Disneyland’s Avengers Campus: We went inside and here’s what it’s like

Spider-Man somersaults through the sky, Doctor Strange conjures up magic spells, Black Panther battles supervillains and Wakanda warriors train recruits in the new Marvel themed land coming this week to Disney California Adventure.

Avengers Campus debuts Friday, June 4 at the Anaheim theme park after a nearly yearlong delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The superhero themed land was initially scheduled to open in July 2020.

Disneyland hosted media previews of Avengers Campus on May 31 through June 2 ahead of the grand opening of the new Marvel land.

FULL COVERAGE: Everything you need to know about Avengers Campus

Pent-up demand to see Avengers Campus runs high. Advance reservations and tickets for Disney California Adventure are sold out on June 4 and nearly every day for the following two weeks.

The first phase of the new land opens with a Spider-Man interactive dark ride, Doctor Strange magic show, Ant-Man and the Wasp restaurant and Marvel character meet-and-greets and rooftop stunt shows. A second phase will open at an unannounced date with an Avengers E-ticket attraction. The existing Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: Breakout indoor drop tower ride serves as the anchor for the new Avengers Campus.

Inside the Land

The backstory for the new Marvel land envisions Avengers Campus as a training ground for a new generation of superheroes, a laboratory for innovative hero technology and a forum for inspiring ideas about how to safeguard Earth.

Avengers Campus gave Walt Disney Imagineering an opportunity to invent a new place to tell superhero stories, according to Imagineering portfolio creative executive Scot Drake.

“The idea of a campus is about bringing together so many diverse stories, character groups and aesthetics,” Drake said during a panel discussion.

The look of Avengers Campus is a mix of old and new. The land’s backstory puts visitors in an old Stark Motors warehouse district repurposed into a high tech superhero training campus. Aging brick buildings covered in graffiti and blast-proof doors leading to the former Strategic Scientific Reserve are juxtaposed next to the shimmering stainless steel future-leaning architecture of Avengers Headquarters and Pym Tasting Lab.

Media previews provided a rare look at a virtually empty Avengers Campus before physically distanced crowds descend on the new land.

The long and linear Marvel land looks smaller than its six acres. The first couple weeks will prove difficult for Disneyland’s crowd management experts as FOMO fans pour into Avengers Campus to see what all the fuss is about.

Social distancing requirements will add to pressure on the land until pandemic restrictions lift on June 15. “Please Wait Here” social distancing markers dot the ground of the new land — the last vestiges of the fading pandemic era that kept the park closed for more than a year.

Disney will institute a standby queue for Avengers Campus whenever the land reaches capacity — which remains limited by pandemic restrictions until mid-June.

Like many new theme park lands, Avengers Campus doesn’t have much shade. The one respite: Doctor Strange’s sanctuary, which looks like a tree-lined oasis in the middle of a cement desert expanse.

Spider-Man Ride

The Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure attraction lets riders sling virtual webs at escaped spider-bots that have run amok.

No two Web Slingers rides offer the exact same experience, according to Imagineering Executive Creative Director Brent Strong.

“The basic mission is always the same: We are going to save the campus from those rampaging spider-bots,” Strong said. “But what the guests do absolutely determines how that adventure plays out. A lot of times the first time you go through, there’s so much to see and there’s so much to do. We see that people are just slinging as fast as they can at spider-bots. A lot of people don’t even realize that the webs can actually interact with the environment that the spider-bots are in as well.”

A pre-show featuring Spider-Man star Tom Holland sets up the backstory for the ride. Peter Parker accidentally turns on the self-replicating mode of a spider-bot and before long the pesky robot arachnids have escaped into the vents on their way toward the ride building. Our job: Stop the bots and save Avengers Campus.

Aboard Slinger vehicles, riders jab the air with their hands to sling virtual webs — with Spidey’s signature palms up “I love you” sign language hand shape optional.

Watching the bizarre and frantic web slinging motion on a theme park ride looks like a cross between an aerobic exercise and shadow boxing. The upper body workout is enough to leave riders winded after the five minute journey.

The top team score on Web Slingers so far recorded by Disneyland and Imagineering ride testers: 1,172,900. The first Avengers Campus visitors will soon get the opportunity to unseat the champions.

Rooftop Stunt Show

Avengers Campus is all about seemingly chance meetings with Marvel superheroes and the occasional supervillain. Entertainment won’t happen in Avengers Campus on a schedule found in any park guide or app. It’s all intended to feel organic and serendipitous. There’s Spider-Man flying through the sky again. Thor wants to know if you can lift his hammer. That Iron Man can be so funny sometimes.

Superhero action takes place all around visitors in Avengers Campus. Black Widow battles Taskmaster in a rooftop stunt show next to a docked Quinjet. Black Panther scales the side of Avengers Headquarters like a nimble cat with the aid of nearly invisible guide wire.

Spider-Man Stuntronic Show

Spider-Man shows up in three locations — in the air, on the rooftops and at ground level. “The Amazing Spider-Man” show features a somersaulting stuntronic audio-animatronic soaring 65 feet above the ground, a backflipping stunt double on the rooftop and an ad-libbing meet-and-greet character who chats amiably with fans.

Fans won’t want to miss the stunning Spider-Man aerial acrobatics show — but blink and you just might. The whole performance lasts about 60 seconds. You’ll want to listen for the musical and audio cues that signal the show is about to begin.

The stuntronic Spider-Man — seemingly shot through the air from an unseen circus cannon — will make jaws drop and inspire audible awe. After the aerial acrobatics, Spidey crawls upside down on the side of the Stark Motors building, suspended only by a thin crane cable.

