Live Your Superhero Life at Disneyland’s Avengers Campus
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has literally come to life at Avengers Campus
Marvel fans: assemble! Disneyland’s Avengers Campus brings the MCU multiverse to life, and it’s a must-see destination for every Marvel fan. The land combines immersive theming with the living presence of favorite heroes and two headliner thrill rides. Here is everything you need to know about Disneyland’s Avengers Campus.
These are the show notes for Go Informed Podcast episode 75. Click below to hear the show now, or search for Go Informed: Build A Better Vacation on your favorite podcast app!
- The Marvel Cinematic Universe has literally come to life at Avengers Campus
- Avengers Campus is in Disneyland’s California Adventure theme park
- Disneyland’s Avengers CAMPUS backstory
- Marvel character interactions and shows
- The rides at Disneyland’s Avengers Campus
- Avengers Campus Dining Options
- Shopping at Avengers Campus
- Touring tips for Avengers Campus
- More places to find Marvel and the Avengers
- More theme park tips
Avengers Campus is in Disneyland’s California Adventure theme park
The newest land at Disneyland resort, Avengers Campus is located in the California Adventure theme park. Disney’s imagineers have cleverly converted some old spaces and added new to create an immersive land straight out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The land is themed to resemble the Avengers Campus that Marvel fans are familiar with. Huge-scale buildings sprawl through what purportedly was an old Stark Industries factory site. Looming above it all is the Collector’s fortress.
Just exploring the land can take hours because big and small details are everywhere. On top of the Headquarters building sits a full-size Quinjet. Around the corner you’ll find Doctor Strange’s ancient sanctum with its supernatural Orb of Cagliostro. Keep a sharp eye for the many Spider-Bots that have escaped the WEB workshop.
Disneyland’s Avengers CAMPUS backstory
How did all this get here anyway? The story goes that this site was known for its mystical properties going back centuries. Back in 1940’s Los Angeles, Stark Industries built a factory complex on this property. Then, years later, Tony Stark invited Doctor Strange to the abandoned site. That’s when he unveiled the ancient sanctum, opening up the multiverse and allowing Avengers superheroes to visit the campus across time and space.
The CAMPUS name is actually an acronym for “Centralized Assembly Mobilized to Prepare, Unite and Safeguard.” Part of its purpose is to train new recruits, so be prepared for a few challenges – especially on the Web-Slingers and Mission: Breakout rides.
Marvel character interactions and shows
At Avenger’s Campus you can meet a ton of Marvel characters. Watch for Captain Marvel and Black Widow prepping the Quinjet. Loki and Thor may appear on the Headquarters rooftop too, bantering with recruits below. Other regular visitors include Ant Man, the Wasp, Captain America, Iron Man, and Black Panther. You’ll see them both on the rooftop and on the street greeting guests.
Spider-Man performs his fantastic feats on the WEB labs rooftop. This stunt show takes place multiple times during the day and is definitely worth stopping for. After Spidey climbs down from the roof he hangs around to meet the new recruits.
At the ancient sanctum, Doctor Strange captivates guests with an impressive display of his powers. The show is even better at night when lighting effects intensify the wonder.
Be on the lookout for seemingly random character processionals too. One of the most impressive is the Dora Milaje, who put on a demonstration several times a day.
Did you know you can also experience Marvel attractions at Universal Orlando and at Disney World? Here’s my post about where you can find Marvel in the US theme parks.
The rides at Disneyland’s Avengers Campus
There are two major attractions at Disneyland’s Avengers Campus. Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout is a top-tier thrill ride, while Web-Slingers is an interactive dark ride. Both are well-worth rope-dropping for.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout
While technically not a new ride, Mission Breakout takes on a new sense of place now that it’s surrounded by the Avengers Campus. The attraction was originally the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, but got its new Marvel theme back in 2017.
Just like the original, inside the tower is an intense drop ride. Unlike the original, Mission Breakout places a lot more emphasis on the “up” part of the ride rather than “down”. Just like the Guardians movies, soundtrack plays a big role here. The drops are timed to flow with some of the best music from the movies and the story features all your favorite Guardians characters and plenty of humor.
Backstory for this ride is that the Collector has captured the Guardians and locked them away in the tower. You are part of the mission to break them out. How did the Collector end up putting his fortress right in the middle of Avengers Campus? Apparently Tony Stark gave him permission to put it there.
Web-Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure
Web-Slingers is a brand-new ride with lots of technical bells and whistles. A supercharged version of Toy Story Midway Mania, Web-Slingers challenges guests to capture an onslaught of rogue Spider-Bots while zooming around underneath Avengers Campus.
The attraction starts with an amusing introduction to the WEB workshop, hosted by Peter Parker. Something goes terribly wrong and suddenly spider-bots are everywhere. It’s up to the tour guests to help Spider-Man capture the bots and save the day.
In an incredible display of theme-park technology, riders zap the spider-bots using only hand-motion. The ride zips from scene to scene and there are seemingly an endless number of loose spider-bots to capture. Guests with lots of gaming experience will do best here. Think of this attraction as a 21st century shooting gallery. It’s both a ride and a game.
