It probably won’t surprise you that with over $40 billion in revenue, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is the eighth highest grossing media franchise of all time. Across more than two dozen films, the ever-expanding (though potentially slowing) pop culture juggernaut of Marvel super heroes is defined by its interconnectedness… and specifically, the landmark, anchor, nexus event crossover films of the Avengers, which have netted nearly $8 billion alone… with two more entries (The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars) due for release in 2025 and 2026, respectively.
That makes it seem strange that when Disney California Adventure’s Avengers Campus opened in 2021, it was without an equally ambitious, epic, culminating, crossover ride themed to the larger Avengers and their franchise-defining fights against apocalyptic threats, instead containing just a Guardians of the Galaxy thrill ride and a Spider-Man family ride. Of course, two distinctly unique Avengers E-Tickets have been announced for this land, though only one of them is still in production. Which would you like to ride? Review the choices and vote on the next page!
Version 1: The Quinjet Thrill Ride
When the land that would become Avengers Campus was announced at the 2019 D23 Expo, then-Parks Chairman Bob Chapek showed off two versions of the land’s concept art – a “before” and “after,” with the latter adding a massive white showbuilding emblazoned with the Avengers A, meant to house a Quinjet thrill ride that – like the Avengers films – would serve as a mega crossover event and the land’s blockbuster headlining attraction.
It seemed odd to acknowledge right from the start that your new land based on one of the hottest franchises in history would open without a “main” ride… something like telling people that Galaxy’s Edge would eventually have Rise of the Resistance, but would have to spend its first few years with just Smugglers Run. In retrospect, the announcement of a ride with no concrete timeline or commitment became even stupider once COVID-19 struck, meaning no dirt ever actually moved on the ride. But here’s what we hear about it…
PROS
- A thrilling, headlining ride system. While the specifics about the Avengers Campus ride haven’t been leaked, there are really two plausible rumors about what the ride would’ve actually been like…
- The most elaborate rumblings say that the Quinjet ride was meant to strap guests into the Quinjet’s Cockpit (a la Smugglers Run) but that part way into the ride, the ship’s shell would fall away as guests “eject,” with each seat actually attached to its own KUKA Robo-Arm creating a jet-pack dark ride.
- But even the most conservative rumors say that the Quinjet ride would’ve been a floorless version of Flight of Passage from Disney’s Animal Kingdom with the Quinjet set giving way to a thrilling race through a Wakandan battle, swooping and soaring in a high-energy, thrilling simulator.
- A “U-Ticket” scale. Whichever form it took, insiders agree that this ride was meant to be California Adventure’s equivalent of Rise of the Resistance – a massive, multi-phase, unprecedented experience that would anchor California Adventure for decades. Since this ride would take up California Adventure’s last obvious expansion pad, a headlining, enormous, show-stopping experience really is a must.
CONS
- An “Infinity Saga” setting. The first 23 films of the MCU are collectively called “The Infinity Saga,” narratively culminating with 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. While the heroes of the Infinity Saga will always be the foundational members of the Avengers (Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, etc.), almost none of them are still active members of MCU movies. Rooting a ride in the militaristic Infinity Saga and with its now-bygone heroes would date the ride from the get-go.
- A lack of flexibility. Avengers Campus intentionally avoids the strict adherence to timeline that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has become infamous for. Set in a separate continuity from the “MCU,” even heroes long gone from the movies still meet-and-greet in Avengers Campus… But a ride is far less adaptable than the land itself, and as new heroes and villains loom and as Marvel enters an era of more mythical, magical, multiversal films, those heroes would almost certainly not show up in this ride.
- The loss of Chadwick Boseman. When Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman passed away in 2020 after a quiet medical diagnosis, it wasn’t clear how (or even if) the Black Panther franchise would continue. Obviously, 2022’s Wakanda Forever served as a sort of reflective goodbye to T’challa and the actor who brought him to life, but suddenly the idea of a Wakanda-set ride starring Black Panther didn’t feel as tasteful.
All of that helps explain why Disney decided to take its Avengers attraction in a new direction… Read the pros and cons of the version we’re supposedly getting now on the next page, and cast your vote for which version of the ride you’d prefer…
Version 2: The Multiverse Family Dark Ride
By the 2022 D23 Expo, a whole lot had changed… Though Disney had never officially canceled the Quinjet ride, post-COVID, then-CEO Bob Chapek confirmed that the project was – at best – permanently delayed. It made sense for several reasons, not the least of which being the “Cons” we mentioned above. Presided over by Chapek, the 2022 D23 was unique in that it included zero announcements of otherwise unknown rides… but Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro did surprisingly reconfirm Disney’s plans for an Avengers ride, now completely reimagined.
