‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ Move In Disney’s California Adventure Park, Tower Of Terror Checks Out
During last weekend’s Comic-Con event in San Diego, the President of Marvel Studios announced that Guardians of the Galaxy would become a part of Disney’s California Adventure Park in Anaheim, California. The news was confirmed today through Disney Parks Blog.
Billed as a “comically high-energy, rocking new adventure,” the new “Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!” will be housed in the current Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride in the park’s Hollywoodland portion of the park.
Portfolio Creative Executive of Walt Disney Imagineering, Joh Rohde, is almost giddy as he describes the new ride experience in a new YouTube video.
Disney describes the new attraction as follows.
“Deep inside his fortress-like collection, the mysterious Taneleer Tivan (aka The Collector) is displaying his newest acquisitions, the Guardians of the Galaxy. They are trapped in customized display cases, suspended over a vast abyss. Unbeknownst to their unscrupulous captor, the intrepid Rocket has escaped and is enlisting the Collector’s VIP guests for help. Guests board a gantry lift, which launches them into a chaotic and hilarious adventure as they join Rocket in an attempt to break his fellow Guardians out of captivity.”
The Disney Parks Blog states that the new ride will continue to offer the familiar “fall sensations” that are featured in the current Tower of Terror ride, but with new special video and audio effects and music that is inspired by the Guardians of the Galaxy’s films. The article also hinted that more superheroes could be coming to the park soon.
“The new attraction will anchor a broader universe of Super Heroes that will grow over time at Disney California Adventure park,” says Rohde.
The Twilight Zone Tower Of Terror checks out of California Adventure in early 2017, and this is not sitting well with some theme park fans who are accusing Disney as being a sellout. One fan, Raquel Williams, posted on Facebook, “If they want a Guardians of the Galaxy ride, they should build a new ride!” reports New York Daily News. Another fan, Julio Ojeda-Urzua, agrees, stating, “They need to cut the crap and just build a separate park for Star Wars and Marvel instead of taking out all of the good stuff.”
While not completely thrilled by the recent news, the editor of WDW News Today shared a lengthy editorial about the Guardians upgrade, stating that he has great hopes for the new ride.
“With Joe at the helm, I have great faith that ‘Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout’ will be a huge success (despite its rather lackluster name). The elevators that begin their journey by going backwards are far better suited for a life as a containment unit for the valuable assets of The Collector, and the concept art showcased thus far appears to be as enthralling as the Twilight Zone material ever was.”
Tower of Terror to close in January for “Guardians of the Galaxy” ride coming 2017 https://t.co/YcbruXuQ3K pic.twitter.com/r24xsK2Jv3
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) July 25, 2016
California Adventure has already gone through a major overhaul, with the addition of Cars Land and the reworking of Hollywoodland, where the current Tower of Terror ride fits right in. Illustrations for the new Guardians overhaul has a decidedly different look that some say would be better suited across the street in Disneyland’s Tomorrowland.
Hardcore Tower of Terror fans can take solace in the fact that Disney has no plans to uproot the original version of the ride that sits in Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park in Orlando, Florida, nor its counterparts located in Disneyland Paris. The current Tower of Terror rides are based on the Twilight Zone TV series that was hosted by Rod Serling, and many fans consider the Orlando version as more elaborate and superior to California version. (Incidentally, the Tokyo DisneySea theme park also features a Tower of Terror ride, but it has its own separate storyline that is not connected to the TV series.)
The original Tower of Terror opened in Florida in July, 1994. It took ten years before the west coast got its version of the ride. Five years after that, Disney acquired Marvel, which has taken a slow process of incorporating the super heroes into the parks so far. The new Guardians of the Galaxy ride will be the first permanent Marvel addition to a Disney theme park.
[Photo by AP Images]
