Avengers Assemble… and head to Disneyland!
A huge reason why Disney has spent years acquiring recognizable and beloved brands on its film side – from Marvel and Pixar to Star Wars and Avatar – is to help extend the experience beyond the movie theater and into the theme park. The company has been making massive waves recently with the unveiling of Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge, and now it appears to be Marvel’s turn to get a massive, immersive experience. It will look like this:
And I’m here to echo Hope Van Dyne from the Ant-Man series and say, “It’s about damn time.”
On the eve of Disney’s massive D23 expo in Anaheim, where we expect to learn a ton of news about what Disney has in store for all of its properties, the studio lifted the veil on what will called Avengers Campus, and exist (for now) at Disney California Adventure and Disneyland Paris.
The plan is to have the land open in Summer 2020, and it will exist near the Guardians of the Galaxy drop tower, which used to be the Tower of Terror.
The plans sound extensive. There will be a large Spider-Man attraction dubbed the Worldwide Engineering Brigade (or W.E.B.) that will have been developed by Tony Stark. These interfaces, muck like Galaxy’s Edge and the Avatar-inspired land of Pandora, will aim to plunge guests into the world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with merchandise, food and show opportunities.
How this hasn’t happened sooner is beyond me. Marvel always should have had its own world similar to the Galaxy’s Edge theme-park land that has been constructed in Southern California and is about to open in Orlando, Florida. Contemporary entertainment consumers are seeing their expectations climb in terms of being able to interact with the pop culture they follow on a daily basis. These theme parks, constructed around beloved franchises such as Toy Story and Star Wars, are the future, and Marvel is the next obvious choice.
It’s also mind-boggling the number of locations from the Marvel universe that could be translated into practical locations for a theme park. Want to visit Asgard? Care to tour The Baxter Building? How about a trip on the Guardians of the Galaxy’s signature ship, or lunch at Avengers Tower?
Lately, Star Wars fans have taken to “living” on Batuu, the fictional galactic outpost that was created as part of the Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge experience. You’re trying to tell me that if there was a physical embodiment of some incredible Marvel locations that could be entered in Paris, California, Hong Kong or Orlando, that dedicated fans wouldn’t flock?
Truthfully, I’m looking to book my ticket already, and the damn park hasn’t even opened yet.
Want to see more concept art for this immersive Avengers Campus?
Much like Thanos (Josh Brolin), this was inevitable. The moment Disney invested in Marvel as a brand, plans had to be underway to introduce a theme park land that plugged guests into the world of the MCU. In fact, Orlando guests likely find it strange that – because of ancient rights issues – Marvel superheroes are prominently featured at Universal’s theme park down the road in Florida.
How about you? Were you a Marvel fan looking longingly at the Galaxy’s Edge being constructed for the Star Wars community and wondering when it would be our turn? Me too, and now it sounds like our turn is coming. Keep it here for the latest updates on Avengers Campus, which will be coming to Disney California Adventure and Paris in Summer 2020.