Dropping the “Infinity War” setting, the Quinjet wrap, and the flight to Wakanda, the new Avengers attraction would instead loosen the reigns and let the Multiverse in. Represented not by a looming white Avengers complex, but by an otherworldly purple mist concentrated just beyond the Avengers HQ facade, the new ride would use an entirely different story, setting, and ride system…
PROS
- More aligned with today’s MCU “Saga.” Post-Endgame, we enter the next 30+ film MCU era, “The Multiverse Saga.” Beginning with 2021’s WandaVision and theoretically concluding with Avengers: Secret Wars in 2026, the Multiverse Saga adds a whole lot of myth, magic, and multiversal mayhem to the MCU. Now granted, if construction began on this ride today, the Multiverse Saga would likely be over before it opens. But even still, the Multiverse anchor allows it to be highly adaptable and smartly disconnected from whatever the aesthetic du jour of the MCU might be. Speaking of which…
- The “best of both worlds.” Leaning into the Multiverse allows this ride to do what a ride anchored to the Infinity Saga can’t. It means that this ride can be as flexible as the land itself. Drawing from every reality, we’ll see our universe’s original Avengers – Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow – plus versions of the characters drawn from later on the timeline (like Sam Wilson’s Captain America, She-Hulk, and Scarlet Witch) and variants torn from the Multiverse (like an animated Spider-Man, Captain Britain, Werewolf by Night, and more). The ride’s villain will even be “King Thanos” – a version of the Infinity Saga’s “Big Bad,” arriving to our universe from one where he won. It’s a smart way to anchor the ride in Marvel’s best-known characters while also staying adaptable to whatever’s on the horizon.
- A modest Marvel production. For Disney, it’s no doubt a “pro” that this ride will use tried-and-true ride systems – probably, a trackless, LPS-based system (like Ratatouille, Rise of the Resistance, Runaway Railway, et al) versus the more complex, technological, and show stopping ambition of “Version 1.” For fans, the switch reads as something of a downgrade in ambition, matching the cost-cutting and redressing of former CEO Bob Chapek, who likely would’ve tasked Imagineers with paring the ride back to a less intense, less costly version. Is that a “pro” for fans? Well…
CONS
- Trading thrills for family fare. Disney California Adventure needs more dark rides and more family rides, so making the anchor of Avengers Campus both is smart. However, using the park’s last significant expansion pad for what Disney describes as a family adventure feels like a step down after promises of a U-Ticket thrill ride. That’s not to say it couldn’t still be a jaw-dropper (Rise of the Resistance is a “simple” dark ride on paper, and mixing in screens could create an Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man scenario, which would be nothing to sneeze at)… but frankly, we just don’t know enough details to know yet… Which brings us to…
- We don’t know much about it. While we can guess at the ride system of this Multiverse attraction based on concept art (and can assume based on the many heroes involved that it’ll be mostly if not entirely screen based), we just don’t have any real details to go on. What’s frustrating about that, given Disney’s typical timeline, if construction began today, we’d expect it would be at least four years until the ride was ready to open, so the fact that we haven’t even taken step one signals that we’ve got a long way to go…
- Gotta see it? A headlining, anchoring, U-Ticket, ultra-complex Marvel thrill ride would serve not just as a much-needed draw for California Adventure, but as something of a Mecca for Marvel fans the world over. We can see “Version 1” of the ride being a jaw-dropping mega-ride that would draw Avengers fanatics from across the world. We’re not so sure that a trackless, screen-based dark ride (if indeed that’s what “Version 2” is) will really put Disneyland Resort and California Adventure on the map.
Your Choice
So if you stood in the shoes of Bob Iger and Josh D’Amaro and were able to activate one of the last expansion pads in Disney California Adventure with an Avengers E-Ticket, the question is, which concept would you greenlight? Would you choose “Version 1 – The Quinjet Thrill Ride,” “Version 2 – A Multiverse Family Dark Ride,” or “Version 3 – Your Own Blue Sky Idea”? Cast your vote, and let us know your ideas in the comments below!
