'Guardians Of The Galaxy' Ride Opening Date Revealed, Disneyland Announces 'Summer Of Heroes'

Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!

By Peter ScirettaFeb. 15, 2017 12:30 pm EST

Disneyland Resort has finally revealed the opening date for the Guardians of the Galaxy retheme of Twilight Zone's Tower Of Terror as part of a grand opening "Summer of Heroes" event which will bring an increased Marvel presence to Disney California Adventure theme park. I'll say this much, Black Widow fans should be excited for this one. Find out the details on when the Guardians of the Galaxy Ride opening date will take place and what will be included in the "Summer of Heroes", after the jump.

We've already told you about the Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! attraction which will have park guests enter the Collector's Fortress, recruited by Rocket Raccoon to save the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy from becoming permanent fixtures in his museum. The Twilight Zone's Tower of Terror ride experience is being revamped and will be randomized complete with all-new visual and audio effects and music inspired by the popular film soundtracks. You can read more about the Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! ride experience here.

Now we know that Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! will have its grand opening on May 27th, 2017, part of the launch of Disney's "Summer of Heroes" event. The event seems to be taking a cue from Disneyland's Season of the Force (a season that seems to now last all year round) by launching new Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy year-round experiences. Those experiences will include the following:

Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Dance Off! – "Don't be surprised if you run into the Guardians of the Galaxy on their way to the Milano, with Star-Lord firing up his old-school boom box to get the party started. Gamora may prefer to stand back and observe, but everyone else is bound to get in the groove and show off their moves during this awesome rock 'n' roll bash!"

Super Hero Encounters – "For the first time, citizens of Earth will come face-to-face with Groot, one of the Guardians of the Galaxy! You can also step up to meet the First Avenger, Captain America, along with everyone's favorite web slinger, your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man."

Avengers Training Initiative – "Black Widow and Hawkeye assemble young recruits for a series of tests to see if they have what it takes to join the ranks of the Avengers."

Heroic Encounter: Black Widow – "Black Widow will arrive on the scene several times throughout the day in an armored Avengers vehicle for her heroic encounter with park guests."

Grab a Piece (or Bite) of the Action – "All that heroism making you hungry? Want a token as proof of your adventures when you get home? Special themed merchandise and food will be available throughout Hollywood Land."

There are a couple interesting things to note here.

First off, #wheresblackwidow? She's apparently in Disney California Adventure theme park. It's great to see that Marvel and Disney are finally putting Black Widow in the spotlight

Disney seems to be taking further cues from their Star Wars experience as the Avengers Traning Initiative seems like an adaptation of the Jedi Academy concept that has worked well in Tomorrowland and Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida.

Captain America and Spider-Man already have costumed character appearances in DCA, but it's fun to see that Groot will be joining the mix. But will it be full grown Groot from the original film or baby Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2? The Summer of Heroes banner they released prominently features baby Groot.

It looks like if you want to see Starlord, Gamora (and will they find a way to bring Rocket to life?) then you'll have to catch one of the "Dance Off" events.

I had originally heard that the premiere for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 would take place at an early preview of Mission: Breakout!, but that film is set to hit theaters on May 5th, 2017, which means the premiere would take place a month or so before the ride's opening. So it's unclear if the attraction would be finished by that time, and if it was, you'd think that Disney would want to have the land open in time for the release of the sequel.

The back half of Disney California Adventure's Hollywood Land will eventually be redone as a Marvel land, and the Guardians of the Galaxy attraction is just the first step in a much larger plan. I'm sure we'll learn more about that grand plan at this year's D23 Expo event.