Disney will be significantly expanding their Marvel-themed entertainment at their theme parks around the world, according to an announcement made by the company on March 20, 2018. These immersive experiences set to come to Disney’s California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Disneyland Paris, and Hong Kong Disneyland all share the tagline of “Recruitment Begins.”
The Marvel-themed land set for California Adventure was first teased at the 2017 D23 Expo. This experience will allow guests to step into the world of their favorite Marvel heroes, including the Guardians of the Galaxy. The land will be anchored by the already-open Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission – BREAKOUT! attraction. It will open in 2020. In order to make room for this new area, the younger-oriented “a bug’s land” will be closing later in 2018.
The expansions coming to Paris and Hong Kong were first discussed at the D23 Expo Japan 2018. In Paris, guests will be able to experience “a reimagined attraction where riders will team up with Iron Man and their favorite Avengers on a hyper-kinetic adventure.” This new attraction will be at the Walt Disney Studios Park, replacing the Rock‘n’Roller Coaster, and will open in 2020. Hong Kong Disneyland’s multi-year expansion will include a new fully-themed land that will include a brand-new attraction where guests will be teaming up with Ant-Man and the Wasp. No specific date was given for this area, though the ongoing expansion for the park at large is expected to be completed by 2023. Hong Kong Disneyland is already home to The Iron Man Experience, which opened in early 2017.
Due to Disney’s licensing agreement with Universal Studios that allows for many of the mainline Marvel characters to be the focus of “Marvel Superhero Island” at the Islands of Adventure theme park, Walt Disney World in Florida is limited in the Marvel representation it is allowed to have at the resort. However, Star-Lord and Groot have been present as meet-and-greet characters at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and that particular park also previously hosted a Doctor Strange-themed performance. A Guardians of the Galaxy-themed roller coaster is also currently being built inside the old Universe of Energy building in Future World at Epcot, though no opening date has yet been set for that.
The trailer promoting the new areas can be seen below. Three posters ‒ one for each park ‒ also released, highlighting many of the big-name Marvel heroes, such as Spider-Man, Black Panther, Ant-Man, and more.
