Why did DCA bother to add Avengers Campus instead of developing it a bit more?

[DodgerGirl]

From the time DCA announced the debut of Avengers Campus I think DCA thought it was a smart idea to bring a Marvel oriented section to DCA and so when Avengers Campus opened in 2021 I really think DCA should've done more development on Avengers Campus before opening it to the public. Because I think it's shocking that Avengers Campus has only two rides and in my eyes more rides should've been added to Avengers Campus and what I think happened is that during the pandemic when Avengers Campus was being developed I think DCA did it really cheaply. Because from what I've read about Avengers Campus people who go to Disneyland and DCA say it's a disappointment because there is simply not enough rides. Second I find it surprising that in the whole Avengers Campus it is hard to find Marvel heroes who do meet and greets and it seems that the only five Marvel heroes who do meet and greets are Spider-Man Captain America Captain Marvel Black Panther and Ant-Man but it seems that all the other Marvel heroes are seen doing shows and when i've read about this people are very disappointed at this too. What I think Disney could've done in the first place was make Avengers Campus a theme park rather than a section of DCA. Because it seems that Disneyland and DCA really hoped Avengers Campus was gonna be a success but the finished product wasn't what people thought it was gonna be especially Marvel fans who like the Marvel heroes a lot

 

[AndrewC]

If you get a 3 day ticket (say a long Fri-Sat-Sun) and add park hopping to it, it’s ~$23/day extra. Honestly for Radiator Springs, Guardians, and World of Color that’s probably worth $23 each day. They added spider man which kids probably love. They have a great classic style dark ride with Little Mermaid, which is also usually a very short wait, and of course a couple other attractions. It’s so easy to hop parks, you could just spend three hours over there each day or something, do the whole park, and be out less than $100 total per adult.

Honestly it’s not a stellar park, but I do think it’s worth while because of how easy it is to get back and forth and for teens and adults there are some pretty good dining options over there. Personally I think the theming ties things together better than before, and likely was pretty cheap for them to do (since Guardians was already there). They are developing an additional attraction for that space though which will help.

I also would much rather have this area vs this being saved for a much larger park (maybe the 3rd gate that Disney Forward will be). Marvel is fun an all, but I would hate to see an entire park devoted to it. It just seems too “normal” (most the hero’s are based in normal real world urban areas) and it’s not a super far out world like Star Wars.

 

[Porsche4]

We visited DCA two years ago, not long after everything opened up after the Pandemic. We loved Avengers Campus as there were lots of small live shows to experience and these added so much theming to the area and really made it seem alive. The problem is that recently Disney has cancelled the Doctor Strange experience and the rest of the entertainment, other than the Spiderman Experience, has been greatly cut back to now only being staged a few days a week. This seems to have left the area quite dead with little atmosphere and devoid of the energy that is associated with the Marvel Universe. Hopefully when the two new rides open up the area will become revitalised and once agin will be worthy of the Marvel mantle. Guess until then we will just have to be content with eating shawarma and killing spiderbots.

 

[Tinkaboo]

As one who spends A LOT OF TIME in AC, I, of course, was crushed at the loss of the Dr. Strange show. But I never lack for finding super hero company: every day I’m there I usually talk to Iron Man, Black Window, Black Panther, Ant-Man, sometimes Wasp, Dr. Strange, Spider-Man, and of course spend time with Loki, Cap and my buddy Star-Lord. There is no lack of character interaction there.

What AC does lack is SHADE which is why I’ll only be there in the morning when it’s typically a little cooler and at night. It is beautiful and magical at night, especially the Sanctum.

New rides will attract more people as that is what people usually seek out at a theme park. Until then, I’m happy just killing those darn spider bots!

 

[beachdreamr1229]

I rarely hear people complain about a lack of rides in any area of Disneyland or DCA, so that's an interesting perspective to consider. Avengers campus currently has the same number of rides as Star Wars land at DL. Both are meant to be more of an immersive experience and the character opportunities are where it shines. Carsland only has 3 rides and 2 of them are nowhere near E ticket level. Toontown, for that matter, is also highly lacking in rides if we're really looking at areas that should have been developed more. It took what? 20+ years to get a third ride there. Besides, they've already confirmed adding 2 more rides to the area. Building takes time and money. During the pandemic they lost a lot of the money part. But what they've done so far is pretty awesome I think and there are always plenty of people in the land, so they must have done okay with limited resources. If they waited, that would have likely had a negative impact on the guest experience or the company as a whole. They have teams of people whose sole job is to figure this stuff out. Were you hoping for an entire separate theme park or something?

 

[LAS2AMS]

It serves its purpose. There’s attractions, shows, meet-and-greets, food/beverage and things to look at. It’s good enough to draw a few more people into the park and get plenty of others to return at gate prices as opposed to deep discounting/ increasing AP allowances.

Based on Disney’s recent comments, I wouldn’t expect a new domestic park anytime soon. A new park could easily top $10B+. Disney was explicit that even though people think Disneyland is landlocked, they can increase park space by 50%.

