Guardians Of The Galaxy Mission: BREAKOUT! Ride Coming Summer 2017
Earlier this year, a rumor began to circulate that Disney was considering re-theming Disney California Adventure's The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride into a Guardians of the Galaxy attraction. At Marvel Studios' Hall H panel Kevin Feige confirmed the rumor is true. Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! will be replacing Tower of Terror at Disney California Adventure theme park in Summer 2017, coinciding with the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. Hit the jump for more details.
The new ride will take you into the Collector's museum where the Guardians of the Galaxy have been imprisoned.
Beginning summer 2017, guests at Disney California Adventure Park will join in a daring confrontation with one of the most unusual characters in the park's history: Tanaleer Tivan, the Collector. He has opened his unique collection of fauna, relics and species to guests for a special tour culminating with his latest prized possessions: the Guardians of the Galaxy, themselves! ... One member of the group, the intrepid Rocket, has escaped, and he calls upon brave visitors for help. Guests board a gantry lift which launches them into a daring adventure as they join Rocket in an attempt to set free his fellow Guardians.
Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! will transform the iconic Tower of Terror structure, which you can see in concept art above. The new attraction will enhance "the breathtaking free fall sensation with new visual and audio effects to create a variety of ride experiences."
"Guests will experience multiple, random and unique ride profiles in which the rise and fall of the gantry lift rocks to the beat of music inspired by the film's popular soundtrack."
As someone who was initially very against this idea, this description actually has me quite excited. Walt Disney Imagineering legend and Portfolio Creative Director Joe Rohde is leading the project. Joe is also leading the Avatar Land project in Orlando. This is what Rohde says about the new attraction:
"The setting is a kind of fortress that's owned by the mysterious Collector and it's packed with creatures and his latest acquisitions from across the universe. Now he has imprisoned the Guardians of the Galaxy and they're hanging in display cases over a giant abyss. The captor doesn't know it but Rocket Raccoon has escaped and is enlisting our aid—all the guests—to help the Guardians in a breakout scheme. And the rest is comical chaos; a very funny, very irreverent story and a really wonderful addition to Disney California Adventure."
Disney has officially announced that The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror will be closing in January 2017, and the theme park will be celebrating the attraction with a final "drop day." For those die hards that love the original ride, the Orlando version of Twilight Zone Tower Of Terror will remain unchanged.
But even more exciting is that this is a first step towards creating a Marvel themed land in the Anaheim theme park. Marvel's Joe Quesada seems to confirm long-standing rumors in his comment from the press release saying "what has me even more excited are Joe's 'secret' plans for the future. We're just getting warmed up." The press release goes on to say that "the new attraction will anchor a broader universe of Super Heroes that will grow over time in Disney California Adventure Park."