As the sun sets over Avengers Campus during the Halloween Time season, the usual lighting package on the multiversal Tivan tower flickers away. Instead of surging power and an otherworldly glow, the tower is dark but for flashing red warning lights and occasional electrical dissipations. Something has happened.
And the coolest thing is, we don’t have to wonder what. We caused it. Unlike most Disney rides where the consequences of something going horribly wrong are magically reset for the next time we ride, if we return to the tower after dark, it’s to deal with the ramifications of our last visit. After all, what did we think would happen when we blew the power and released every creature in the Collector’s keep?
Welcome to Guardians of the Galaxy: Monsters After Dark. Now, Cast Members are decked out in haz-mat style reflective vests splattered with blood. Clearly, the Collector’s orders have been “business as usual,” but his employees aren’t so certain. Every bang and creek in the powered-down fortress leaves workers skittish and on-edge… The screens are down. The lights are red. Cases in the queue formerly filled with creatures are now covered or empty. They’re loose, and it’s our fault.
Cleverly, even the preshow has been reimagined, now using the Rocket animatronic to chide us for returning. What’s he doing back here? Well, it turns out that our buddy Groot missed the getaway ship and has found himself lost in the chaos of the Tivan Collection’s downfall. But hey, as long as we’re here, maybe we can be of assistance.
This time, it’s not clearance Rocket needs… it’s a distraction. Our job is to load back into the gantry lifts and – to quote rocket – “remember, if you see a big monster… scream real loud, and look delicious.”
Once on board, the ride uses an entirely new, original rock song to propel guests into a high-energy race through the tower to find Groot, and to escape from the monster that’s hunting him: Sutur the Fire Dragon, seen in Thor: Ragnarok. Filled with surprises alongside the normal ups and downs, Monsters After Dark is – of course – a spectacular thrill.
But the coolest part is that this experience is not just temporary for the season, but for each evening. What it means is that you can literally ride the normal Mission: BREAKOUT! during the day, and then come back that same evening after sunset to experience Monsters After Dark… literally a continuation of the situation you set into motion that morning!
Guardians of the Galaxy: Monsters After Dark is far and away the best Halloween (or for that matter, holiday) ride at any Disney Park. It’s dynamic, “real time,” and re-adds the anxiety and eeriness that make Tower of Terror so popular into a ride that still manages to be rock ‘n’ roll. Frankly, it would be cool if Disney used the same “after dark” setup to bring back Ghost Galaxy! So do you agree with us that Monsters After Dark strikes just the right chord for a Disney Halloween ride? Do you like its “impermanence?” Do you wish more rides would invite you back for special versions of themselves during holiday times? Let us know in the comments below!
