For months, rumors have been swirling around of a new IP coming into Disney California Adventure’s Tower of Terror. Yesterday, Disney confirmed that a Guardians of the Galaxy overlay will be added to the ride.
Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout will bring a complete overhaul to DCA’s Tower of Terror. Instead of entering a haunted hotel, guests will enter the tower of The Collector. Inside, they will walk through a display of some of the creatures he has collected (which explains his name of The Collector for those who haven’t seen Guardians of the Galaxy).
Image via Disney
Among the “creatures” in the collection are the Guardians of the Galaxy themselves, but what is not known by The Collector is that Rocket (the raccoon like creature) has escaped containment and is enlisting you, The Collector’s VIP Guests to help his friends escape. You will enter the tower’s lift for a wild adventure!
Image via Disney
In addition to the completely new story, the new Guardians of the Galaxy attraction will feature new audio based on the music from the movies, which played a significant role in them. Also, the ride will feature different drop sequences unlike the current ride system in the Tower of Terror.
Image via Disney
The ride is expected to open in the summer of 2017. To make way for this new attraction, the Tower of Terror will close in early 2017 for the renovation. After the opening of this attraction, it seems more Marvel attractions will be added nearby based on the information Disney is providing.
My Take – I am a big fan of Guardians of the Galaxy, but I am somewhat concerned about the possible implications this will have on Disney California Adventure as a whole. Although the Tower of Terror there is not as good as its Florida counterpart, it is still a good ride that fits very well into the California themed park. The Hollywood themed tower sits at the end of a Hollywood themed land and is visible from several places in the park. Although recently several different IPs unrelated to California have been added to the park such as Monsters Inc, Cars, and The Little Mermaid, this change may be much more drastic. A giant tower themed to a sci-fi property will likely have a much larger effect to the park as a whole than attractions and a couple of non-California related lands. I really like California Adventure as it is. It mixes the California theme with a few extra properties, but this may push it over the limit. I am not someone who thinks parks need to be perfect with theming by any means, DHS is my favorite park at WDW after all, but when you change such a big structure and icon it will likely ruin sightlines and even the overall feeling in the park. The great thing about California Adventure is the beautiful theming mixed with great rides, and this will take away some of that beautiful California theming. In my opinion, it may work better if Disney takes another Marvel property and adds it to the Tower of Terror building. If they added an Avengers ride, for example, they could make it a ride where the Avengers save Los Angeles, which still fits into the California theme of the park. Meanwhile, they could also put a Guardians of the Galaxy ride in a mini-Marvel land behind the tower. Even though I have several concerns for how the attraction fits into the park, it still sounds like it will be a very fun ride. I like Guardians of the Galaxy, and think it could improve Tower of Terror, but I am just concerned about how it will change the rest of DCA.
What do you think of this new Guardians of the Galaxy ride? Do you think it will have a positive effect on DCA? Let us know in the comments and be sure to follow Theme Parks and Travels on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more theme park content! You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel! Don’t forget to give our west coast correspondent, Michael, a follow on Twitter and Instagram! You can also subscribe to us on Apple News by searching “Theme Parks and Travels” in the app!
