Avengers: Infinity War is breaking box office records. Whenever Disney finds success at this level, we start to wonder what this will mean for Disney Parks. Some of the impacts will be immediate while others will be years down-the-line. Here is what we know and what we speculate the influence Avengers: Infinity will have on Disney Parks from today and beyond.
Note: This article may contain spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War.
Spider-Man at Disney California Adventure
Meet-and-Greets
According to the Disneyland Resort, due to “a series of dramatic events throughout the galaxy” additional Marvel superheroes are making appearances at Disney California Adventure. Presumably, the “events” is a reference to Avengers: Infinity War. Here is the superhero lineup:
- Spider-Man continues to meet at the Brownstone near the Hyperion Theatre
- Thor and Gamora meet guests at the Sakaarian location near the Hollywood Backlot stage
- Black Widow is joining Black Panther and the Dora Milaje at Avengers Facility 17 (aka Stage 17)
- Captain America is now meeting guests across from his former location at the Brownstone
- Groot remains at Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!
- Loki will be sneaking throughout the land.
- Doctor Strange will be appearing throughout the land in the summer.
Disney Updates Mission: Breakout
Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!
While Marvel and Disney have never said that Mission: BREAKOUT takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — in fact, they’ve hinted at a Marvel Theme Park Universe. Still, the events of Avengers: Infinity War definitely make the attraction out of date. While they may just keep the attraction locked in a specific moment in time, they may also update the attraction to reflect current events within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, much like how Disney keeps updating Star Tours. Disney has already made additions to the queue, so they have shown a willingness to keep the attraction fresh. The other option is to treat the attraction like Cars Land where the land is locked despite the franchise moving on. It will be interesting to see what Disney and Marvel decide to do. Whatever happens, it will likely give us insight on how they plan on treating Marvel attractions as more are developed.
Hard Ticket Event
The Disneyland Resort found success with their upcoming Star Wars Nite, to the point that they added a second event. Meanwhile, Walt Disney World continues to periodically host their Galactic Nights event. We have to speculate that an after-hours Marvel event will be in the offering. While contractual challenges would make hosting an event at Walt Disney World difficult, an event at the Disneyland Resort seems like a no-brainer. In fact, it could be the first Disney California Adventure installment of their Disneyland After Dark series. Would you be interested in attending Marvel Nite?
The Future
Disney recently announced major Marvel expansions at parks across the globe. The box office performance of the film must assuage any concerns that Disney had that the public might be facing “super hero fatigue.” The performance of the film, combined with the success of Black Panther, has put the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the same echelon as Star Wars. Much like how Disney is eager to showcase their major franchises in the parks (Star Wars, Frozen, Pixar), expect a significant investment into new experiences. While the franchise doesn’t lend itself to the same placemaking opportunities as Star Wars, expect Disney to find new ways to make their Marvel experiences “game changers.” Although Disney Parks’ Marvel experiences have been modest so far, they have been successful with the Iron Man Experience and Mission: Breakout becoming instant hits at their respective parks. It is hard to imagine what impact a large-scale new Marvel experience will mean. As far as the Disneyland Resort, there is no doubt that Marvel will help rebalance the parks following the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Avengers: Infinity War is now playing in theatres everywhere.