Disney isn't waiting for the completion of their new superhero-themed area of Disneyland to introduce new heroes to the park. Following the debut of Black Panther at Disneyland following the successful release of his solo movie, a character that had a solo movie over a year ago is finally getting his opportunity to have photo ops with people in plastic Mickey Mouse ears. Doctor Strange is set to debut at the park sometime soon.
While Disney doesn't give a specific date for when Doctor Strange will be available for a meet and greet, it seems likely that he'll be showing up some time in the next couple of weeks, very likely alongside the release of Avengers: Infinity War, which is the next time we'll see the character on screen. Disney is all about corporate synergy so it's usually the case that introductions like this take place alongside new theatrical releases. It makes one wonder why Doctor Strange didn't debut in the fall of 2016, alongside his solo movie. All it would have taken was a costume design so it's not like there were any technical limitations.
Doctor Strange will make appearances at Disney's California Adventure, the park across the plaza from Disneyland. This is also where other Marvel characters like Captain America, Spider-Man, and Black Panther currently can be seen, along with most of the Guardians of the Galaxy. One wonders if Disneyland will also dust off other characters who have appeared in the parks before who will also be seen in Avengers: Infinity War. Thor, Loki, Black Widow and Hawkeye have all been available for photos in the past but are not current characters in the park.
One certainly wonders if there's a reason Doctor Strange was chosen to be a new character in the park, as opposed to say, Scarlett Witch or Vision, who are both members of the core Avengers team, have been in the MCU longer, and would be equally easy to bring to life inside the park. Vision would require a bit of extra work, unless they wanted to bring the more human looking version we've seen in the Infinity War trailers. Perhaps Doctor Strange will be a key character in the new movie with an important role? It could be, though that's pure speculation.
The news of new Marvel characters coming to Disney's California Adventure comes on the heels of confirmation that a new land dedicated to Marvel heroes is set to begin construction this summer with plans to open sometime in 2020. We've been given some teases about what the new area might include, though we don't know its name, since, as things currently stand, Disney can't use the Marvel name due to a previous agreement signed with Universal Studios before Marvel was acquired by Disney.