Numerous businesses surrounding/ near the Toy Story parking lot have traded hands in recent years but Disney hasn’t shown interest. Heck, they could’ve even acquired the struggling Garden Walk mall if they wanted. So I wouldn’t expect a third gate anytime soon.

Heck, I expect that Paradise Pier will be leveled and rebuilt as something else, before we see a third gate. A lot is made of DCA 2.0 but I wouldn’t be shocked that if in 20 years, the park bears no resemblance to opening day DCA (today, it’s largely the same footprint).

 

[DodgerGirl]

What I think Avengers Campus should add is more entertainment like more shows because they could easily turn the Hyperion Theater into the Avengers Campus Theater and put a Marvel heroes show inside of it. I find it odd that DCA cancelled the Dr. Strange show and I think the main reason they cancelled it was because of money and they need another Marvel show in Avengers Campus to fill in that space. But in restaurants Avengers Campus could use a restaurant with a menu showcasing all the Marvel heroes favorite foods like Hawkeye's Chinese food and Ant-Man's waffles and Wanda's Silver Dollar Pancakes and the restaurant would be a hit indeed. But they should add more Marvel heroes to meet and greet and take pictures with like Hawkeye Nick Fury Falcon Bucky Barnes and Moon Knight and it would work great for Avengers Campus

 

[DodgerGirl]

Why I also think Avengers Campus was made to be put in DCA was to market new and future Marvel movie releases and to promote the shows. Because I think ever since Disney bought Marvel and the death of Stan Lee I think Disneyland wanted to honor Stan Lee's legacy by having Avengers Campus in DCA but I do agree that more restaurants should be added but what I think Avengers Campus's main focus is shops and with the new expansion and new rides they sure will attract more visitors to DCA

 

[LAS2AMS]

I think you’re reading too much into things. I’d blame the slow roll out of Marvel-themed attractions at DCA on:

- the huge financial resources committed to DCA 2.0. Cars Land and World of Color combined were over three-quarter billion dollar investment that was in development before Disney acquired Marvel;
- the uncertainly of Marvel IP’s popularly amongst Disney guests during an era it was trying to rebuild DCA. Remember, Disney thought a land themed on Cars was a huge gamble!
- the fact that Disney is unable to use most Marvel IP at WDW. To reduce cost, Disney generally duplicates new attractions between WDW & DLR, as well as other worldwide parks. Heck, even the basis of World of Color was brought to the Animal Kingdom (but that show was scrapped post-Covid). Not a big secret that Imagineers wanted to bring Cars Land to DHS (without RSR, although rumors indicated a new simulator attraction would replace it) but did not want to commit the financial resources — over $500M — while it was building the Star Wars land. So it a built low-cost Toy Stoy land instead.

Like I said earlier, Marcel-themed attractions will likely dominate DCA in years to come.

 

[Tinkaboo]

Why I also think Avengers Campus was made to be put in DCA was to market new and future Marvel movie releases and to promote the shows. Because I think ever since Disney bought Marvel and the death of Stan Lee I think Disneyland wanted to honor Stan Lee's legacy by having Avengers Campus in DCA but I do agree that more restaurants should be added but what I think Avengers Campus's main focus is shops and with the new expansion and new rides they sure will attract more visitors to DCA

It doesn’t need any more restaurants…they take up one whole side as it is PLUS all the stand alone booths. No more shawarma!

 

[JerrodDragon89]

My only issue with the area for now (we are getting an E ticket..finally) is characters like Moon Knight and Were Wold at night just being gone....but they are something people want to see

I'm just saying its halloween time bring out the Halloween Characters. There are certain character I run into with no lines, so if your going to pay either way get characters people WANT to see and will wait for

 

[DodgerGirl]

My only issue with the area for now (we are getting an E ticket..finally) is characters like Moon Knight and Were Wold at night just being gone....but they are something people want to see

I'm just saying its halloween time bring out the Halloween Characters. There are certain character I run into with no lines, so if your going to pay either way get characters people WANT to see and will wait for

I agree with you Jerrod and what Avengers Campus should have a Halloween party that guests could attend for free and have Marvel characters that have a Halloween theme like Venom and Nightcrawler and Vision and bring back Moon Knight for pictures and Halloween meet and greets. I mean they have Agatha Harkness at Halloween and Wanda too so why not add Vision and Nightcrawler and Venom to the mix too

 

[DodgerGirl]

What I also think Disney was trying to do when Avengers Campus was being in development for DCA was they envisioned a interactive attraction much like Epcot did with the Horizons attraction where you could be in a Marvel movie or comic book and then you get to choose your own ending of the movie or comic book and believe me it would've been a hit if it existed. But as I mentioned I think Avengers Campus was very rushed and I think Disney wanted to honor the success of the Avengers movies and added Guardians Of The Galaxy to the mix with the Guardians Of The Galaxy Mission Breakout ride because with the announcement of Guardians Of The Galaxy 3 debuting in theaters this ride seemed the smart way to market it but they should have an interactive Avengers Mansion filled with interactive games a snack bar and Marvel Heroes meet and greets and it would work very nicely indeed