Doctor Strange Magic Show

The Doctor Strange mystic arts show takes place in a sacred Sanctum Sanctorum built by ancient sorcerers.

“Doctor Strange: Mysteries of the Mystic Arts” is essentially a magic show dressed up with Marvel superhero trappings. The Sorcerer Supreme makes a dramatic entrance from behind a pair of towering golden doors where he has opened a spinning multiverse portal.

Visitors will want to find a spot near the middle of the Sanctum Sanctorum between the arch entrance and the double doors to get the best view of the special effects show. “Mysteries of the Mystic Arts” is filled with a host of classic sleight of hand and up-close magic tricks. Visitor reactions and interactions can change the direction and outcome of the “Mystic Arts” magic show.

Nearby, the Orb of Cagliostro flows with magical energy after dark amid the ancient ruins. The Sanctum Sanctorum transforms at night into a glimmering forest of twinkling light that shimmers like a beacon.

“The effects, the lighting and the sound inside the ancient sanctum really come alive in a different and amazing way at nighttime,” Disney Live Entertainment Executive Creative Director Dan Fields said.

Wakanda Warrior Training

Young warriors anxious to join the Dora Milaje train with Wakanda’s royal guards on the Avengers logo at the center of the land.

The “Warriors of Wakanda: The Disciples of Dora Milaje” makes a dramatic entrance with the Black Panther’s royal security force marching through the land before the show. Listening for the musical cue and watching for the gathering crowd will be the only way to know the warriors are on their way. A drum-heavy musical march dramatically signals the arrival of General Okoye and Wakanda’s elite group of female bodyguards like a pitcher walking on the field in relief during the late innings of a baseball game.

Avengers Plaza at the center of the land turns into an impromptu stage with the Dora Milaje climbing on bench seats to command attention. The Wakanda warriors demonstrate their fighting skills — spinning and twirling 6-foot-long Vibranium spears like marching bandleader batons.

The warrior training show is meant to be a mix of Wakanda wisdom and combat skills.

“Guests will be able to train in some of those ways and learn the key tenets of Wakanda,” Fields said. “It’s not just about action. It’s about strength and courage, but also compassion. It’s a very timely expression from that group of heroes.”

Several other Marvel superheroes make more traditional meet-and-greet appearances. Captain America and Captain Marvel wave at visitors from the second story balcony of Avengers Headquarters— keeping a safe physical distance during the last days of pandemic precautions. A surprisingly nimble Iron Man chats with visitors in an out-of-the-way alcove. Thor invites mere mortals to lift Mjolnir, the God of Thunder’s hammer.

Pym Test Kitchen

An Ant-Man and the Wasp themed restaurant serves food shrunk or expanded in size. The motto of Pym Test Kitchen: Shrink Problems, Grow Solutions.

Digital menu screens outside the Pym Test Kitchen look like six-foot-tall mobile phones. Hank Pym’s supersized cell phone looks so realistic that visitors treat the menu boards like a touch screen — but that won’t work, no matter how much you try. Occasional text messages come in to Hank from superheroes, adding to the feeling of interactivity.

Inside, the quick-service restaurant doubles as a food testing lab where menu items are resized using Pym Particles. Soft pretzels — both supersized and miniaturized — travel overhead on a conveyor system.

Other locations in Avengers Campus serve traditional-sized food and drinks with a Marvel twist. Pym Tasting Lab bartenders sling beer cocktails in beaker glasses. A pair of Marvel-themed food carts — Shawarma Palace and Terran Treats — round out the Avengers Campus menu with wraps and desserts.

The Pym-ini sandwich comes with a tangy marinara dipping sauce. The chicken shawarma wrap makes for the perfect handheld snack-and-stroll sandwich — once we’re allowed to do that again when pandemic restrictions end. The Cosmic Cream Orb oozes whipped raspberry cheesecake filling the moment you bite into the other-worldly cream puff. The Hulk’s Pingo Doce soda, flavored with “lime, vanilla and some Gamma radiation,” tastes super sweet — even the sugar-free version.

The challenge for Disneyland’s culinary team: How to shrink and grow food while still making it edible?

“We can grow things really big — it would be for 85 or 90 people,” Disneyland resort food and beverage director Michele Gendreau said. “Or we can shrink things really small and you’d leave there starving. So how do you tell that story and sustain and fulfill people?”

The solution? A softball-sized meatball with pasta. A mega pretzel big enough for the entire family. And an oversized slab of fried chicken on a tiny slider bun. Playing with the expected sizes of foods allowed the Disneyland culinary team to bring a bit of wonder and humor to the Pym Test Kitchen menu.

Marvel Merchandise

Web Suppliers inside Avengers Campus offers Marvel gear themed to the land.

The shop sells $100 Spider-Man costumes that kids can wear around the land and park — provided they don’t don the mask. A $70 pair of platinum-plated Spider-Man web shooters light up and make sounds. The $65 Power Bands unlock multi-fire webs, electro-dynamic webs and repulsor blasts for riders on the Web Slingers attraction. The $80 remote controlled spider-bots face off in an Avengers Campus battle arena.

Bye-Bye Bug’s Land

Avengers Campus takes over the former A Bug’s Land and some unused backstage space.

The Spidey ride repurposes the old It’s Tough to be a Bug attraction building — but you would be hard pressed to notice. The Quonset hut Bug building has been wrapped inside a distressed brick building that was once Stark Motors and now serves as the home of the World Engineering Brigade, or the WEB superhero tech lab.

The old Bug’s Land bathrooms are now covered in industrial pipes carrying liquid nitrogen — at least according to the Avengers Campus backstory. A green tank above the bathrooms contains an uncontrollable substance pumping supercharged plasma out of the toilets below — a wry bit of Imagineering humor.