you think of the Avengers Campus name? Better than Southern California Super Hero Campus? Are you likewise relieved that details were announced for phase two of this attraction? Any questions? 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!
I was hopeful for the swinging ride vehicle rumored for Spider-Man, but alas, it seems we’re getting another version of Toy Story Midway Mania. I figured as much since the real estate for It’s Tough To Be a Bug wouldn’t have the capacity to house a more ambitious ride system. As exciting as Phase 2 sounds with the Avengers E-ticket, it sounds like a twist on the Flight of Passage as a trip to Wakanda could only translate successfully on a giant screen.
I agree that Marvel, while I do enjoy the films, are not transportive enough worlds for a Disney park. I graduated from a different kind of campus years ago; I don’t want to pay $100 + to revisit another. Though I’m skeptical, I still give props to Disney for always experimenting and evolving, even though some projects go in directions I’m not always on board with.
Just a thought, but the environments the Marvel movies take place are also known as “New York City.”
Ironically, these rides would have fit in great in the New York Streets section of Hollywood Studios which are now a memory (and unfortunately also east of the Mississippi). But it’s called Disney’s *California* Adventure so adding New York streets wouldn’t work there.
Being a Marvel fan I’m hoping for something (anything) really great. Time will tell.
Same as you, I’m more interested in the phase 2 plans. I’m not super excited by the concept of the Spiderman ride – I’m done with rides that are all about screens. Regarding the “industrial” feel, I don’t think it’ll change much from what we already have in that part of the Walt Disney Studios in Paris. The Blockbuster Cafe will likely be rethemed into the Pym thing at some point, but it’s already a bland looking warehouse style building so…
Can I ask what an “E-ticket” ride is?
When I was a very young kid in Disneyland we had A through E ticket books and we had to tear out the ticket that corresponded to the type of ride we were going on. An E ticket was always for the best and most thrilling rides!
It will be very interesting to see the new land come to life in Disney California Adventure. Although Marvel isn’t really my thing, I’m loving the whole Wakanda aspect. As an Annual Passholder, I’m excited for the expansion.
I agree with your assessment on this one.
If you look at the picture of the phase 2 attraction you will see a few people in jet packs. I believe those are to represent the riders. It kind of seems like it might be soarin if you look at the picture of the face to the traction you will see a few people in Jetpacks. I believe those are to represent the riders. It kind of seems like it might be soarin’ where are you are on a robot arm like Harry Potter?
I won’t ask you to speculate on phase 2….but when do you think Phase 1 of this Marvel land to open at DCA? Or when do you think they will announce an opening date?
No exact date yet but I believe it’s slated to open next summer!
Since I have no interest in Marvel, I was bored with these announcements and I yawned when they announced another motion sickness type screen based simulator. I would’ve had some excitement if they added some kind of Marvel dark ride similar to Na’vi River Journey. I use Na’vi as an example because I was disliked the Avatar movie but I like the Na’vi ride.
I agree! I’m so tired of all the “new rides” that are simulators. My family (4 generations) are ready for more Splash Mountains, Thunder Mountains, Indians Jones and Haunted Mansions rides. Something almost everyone can enjoy. A moving metal box you sit in that jumps and jiggles with a moving pictures in front is not a “new ride” just because it has a different picture on the screen.
Count my family in on this too. Those closed in boxes are still just closed in boxes; something that if you are claustrophobic you will stay away from and not want to waste your precious time (and money paid for a ticket) on waiting for 1 person in your family to ride.
It’s amazing how all these years later the best rides still follow those basics of actually transporting you physically though show scenes with practical sets. These are the attractions that have stood the test of time and still draw the longest lines decades later.
Go ahead and incorporate screens, interactivity, and other new tech, but not at the expense of the tried and true formula.