May 2017 – present
LOCATION
Avengers Campus – Mission: BREAKOUT! stands at the end of Avengers Campus, next to Hollywood Land. To get to this attraction the fastest, follow Hollywood Land’s main street, and turn right at the Hyperion Theater. The building is hard to miss; it’s the largest structure in the Disneyland Resort.
BACKGROUND
Since the overwhelming success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe started in 2008, Disney has been slowly increasing Marvel’s presence in the parks. For a while, the superheroes conducted meet & greets in Tomorrowland and Hollywood Land, but over time, they left Tomorrowland to make a home in California Adventure. By 2016, Disney confirmed Marvel would become an important part of both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. For Disneyland, this meant the iconic Tower of Terror would close, to make way for a new Marvel attraction in Hollywood Land. The Tower of Terror closed in January 2017, with Mission: BREAKOUT! opening just a few months later.
EXPERIENCE
Details:
- Single Rider Line – no
- Fast Pass – yes
- Height Requirement – 40” (102 cm)
- Duration – 2:10
The Collector just created a fortress in Hollywood Land, and is opening the doors to his grand Collection for the first time. Your tour begins inside the archive, where you can view several display cases with artifacts and creatures. Inside, the Collector’s assistant announces you have been granted access to the newest item in the collection: the Guardians of the Galaxy themselves.
As you pass through the Collector’s office, Rocket interrupts the video feed. He explains that the Guardians were tricked into visiting the fortress, and have been locked in electrified glass cases. He devises a plan to help rescue his friends with the help of the tourists (you).
Inside the gantry lift (on your way to see the Guardians), rocket hijacks the system. His attempts to blow his friends free knock out the lift’s power a few times, forcing you to drop through the elevator shaft. Finally, the Guardians successfully escape, and Rocket resets the lift back to its original position.
During each ride, Rocket plays a different song from Starlord’s Walkman, and the drops and cinematic scenes change to fit the music.
- I Want You Back (The Jackson 5)
- Hit Me With Your Best Shot (Pat Benatar)
- Give Up The Funk (Parliament)
- Free Ride (The Edgar Winter Group)
- Burning Love (Elvis Presley)
- Born To Be Wild (Steppenwolf)
When the lift returns to the loading area, you’ll be asked to leave the fortress, as the Collector angrily demands to know how the Guardians escaped.
MY RATING: ★★★★☆
I went into this attraction extremely skeptical, and waited for months, since I was still grieving the Tower of Terror. But I have to say, I did enjoy it. The experience inside the elevator shaft is dramatically different from its predecessor. There are more mini-drops, rather than a few huge ones, so it feels bouncier. With the music playing, it’s definitely less ominous and scary.
I took off one star because this ride gives you a feeling of sensory overload. With the music, short and complex scenes, and so many little drops, it’s impossible to take everything in on the first ride. But I was pleasantly surprised by this ride’s originality and how new it felt despite being in the same structure. Mission: BREAKOUT! is not a replacement for the Tower of Terror in any way; it’s a completely new experience for a drop attraction.
VISITING TIPS
The wait times for this attraction can be a little unpredictable. On quieter days, sometimes the line exceeds an hour, while on crowded days, it can drop to 30 minutes. Since they offer fast pass, I would definitely recommend grabbing one if you plan on riding. If you can’t get a fast pass (or don’t want one), try to visit before lunch or after World of Color crowds start leaving the park.
TRIVIA
Inside Mission: BREAOUT!, listen carefully as you explore the hallways. The Collection includes audio treasures, not just physical items.
The Collection features tons and tons of items from the Marvel Universe, as well as a few nods to Disney Parks, including the original Matterhorn Yeti, Figment, Atlantis artifacts, a Tower of Terror bellhop hat and luggage tag, 1955 park maps, the head of a Small World doll, and Mickey and Minnie toys. (And that is not a complete list).
Outside of the fortress, on the righthand side, you’ll see the Avengers symbol in the grass.
This attraction was technically in Hollywood Land until Avengers Campus arrived in the park in 2021.
This is the beginning of the end for California Adventure. To me, this signaled they don’t care about cohesiveness or respect for the whole point of the park. Just pack a franchise here and who cares if it makes any sense at all. We are just lemmings anyway.
I love this ride. tower of terror haters need to chill.