Following an unprecedented 13-month closure in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Disneyland’s doors have begun creaking open throughout Spring 2021, and oceans of restless Californians have returned in kind, fully vaccinated and famished for catharsis, nostalgia, and escapism. Since April 30th, hundreds of sweaty and sunburnt tourists have been lining up daily in front of towering colorful facilities, dedicated to state-of-the-art experiences based on their favorite childhood media. It’s a crowded summer at the Disneyland Resort - nature is healing.
As if revisiting classic rides like Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean wasn’t enticing enough, June 4th saw the grand opening of Avengers Campus, a brand-new section of the resort’s “California Adventure” park. As the title suggests, the latest offering from Disney’s Imagineering division is based on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and though it’s not as rich with features as other themed areas throughout Disneyland, the campus only has room to grow.
Announced in 2017 during D23, Disney’s biennial trade show, Avengers Campus is the first of three interconnected MCU-themed renovations across the worldwide Disney theme park menagerie (the other two set to open in France and Hong Kong within the next two years). Like most entertainment slated for launch in 2020, Avengers Campus quietly simmered in the SoCal sun as the COVID-19 pandemic put large gatherings and international tourism on indefinite hiatus. It wasn’t until last April that Disney and Marvel felt confident in announcing a concrete opening day for its new themed area. After an eleven-month delay, Avengers Campus finally opened to the public on June 4th, 2021.
Although Marvel Studios’ transformation into a global entertainment superpower can be credited in part to its innovative shared cinematic storytelling, the theme park areas based on its productions are, ironically, uninvolved. Though they use the same likenesses and building blocks as the MCU, Avengers Campus and its upcoming international expansions are set within their own vaguely-defined timeline, titled the “Marvel Theme Park Universe.” On one hand, the lack of hardline connective tissue may rob some Marvel die-hards of a truly immersive MCU experience - however, fewer canonical restrictions mean a more robust creative license for the many minds involved in the campus’s creation and curation.
For example, guests can look upwards and spot Tom Holland’s Spider-Man perched atop a nearby building, communicating over the phone with the very much alive Tony Stark, voiced by Robert Downey, Jr. Minutes later, park-goers will witness Natasha Romanoff on the roof of the titular super-team’s headquarters, trading blows with the illusive Taskmaster (an obvious promotional stunt-show for the upcoming Black Widow solo film). Barely an hour after that encounter, Okoye of Wakanda’s Dora Milaje swaggers to the center of the area for a “training demonstration.” These impromptu encounters could come off cramped to some, but they provide an enriching MCU dive for fans of all ages.
As of July 2021, Avengers Campus features two fully operational rides: Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT! and Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure. While Mission: BREAKOUT! has been dropping jaws (and elevators) since 2017, Web Slingers is brand-new, bringing the most marketable superhero on the planet to the Disneyland theme park empire for the first time. Taking place in Spidey’s technological research facility the Worldwide Engineering Brigade, shortened to W.E.B. (both a clever pun and possibly a nod to W.E.D. Enterprises, the research facility for Disney theme park rides now known as Walt Disney Imagineering), Web Slingers eschews a traditional “dark ride” presentation in favor of an interactive arcade-like experience.
After a state-of-the-art preshow, in which a projected Peter Parker accidentally lets loose small self-replicating androids called “Spider-Bots” in his office, riders are guided underground and boarded onto ovular “WEB Slinger” vehicles, tasked with containing the Spider-Bot threat as they multiply and infest the campus. Motion-tracking cameras in each vehicle allow riders to interact with the entirely computer-generated chaos by shooting webs in Spidey’s classic hand-sign, no peripherals required (though some are controversially available to purchase at a nearby gift shop, enhancing the experience to those who invest).
Making good on the campus’s promise of interconnected storytelling, Web Slingers is the only ride at the entire Disneyland Resort to acknowledge and base its experience around visiting other nearby attractions (the only ride that has a similar context is the Disneyland Express, which is much more utilitarian than recreational). Instead of exclusively touring W.E.B., guests swing by renders of locations like the aforementioned Tivan Tower and a nearby Quinjet hangar as they fire dozens of webs at unsuspecting Spider-Bots. The technology is impressive and the experience is enjoyable, though extremely tiring for those who aim for the high score leaderboards displayed above the building's exit.
In addition to its accommodating ramps and elevators for guests with physical disabilities, Web Slingers operates under the never-before-used virtual boarding group system. Upon registering on the Disneyland smartphone app at either 7:oo AM or noon, guests are given a group number and an estimated time to arrive at the ride, preventing guests from spending hours in line for a single ride. Although getting a boarding group requires strategy, timing, and a little luck, the system successfully limits lines while also giving the most anticipating guests a chance on the newest ride without sacrificing most of their day (this same system also applies to the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance ride on the other side of the resort).
Web Slingers also stops by a local Pym Technologies facility, home of the campus’s dining area. Despite his longtime rival’s son owning the plot of land, Dr. Hank Pym has taken up a significant amount of residence on Avengers Campus, incorporating his signature size-altering tech into food and drinks. Popular items like pretzels and chicken sandwiches are cartoonishly proportioned, and alcoholic beverages are served in Pym-branded beakers.
Surrounding the food court are enlarged decorations, including an enormous smartphone belonging to Pym’s successor Scott Lang, a gigantic can of “Silver Age” brew, and supersized Christmas lights. Though the aesthetic may appear random, it’s actually a natural evolution; Avengers Campus was built on the grounds that once housed A Bug’s Land, a younger-audiences area based on 1998’s A Bug’s Life. A Bug’s Land aimed to bring visitors down to the size of the film’s bite-sized characters (most of which were ants, fittingly enough). The aforementioned Christmas lights are a relic of A Bug’s Land, now reappropriated to the Ant-Man franchise.
Much like its sister site, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge in Disneyland, Avengers Campus is opening in two phases. Its second phase will feature the opening of the Avengers Quinjet Experience ride, located in the currently vacant Avengers headquarters. Much like Batuu, the promise of more experiences leaves the campus a little lacking. There are plenty of fun details and easter eggs to spot (such as an actual Shwarma stand), but once guests have stopped the Spider-Bots, stumbled out of the Collector's lair, and ordered an eccentric drink at Pym Tasting Labs, their time in the area is more or less complete. Even so, as it stands, Avengers Campus provides a solid MCU experience at the happiest place on earth, with a promising future ahead.