Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! replacing DCA's Tower of Terror

[jcgoble3]

Announced today on the Disney Parks Blog:

 

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2016/07/guardians-of-the-galaxy-mission-breakout-coming-to-disney-california-adventure-park-summer-2017/

 

Introduction video with some concept art:

 

 

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney California Adventure will close in early 2017 to make way for the transformation, with Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! scheduled to open later that summer.

[CedarPointer]

[jcgoble3]

Yeah, that's approximately my reaction, too.

[Hoeter]

The theming on Tower of Terror is amazing as it stands currently- the presentation and the finite details, the storyline, the ride system itself (supposedly a joint venture between Disney and Otis),  all the way down to the Cast Members themselves. I've only ridden the Florida version, so I'm not sure if there are more differences than similarities between the FL and CA versions, but Tower of Terror has to be one of the best themed rides that I have ever experienced.

 

As for the transition from Tower of Terror to Guardian of the Galaxy, I'm a bit disappointed to see that it's going to be changing in a radical fashion, but won't give up hope just yet. I'm curious to see what Disney and the production staff from the film have planned. The ride has been a staple at Disney World for 20+ years now, and I can't see die hard Disney fans taking the news well if something similar is coming to Florida. Going through the comments so far on the YouTube video that Goble posted above, I'm seeing more negative comments than positive ones.

 

Only time will tell.

[RollerNut]

I get that Disney Parks needs to stay current and the concept of putting in their favorite movies but Tower Of Terror is one of the iconic Disney rides, I think it would have been better not to change ToT. Again I really think Disney is missing a chance to fix the Tomorrowland problem, Tomorrowland gets updated with more futurisic things then falls behind. Not to mention the empty Peoplemover track, Astrojets platform and other attractions rotting away. To me Marvel gives them access to futurisic world that they could overlay into the current Tomorrowland, as shown Tomorrowland has SBNO attractions that are taking up space and adding zero to the capacity of the park.

[Kenban]

At this point in time I would not worry about this occurring in Florida.  The problem is that Universal Orlando holds exclusive theme park rights, east of the Mississippi to many of the Marvel characters, and to the Marvel brand itself.  The contract does not explicitly cover Guardians of the Galaxy so there might be a loop hole there, but even if it exists the problem is Universal does have the rights to the Avengers which covers almost everything Marvel does in some way.

 

In California the Tower of Terror is next to a back stage parking lot which is frequently used to store items for the park.  It has been rumored for some time and hinted at in the video that this is just the first ride and California Adventure will get an entire Marvel section to the park.  

 

The rides are similar but not the same.  The largest difference is that in Florida the ride travels up one elevator shaft, then drives out through the twilight zone into another elevator shaft where the actual drop ride occurs.  California is a much simpler, and shorter ride, there is no autonomous vehicle, the elevator never leaves the shaft while the ride is operating.  The programming on the drop sequence is completely different as well, Florida is completely random every time, while California has a handful of sequences which it randomly picks from.

[Tanna]

I can only hope the patrons are not disappointed.

[shark6495]

As a "fan boy" of Marvel I'm excited for this. The concept seems like a lot of fun. The art looks great.

Twilight Zone is a staple of the parks but it's aged. Many of the population of 30 and younger a couldn't tell you a favorite TZ episode or really anything about property it represents. People hate change. If this is done as well as it looks I'm going to be super excited for this.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bkroz]

Perhaps the most debilitating and devastating move I've seen from Disney in my lifetime.

 

And I've seen New Tomorrowland, the closure of the Peoplemover, the closure of the Submarine Voyage, the closure of Maelstrom, the closure of Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular, the closure of Horizons, the opening of Journey into YOUR Imagination, the cancellation of WestCOT, the fallout from Disneyland Paris, and the announcement of Disney's California Adventure.

 

When this first started rumbling months ago, I was among those who wrote it off as a wild rumor literally invented to be as preposterous as possible, simply to see how feverishly Disney Parks fans would spread it. Now, facing it as a reality, I am stunned. 

 

What an absolutely horrific choice. Unimaginable. I can't wrap my head around the idea that a sci-fi industrial space tower (with vague pueblo-deco remnants, distinctly hotel-shaped) will now loom over Disneyland Resort, Disney California Adventure, and Hollywoodland. Abysmal. Absolutely incredibly stupid.

 

I feel defeated and disheartened. And the worst part is that we've learned from Disney's recent moves that there's nothing that can be done, nothing to be said, nothing to be fought for. Why fuss? Why complain? Why rally? Why bother? Why care at all? Disney doesn't care what I think as a enthusiast, sure, but what about as a guest?

 

Unbelievable.

 

bkroz, who sincerely won't be back to Disneyland Resort for a very, very long time. Absolutely horrible.

[jcgoble3]

After that scathing review (which I generally agree with), I am waiting with bated breath for The Interpreter to offer an opinion.

