Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is now in theaters but that's not the only place you can find the characters from the movie. Now, fans can meet Baby Groot in person in a new live experience at Walt Disney World. At Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando, a new science fiction location has been set up inside the One Man's Dream theater where fans can get pictures with both Star-Lord and Baby Groot. Check it out.
A new video from theme park blog Inside the Magic shows us the location for the Guardians of the Galaxy photo op with Star-Lord and Groot. Star-Lord is just a guy in standard Peter Quill costume. Baby Groot is, of course, something a bit more involved. He is a tiny audio-animatronic, standing on top of a computer console, looking like he's getting ready to plug in a sound system as he does at the beginning of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. There does appear to be somebody controlling Baby Groot directly as he is responding to Star-Lord's statements with a multitude of infections on the standard "I am Groot."
Needless to say, Groot looks fantastic. While he's physically stationary, his body moves around enough to give him a feeling of life and his face is capable of a number of different expressions, which match the tone of his voice. He's also just as adorable as he is in the film. We're guessing most people are really in line to get a picture with him.
Interestingly, instead of putting up a second animatronic of Rocket to go with Groot, they have Star-Lord, who, by virtue of simply not being Chris Pratt, doesn't look a great deal like Star-Lord. Many in the ITM video comments are calling for Star-Lord's mask to be put on, as it would aid in the illusion, though one expects that having to wear the mask continuously would be a serious pain for the cast member, and make it difficult for him to interact with the guests, so it's probably not a feasible solution.
Still, we're wondering if Groot will ever plug those cables in and get some music going.
Slowly but surely the Marvel universe is becoming a significant part of the Disney Parks. Disneyland also has several character meet and greet experiences including Spider-Man, Captain America, and Thor. The Guardians of the Galaxy are also invading the west coast as part of the newly designed Guardians of the Galaxy Mission: Breakout. That one will actually include the real on-screen Guardians as all the movie actors were directly involved in the attractions' creation.
