Marvel Attraction Ideas for Disney

I have no problem admitting I am a fanatic for both theme parks and comic books. Thus when these two passions of mine are combined, the inner ecstatic child in me comes outs. Across the United States the Six Flags parks have brought the DC Universe into their parks with themed lands and some impressive world renowned rides. Recently though, the granddaddy company of theme parks made moves with one of their intellectual properties which has everyone anticipating what is coming next. With their controversial, but ultimately successful move, to retheme the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror into Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout, the House of Mouse left Easter Eggs for astute guests. First was the presence of black SUV’s decked with the SHIELD logo in the area, and eventually a hatch near the Guardians ride emblazoned with the Avengers logo. This all added up to one thing, the characters of Marvel Comics were coming to Disneyland’s California Adventures. True Universal Studios has a Marvel area in their Islands of Adventures, but history has proven when the Imagineers devote themselves to creating something, few if any other parks can come close to what they can accomplish. While contracts with Universal keeps Disney World from taking advantage of this property to the fullest (but it must be nice to have your biggest business rival forced to have a themed area devoted to your characters) but as long as Disneyland follows certain legal guidelines they are free to utilize the creations of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and the other talents from Marvel as they see fit. Granted the talented Imagineers probably have a host of ideas on what to bring to this Marvel Land but since I love theme parks I am going to throw in a few ideas as to my suggestions for this Marvel Land.

Iron Man Roller Coaster: Who does not want the ability to soar like Tony Stark while blasting bad guys with your repulsor rays. The ride technology exists to create such a ride, Imagineers would just have to piece together the concepts of two successful coasters from other parks in the country. For a variety of Six Flags parks, Bolliger & Mabillard deigned the award winning roller coaster Superman: Ultimate Flight. Rather than experiencing this steel coaster seated in a car like most ride, you are reclined forward in order to simulate flight. Simply fitting this same coaster with a red and gold color scheme instead of red and blue, would not be enough. At Sea World, they refurbished their prized coaster the Kraken (also from Bolliger & Mabillard) into the beloved Kraken Unleashed, this time riders wear virtual reality goggles which brings a completely different experience to the ride. As guests zip around the tracks, what they are seeing is an epic sea adventure where they must escape the Kraken. I can easily envision a roller coaster where the riders are reclined and feeling like they are flying through the air, and on top of that wearing a virtual reality device which would give them the same POV that Tony Stark has when straps the armor for an adventure.

Spider-Man Swing: Recently Disney submitted a patent for a new ride car, where the car would be suspended by a wire to the track allowing guests to swing around as they move along the track. With the size of this machine, many speculate it is either going to be for the new Guardians of the Galaxy ride at Epcot (hence the massive building they are constructing) or at California Adventures for a Spider-Man ride. It does not take a lot of imagination to see the appeal of swinging through the city like Spidey and this new ride system would allow guests to do just that. It could either take the form of a roller coaster or a new spin on an old fashioned swing ride.

Doctor Strange Magic Show: The Disney parks are renowned for the elaborate shows they put on. For proof just look at Disneyland’s Fantasmic, an epic live show featuring Mickie using magic to battle several classic Disney villains, including Malificent as in her dragon form. If Imagineers truly went all out in building a similar show around the Sorcerer Supreme it could be something that would truly blow fans away. Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando briefly featured a meet and greet with Doctor Strange so they should not have a problem finding an actor who can play the lead.

Doctor Doom Latverian Castle Battle: One of the most popular ride at the Disney Parks is the Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. In this dark ride, you travel through space blasting away at the evil Zerg and his minions with a mounted laser gun. With a joy stick you can maneuver your cart in any direction you want to fire on your enemies. Disney has proven they have no qualms taking a successful ride concept and putting it on another attractions (ie Dumbo the Flying Elephant and the Magic Carpets of Aladdin). So I suggest they take this layout and move it into Doctor Doom’s castle in the nation of Latveria. Guests would swivel around in their cars blasting away at Doombots lurking throughout the ride. Of course this will all culminate in a battle with Marvel’s greatest villain himself.

Avengers Mansion Battle: Many of you are right now saying to yourself “Why am I reading this crap?” but the rest of you are probably pointing out that Marvel has shown a certain reluctance (to put it nicely) to feature characters they do not own the movie rights for, which means they probably would not want to feature Doctor Doom. Luckily this concept can be adapted, instead of Doom’s castle, simply change the setting to Avengers Mansion. Riders could be led by Captain America, through narration or audio animatronic, as you ride through the halls of the famed Avengers Mansion. The home base of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will have been taken over by Ultron or the Masters of Evil or some other villain and you would have to help stop them.  Six Flags has already implemented a similar ride with their Justice League: Battle for Metropolis and have been met with great success. Needless to say if Disney’s Imagineers were allowed to take this same concept and run with it, they would make a truly incredible ride.

Ghost Rider Race Track: This one may be a bit of a stretch given that no matter the incarnation, Ghost Rider is not the most family friendly of Marvel characters. That being said guests could have a blast choosing to ride Johnny Blaze’s motorcycle or Robby Reyes’ car. They could then race across a track themed to look like a city at night so they can truly feel what it may be like to deliver vengeance on evildoers.