[The Interpreter]

There comes a time when you know, without chance of defense, that you are getting old.

Yet more evidence.

I WILL be getting back to Disneyland. To visit Tower of Terror one last time.

And I'm not going to be pleased that when I leave then, I will soon be unable to do that again.

I will NOT marvel at the new edition.

Sigh.

[Browntggrr]

I can remember when Disney purchased Marvel Studios and fans freaked because Disney will not allow certain violence or language.

Once the movies came out, most did not complain. Disney has done a phenomenal job.

Same goes for Lucasfilms. Many questoned Disney with Star Wars, and Disney came through.

Ride reinventing may be a whole different animal, but I have faith in Disney. I cannot imagine they would remove the staple ToT and retheme it with bad results.

[Existential]

Sounds terrible to be honest.  Though I haven't been to the theater in years because of all these superhero movies.  Been a dude my whole life...and just never gave two scoops about superheros.  Never attracted my attention because its the same bland story told over and over and over.  And we're supposed to cheer for these schmucks who play dress up and run around in tights and capes?  Eh...My superhero would be Indiana Jones or John McClane.

[King Ding Dong]

^Not disagreeing about Marval, but sounds like you want to change one over and over for another over and over.

[Existential]

wut?

[King Ding Dong]

Indiana Jones and Die Hard movies over and over. How many have there been already?

It's the issue I am starting to have with the Star Trek movies. Evil guy has a chip on his shoulder and wants to destroy the world. Over and over. The series were about much more than that.

[The Interpreter]

Harlequin made millions on less variety.

[King Ding Dong]

^ Porn operates by different rules.

[The Interpreter]

Harlequin is not in that genre.

That's like calling amusement parks 1940's pool halls.

[KIghostguy]

Can somebody please tell me what Guardians of the Galaxy has anything to do with California?

[The Interpreter]

Money, money, money...

[Delirium13]

Wow. What a cheap overlay of a fantastic attraction. They can frame it however they want... But this is a cheap overlay. Plain and simple.

 

Whoever originally hatched this idea to do an overlay of one of the best attraction Disney has ever created should be fired. After a year of record profits you decide that the best way to get Marvel into your parks is to get rid of a wonderful ride. At least it appears that Florida's Tower of Terror is safe.

 

Pathetic.

[bkroz]

What's worse – this is NOT Disney's California 2001, a hodgepodge of misaligned thoughtless attractions with no path forward for a jumbled mess of a park. Back then, I would've accepted Disney throwing anything at the wall to try to right the ship, when the park was under-themed, lacking in stories, and without character.

 

In 2007, Disney solved that with a $1.5 billion upgrade, crafting a new, thoughtful Disney California Adventure with each and every themed land stripped to the rivets and re-built as an idealized, romanticized, historic recreation of Californian stories, legends, and adventures. The idea was to get rid of the jokes, the irreverent tone, and the modern music. It worked spectacularly. And now, one of the park's only remaining "California" rides will be replaced with an irreverent futuristic superhero ride for which we're supposed to find modern music the selling point. In its own concealed-away land? Fine. But replacing one of the park's classics and one of the most detailed rides Disney has ever developed? This damages the very foundation of the billion dollar rebirth the park just experienced.

 

 

In the old park, this was Hollywood Pictures Backlot, a flat-facade recreation of modern Hollywood with guests encouraged to peek around the corner and see how the street was really just cardboard and scaffolding. In this "modern" Hollywood "studio," it would've been stupid, but at least having a Guardians of the Galaxy ride in a "warehouse" (as Joe Rohde describes it) would be passable. But it turns out, people didn't come to Disney to see modern spoofs of modern Hollywood. Post-makeover, this area became Hollywoodland – a 1930s Golden Age of Hollywood, with the Hollywood Tower Hotel looming over. 

 

Disney Imagineers painstakingly built a new, cohesive story for Hollywoodland and neighboring Buena Vista Street, which shared a continuity. So detailed and thoughtful were these two lands that the Red Car Trolley was shared between them, with stops at Buena Vista Street, Carthay Circle, and the Hollywood Tower Hotel. What of that, for example? Will the signs on the front of the trolleys simply be swapped for "Hollywood Blvd. / Carthay Circle / Marvel Land?" 

 

 

Late April Fools joke. This sincerely sounds like some preposterous thing a fan came up with, including the concept art of what is very obviously and distinctly a 1920s art-deco hotel, now affixed with pipes and silver paint. Absolutely a joke. No one asked for this. 

 

And then, just across the resort is Tomorrowland, withering and decaying while a futuristic dark sci-fi superhero ride takes over a beloved classic. Pathetic is right.

 

[RollerNut]

What's worse – this is NOT Disney's California 2001, a hodgepodge of misaligned thoughtless attractions with no path forward for a jumbled mess of a park. Back then, I would've accepted Disney throwing anything at the wall to try to right the ship, when the park was under-themed, lacking in stories, and without character.

