Rumor: Marvel Expansion Planned For Disney California Adventure

Ever since Disney purchased Marvel in 2009, fans have been wondering when Disneyland would introduce rides and attractions based on the Marvel superheroes. Disneyland has slowly introduced Marvel meet-and-greets into their theme parks, with a big chunk of Tomorrowland's Innoventions serving as an area to meet the individual Avengers. Disney has announced an Iron Man ride for Hong Kong Disneyland, but when will the Anaheim theme park get its due? Find out more about the rumored Disneyland Marvel expansion after the jump.

The rumored new land would be part of the committed one billion dollar plus addition to Disneyland resort. MiceChat, one of the best sources for Disneyland gossip and rumors, has an update on Disney's current plans to bring a Marvel-themed land into Disneyland Resort.

The plans to expand DCA again with a Marvel Land behind Tower of Terror continue to move ahead, and the E Ticket thrill ride that is planned to anchor that expansion is going to be very unique. The ride will feature a newly Imagineered hybrid ride system that might be best described as a combination of Rock N' Roller Coaster and Universal's Transformers ride using every trick and gimmick WDI can throw at it, including on-board audio and effects and elaborate sets and animatronics. With the Pumbaa parking structure moving quickly, the old toll plaza entry lanes south of DCA that are used to redirect cars from Mickey & Friends can also be utilized, creating a surprisingly large chunk of property slated for DCA's future expansion.

Again, remember, this is just a rumor at this time. The report claims that the Marvel Land expansion is not expected to be announced at this week's D23 Expo 2015, but you never know. The description of a "a combination of Rock N' Roller Coaster and Universal's Transformers ride using every trick and gimmick WDI can throw at it, including on-board audio and effects and elaborate sets and animatronics" sounds to me like Universal Studios' The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter's Escape From Gringotts ride. That's a good thing; that ride is like a dark ride rollercoaster with all the cutting edge effects.

I imagine that the ride will be themed after The Avengers, taking us on an adventure through Avengers tower, to Asgard and through the Galaxy and back — maybe we could even shrink down to the size of an ant? I've been fortunate enough to visit the set of a Marvel movie, I've admired how the sets could easily be part of a theme park ride. Its a shame that some of the sets are completely destroyed after filming, because they look so good.

I'm surprised and happy that Disney isn't just porting over the Iron Man Experience motion simulator ride from Hong Kong Disneyland. While that ride sounds cool, its just a reimplementation of a new generation of the Advanced Technology Leisure Application Simulator which is currently used in Star Tours: The Adventures Continue.