Though Hong Kong Disneyland has the distinction of having the first ride (and eventually an entire area) based on Marvel Comics characters in any Disney park, Disney California Adventure will be the first North American Disney theme park to have an attraction centered on the heroes of the House of Ideas when ‘Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout!’ opens later this year. As we learned back at last year’s San Diego Comic Con, the Collector’s personal museum will replace the fan favorite Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the titular heroes from James Gunn’s surprise hit film will be tasked with escaping. But now we have some new details about the upcoming ride that may or may not appease some of the initial skeptics.
IGN recently took part in an early preview at the Disneyland Resort to check out what we can expect from ‘Mission: Breakout!’. As they donned hardhats for a tour of the former Tower of Terror as it undergoes a complete overhaul, Walt Disney Imagineering veteran Joe Rohde guided members of the press through the storyline of the ride and laid out the “complete tonal shift” from what was there before despite using the same ride system. Instead of building up to the action with various elements of mythology surrounding the attraction, Rohde says that the action starts as soon as you board the ride vehicle:
“This is a comedy, action-adventure, prison break. We need none of that [set-up once on the ride]. We invest immediately in movement… Everything that happens on the ride, from the moment you take off, happens in the context of this very physical chaos. The escape is happening, the other animals are escaping, everything in the collection is loose. The guards are trying to stop them. Rocket is trying to control the vehicle that is out of control because he blew the control tower to open the cages. It’s just insane chaos. But really funny, really fun chaos that ensues for the rest of the ride.”
As Disney tends to do with their theme parks, the Guardians’ attraction will be a fully immersive experience filled with “every conceivable Easter egg we can imagine”. Rocket’s gun, a Chitauri blaster, a Nova Corp helmet, and Asgardian weaponry are just some of the artifacts from the movies and TV shows of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (as well as a few from the comics) that will be contained in Taneleer Tivan’s collection at California Adventure to set the stage. Although creating a whole world of it’s own is cool, one of the major critiques of the upcoming ride is that it stands out like a sore thumb from the surrounding area that is themed like 1930s Hollywood. I mean, it is pretty weird that an alien building is just randomly there now. Well, the amazing Disney Imagineers have factored that into the story of the ride:
“The [Guardians] world terminates and terminates very abruptly. That’s part of the whole ‘kaboom’ of this. As we know from many of these films, someone just unzippers the reality and giant, automated snake dragons come from somewhere. Or someone steps through a circle and disappears to the other side of the planet When it came to the Collector’s warehouse, the idea was this thing has just ‘Kablam!’, appeared out of nowhere.”
While all of this sounds great, the part of the report that got me really excited was when it described the Collector’s office. Formerly the place where guests would meet Rod Sterling before boarding the elevator in the boiler room, they will now “meet” Rocket Raccoon as he scurries around in the air ducts in an attempt to carry out his plan to break out Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, and Groot. This scene can easily play out with the help of sound effects, but I’m curious about whether they decide to physically show Rocket in some way. The Mouse House has come a long way with their Audio-Animatronics, so they could probably do a really good job with the Guardians’ resourceful rodent (as long as it’s in the budget).
What do you think about the latest details for ‘Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout!’? Are you excited for the new ride to open at Disney California Adventure? Let us know in the comments.
Despite being a “professional writer”, Ben likes run-on sentences far too much. For more of his attempts at being funny and the occasional insightful thought, follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