In 2007, Disney solved that with a $1.5 billion upgrade, crafting a new, thoughtful Disney California Adventure with each and every themed land stripped to the rivets and re-built as an idealized, romanticized, historic recreation of Californian stories, legends, and adventures. The idea was to get rid of the jokes, the irreverent tone, and the modern music. It worked spectacularly. And now, one of the park's only remaining "California" rides will be replaced with an irreverent futuristic superhero ride for which we're supposed to find modern music the selling point. In its own concealed-away land? Fine. But this damages the very foundation of the billion dollar rebirth the park just experienced.

In the old park, this was Hollywood Pictures Backlot, a flat-facade recreation of modern Hollywood with guests encouraged to peek around the corner and see how the street was really just cardboard and scaffolding. In this "modern" Hollywood "studio," it would've been stupid, but at least having a Guardians of the Galaxy ride in a "warehouse" (as Joe Rohde describes it) would be passable. But it turns out, people didn't come to Disney to see modern spoofs of modern Hollywood. Post-makeover, this area became Hollywoodland – a 1930s Golden Age of Hollywood, with the Hollywood Tower Hotel looming over.

Disney Imagineers painstakingly built a new, cohesive story for Hollywoodland and neighboring Buena Vista Street, which shared a continuity. So detailed and thoughtful were these two lands that the Red Car Trolley was shared between them, with stops at Buena Vista Street, Carthay Circle, and the Hollywood Tower Hotel. What of that, for example? Will the signs on the front of the trolleys simply be swapped for "Hollywood Blvd. / Carthay Circle / Marvel Land?"

Late April Fools joke. This sincerely sounds like some preposterous thing a fan came up with, including the concept art of what is very obviously and distinctly a 1920s art-deco hotel, now affixed with pipes and silver paint. Absolutely a joke. No one asked for this.

And then, just across the resort is Tomorrowland, withering and decaying while a futuristic dark sci-fi superhero ride takes over a beloved classic. Pathetic is right.

Now that it has went public, maybe if there is enough negative comments Disney will wake up and cancel it. Doubtful but we can hope.

With Star Wars Land, keeping Star Tours in Tomorrowland will make less sense. Disney could either gut Star Tours and do a new ride completely or retheme Star Tours to a Marvel film, likely the latter will be much cheaper than the former and cheaper than retheming ToT.

[LordSkippy]

This just strikes me as unnecessary. It's not like Tower of Terror is hilariously dated or at all in need of a renovation, and frankly I question how much longer Marvel's ultra-popularity will last.

[Honorarius]

While I think it's a horrible decision, I can see the bean-counter's perspective on why they think it's a great idea...

[marth555]

The Original ToT is still going to be in Florida so its not like there wiping it up completely

[malem]

The Original ToT is still going to be in Florida

Or so we hope.

[bkroz]

And some people are arguing that since Florida's Tower of Terror is subjectively, technologically superior, 'who cares if "bad Tower" in California disappears?'

 

Problem is that that enthusiast mindset doesn't hold true in reality. MOST visitors to Disneyland probably have NOT been on a Tower of Terror in Florida, Paris, or Tokyo, and probably never will. They might not even know that other Towers of Terror exist.

 

If they decided to close The Beast forever and replace it with a steel coaster, would it make you feel any better to know that a wooden roller coaster similar to The Beast would continue to exist in South Korea? Or would it still feel as if a massive hole had been created in Kings Island's ride lineup? In the feeling of Rivertown? In the value of the park? In its history and story?

[Tanna]

Though I never rode ToT, I can understand the rage. I'm trying to plumb my memories for a similiar instance when I was also this outraged so that i can understand better.

But another memory keeps coming up:

I was hired to work on a large project not long ago, it was massive, where the each of us worked on a different piece of the puzzle. The director of the project was relatively new, and had never worked on something of this scale. He kept his small project thinking that each person on the project had two jobs, no matter how high up on the ladder one was, a scary change for someone who considers themselves a "factory worker". I was thrown into the mix, doing a second goofy job that I'd never done before. Had no idea what I was doing, though my supervisor said I was doing great. That didn't inspire confidence.

And the brickbats were flying.

Everyone I encountered told me the project was stupid, it was going to fail, no one wanted it, that I was stupid to work on it- the universe was going to implode, and it was all my fault for signing that contract. Everywhere people talked of this project, there was mud flung.

But I kept going. Not just because of the contract, but because of the vision.

The night the project was released, it was fantastic. People sent me gifts, and I was hailed. A second project like was ordered that night. It changed the way future projects of its kind were made.

I know this change is awful, the worst thing has ever happened. No one will ever go to Disney again. The franchise has been ruined. Who wants to see flora and fauna fight evil? No one has ever even heard of these heroes before.

But I'm going to wait until it opens and hopefully see a POV of it to judge for myself. I'm sorry that everyone's childhood memory is being ruined, but maybe another child's memory will be made.