BACKGROUND
The first hint of a Marvel-themed area arriving at the Disneyland Resort came in 2017, when the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror transformed into Mission: BREAKOUT!. At the time, this building sat in Hollywood Land, and soon, superheroes began making meet and greet appearances in the area. But given the massive success and overwhelming popularity of Marvel among Disney fans, guest appearances in an existing land was never going to cut it. So in 2018, California Adventure closed A Bug’s Land to make way for superheroes.
Construction for the land’s “phase 1” took approximately 3 years (delayed due to COVID), and the land officially opened in 2021. A “phase 2” for the land will commence at a later date, and will include another major attraction themed to Wakanda & Black Panther.
THE EXPERIENCE
When you enter Avengers Campus, you’ll step directly into an active superhero hub, complete with an open house (at WEB enterprises, an active headquarters (complete with parked Quinjet), a mysterious fortress, a busy tasting lab, and the remains of an ancient sanctum. In this superhero training ground, there is no one experience to be had. You can practice the mystic arts and walk through a excavated ruin. You can sneak into the Tivan Collection and cause mischief with the Guardians of the Galaxy. You can get your hands on the latest Stark technologies. And as you roam on the campus, you’ll have the chance to interact with some of the Avengers and fellow Marvel heroes. Be on the lookout – they’re always searching for new recruits!
CHARACTERS YOU MAY ENCOUNTER
- Ant Man & the Wasp
- Black Panther & the Dora Milaje
- Black Widow
- Captain America
- Captain Marvel
- Dr. Strange
- Gamora
- Hawkeye
- Iron Man
- Loki
- Shang Chi
- Spider-Man
- Star Lord
- Thor
ATTRACTIONS
DINING
- Pym Test Kitchen
- Shawarma Palace & Shawarma Palace Too
- Terran Treats
SHOPS
- Campus Supply Pod
- The Collector’s Warehouse
- WEB Suppliers
TRIVIA
Campus is an acronym in this land! It stands for “Centralized Assembly Mobilized to Prepare, Unite, and Safeguard”.
The land’s back story is that Stark Industries once owned the complex. When Tony inherited it from his father, he built a campus to recruit future Avengers. (and a bonus fact: an ancient Sanctum once stood on the Avengers Campus site – thus Dr. Strange’s mystic arts in the ruins)
This land is one of three global Avengers Campuses – the others are located in the Paris and Hong Kong parks.
Avengers Campus exists on a timeline separate from the MCU, called the “Marvel Theme Park Universe”. In this timeline, Thanos’ snap never happened, and there’s no clear “date” when you are visiting.
TOURING TIPS
Don’t forget to look up when you’re walking through the main campus – heroes often appear on the upper balcony.
There are technically three entrances to the Campus. The first is the “main” entrance, which you’ll find on the path between Buena Vista Street and Pacific Wharf. The second is on the opposite side, connecting to Hollywood Land. And the third is a “shortcut” that lets you avoid the busy main walkway – you’ll find it near Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters in Cars Land.
I find it so interesting that Disney was so strict with the time in which the land takes place for Galaxy’s Edge, but decided to just throw caution to the wind with Avengers Campus.
Also, I continue to wonder if the Quinjet attraction will ever manifest!
I agree with you! I think Avengers Campus benefits from it though – because they can keep cycling in new heroes as the movies come out. And I really, really hope the Quinjet attraction does happen. The land really needs it – and it’s kind of stupid to have a giant empty building in the middle if they never really use it!