Big warning to arachnophobes out there – while the spider-bots definitely look mechanical, they move like real spiders. Depending on your sensitivity, you may want to completely skip the Web-Slingers attraction.
Avengers Campus Dining Options
Avengers Campus offers some of the most interesting and heavily-themed dining options at Disneyland. While there is no table-service restaurant, there are several quick service options and a cocktail bar.
Pym Test Kitchen
Serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the Pym Test Kitchen offers unusual twists on typical theme park food. Since it’s the Pym test kitchen, this is a place for giant pretzels and tiny eggs. All of the food is delicious and definitely a step above the usual quick-service offerings.
For breakfast, try the Calculated Breakfast, which features a very tiny fried egg.
For lunch and dinner, get the Not-so-Little Chicken Sandwich, which is basically a huge piece of delicious chicken schnitzel on a slider bun. Or, if your group – or your appetite – is big enough, order the gigantic Family Size Pym-ini. It’s big enough to serve 6-8 adults!
Shawarma Palace
A Tony Stark favorite, Shawarma Palace has been invited to set up two shawarma carts at Avengers Campus. If you like gyros, you’ll love the pita wraps filled with chicken shawarma. Plant-based fans can get the equally delicious falafel wrap.
Shawarma Palace is great for a light meal or a quick pick-me-up anytime of day. You’ll find the carts at both ends of Avengers Campus – near the WEB labs building and near Mission Breakout.
Pym Tasting Lab
Located right next to the Pym Test Kitchen, Pym Tasting Lab focuses on artisan beer and cocktails. An open-air space, the tasting lab is a great place to stop for a cold drink and take in the Campus atmosphere.
Terran Treats
Get your sugar fix at the Terran Treats cart near Mission: Breakout. Here you’ll find churros, cream puffs, and bottled soda.
Shopping at Avengers Campus
There are of course several shops at Avengers Campus where you’ll find Marvel gear. For Spider-Man merch, and accessories you can use inside the Web-Slingers ride, check out WEB Suppliers. The Mission: Breakout ride gift shop is your source for Guardians gear.
Hidden underneath the Quinjet you’ll find Avengers Vault, a collectables shop with all sorts of Marvel gadgets and gear.
Touring tips for Avengers Campus
Visit Avengers Campus in daylight and after dark
Be sure to make time to see Avengers Campus both during the day and at night. The nighttime lighting and sound effects make the campus completely different than during the day. I especially recommend catching the Doctor Strange show at night.
Rope drop Web-Slingers
Make Web-Slingers a priority if you’re planning to rope drop at California Adventure. As a new ride, this one will be very popular almost anytime you visit. Getting there first will save you a lot of wait time.
Mission: Breakout is also a solid choice for rope drop. Get there first and you may be able to ride multiple times before a real queue even starts to develop.
What’s rope drop? It’s when you arrive at the park before the gates have officially opened, and it’s a great way to save a ton of time waiting in line later. Here’s how to do it.
Early entry for Disney hotel guests is a huge advantage for the Avengers Campus attractions
If you stay in one of the Disney hotels (Grand Californian, Disneyland Hotel, or Paradise Pier), you’ll get a 30-minute head start in the parks every day. This extra-early rope drop will put you in a virtually empty Avengers Campus.
Check out this post and podcast episode to find out how we used our early entry to walk-on to Mission Breakout, have a leisurely stroll around the campus, then beat the crowd for Radiator Springs Racers. It’s Go Informed Podcast episode 78.
Here’s a quick look at what makes staying on-site at Disneyland totally worth it.
Disneyland is now undeniably a multi-day destination
With the addition of Avengers Campus at California Adventure, and Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland, you absolutely cannot see it all in one day. To truly experience everything Disneyland resort has to offer, give yourself at least three days.
Three-day park hopper tickets will give you lots of time to explore Avengers Campus day and night plus check out the new Star Wars offerings at Disneyland. Even with just two parks compared to Disney World’s four, Disneyland has almost the same number of rides. Do yourself a favor and book a nearby hotel for a few nights.
More places to find Marvel and the Avengers
Anaheim is not the only home for the Avengers. Disneyland Paris opened its version of Avengers Campus in the summer of 2022. Disney has said that the Avengers need more than one campus worldwide so Paris is a companion to Disneyland, but not exactly the same.
Here’s my post about how to visit the Disneyland Paris parks on your European layover. Yep, you should definitely add this to your bucket list.
You can also find Marvel-themed attractions in Florida. Universal Orlando has a Marvel-themed land at Islands of Adventure, and in summer 2022 there will be a new Guardians of the Galaxy themed coaster at Disney World’s Epcot.
Learn more about Marvel in the US theme parks here.
More theme park tips
Here on GoInformed.net you’ll find lots of tips to improve your theme park vacation, including:
- Universal Hollywood vs Universal Orlando
- How to get your family up early for a day at the park
- How to use the single rider line
- 55 things to know before you visit Disney World
- 33 things to know before you visit Universal Orlando
The Go Informed Podcast
This post is based on episode 75 of the Go Informed Podcast. Catch that episode, and the rest, on your favorite podcast app, including:
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