Disney California Adventure New Avengers and Iron Man Rides Explained

Guests at the Disneyland Resort can expect two brand-new attractions coming to Avengers Campus within the next few years. Every two years, the Walt Disney Company holds the D23 Expo, an event known for its big announcements regarding upcoming films, projects, and park expansions and updates. While there were several projects announced for Walt Disney World, Disneyland guests can expect an expansion of the Avengers Campus area, including two new attractions: Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab.

Josh D'Amaro, Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products Chairman, confirmed during the event that everything announced is in active development, rather than a Blue Sky concept. The Walt Disney Company has faced some doubt in recent years for seeming to present "Blue Sky" projects, or ideas for updates within the parks that were only possibilities, rather than anything concrete and confirmed. With Universal Orlando bringing Epic Universe to life next year, including areas inspired by the Universal Classic Monsters, How To Train Your Dragon, and the Harry Potter franchise, many fans wondered if Disney had any response to the competition Universal would pose. After the confirmed in-progress announcements from D23 earlier this month, it seems clear that Disney Imagineers have been hard at work on projects behind the scenes.

During the Horizons: Disney Experiences panel, D'Amaro revealed several announcements for both Walt Disney World and Disneyland expansions and new attractions. Disney California Adventure will be getting an expansion of the Avengers Campus area, with work set to begin sometime next year. The area is expected to double in size with the inclusion of two new attractions, the highly-anticipated E-ticket ride, Avengers Infinity Defense, and an Iron Man attraction, Stark Flight Lab.

Disneyland Announces Two New Avengers Attractions Expanding the Park

Avengers Infinity Defense will mark the first time that Disneyland guests will be able to experience an attraction featuring all of their favorite Avengers. According to Disney, the premise of the story is that important Avengers technology has gone missing, tech that allows them to jump between worlds. A King Thanos variant is using it to wreak havoc across the galaxies and riders must help the Avengers get to places like Asgard, Wakanda, and New York City to try and stop him. Beyond the story concept, not much else is known about the ride, including the ride mechanics, although it appears it may be similar to the popular Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance attraction at Galaxy's Edge.

Stark Flight Lab will see the return of Robert Downey Jr. As Tony Stark/Iron Man. Riders will be placed in a "two-person pod" and deployed to a test station. A robot arm will grab each pod and whirl guests around in a simulated flight. Guests will enter Tony Stark's workshop where they can see the latest Stark inventions and Avengers weapons. Before boarding the pods, they will be briefed by Tony Stark on what to expect from the experience, and no two rides will be the same. Based on the concept art for the attraction, the ride mechanisms seem similar to that of Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at the Universal Studios theme parks.

It was recently announced that Downey Jr. Would be returning to the MCU, but not as Tony Stark. Instead, it was announced that Downey would be taking up the mantle of Doctor Doom, traditionally a Fantastic Four villain, in the next Avengers film, Avengers: Doomsday. Despite the casting announcement being somewhat controversial, there is no doubt that Robert Downey Jr.'s return to Marvel will be something to see.

Despite some recent struggles, Marvel continues to be one of the biggest studios in Hollywood, with Deadpool & Wolverine currently seeing some of the biggest box office numbers in years for Marvel movies. While the film marked the official introduction of Deadpool, Wolverine, and the X-Men to the MCU, Disneyland revealed that Deadpool and Wolverine would also be available for character meet and greets in the park for the first time. Despite Avengers: Endgame being five years old, it remains one of the biggest box office films of all time and Thanos remains one of the most recognizable villains in the MCU.

With the addition of these two new attractions, Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure will essentially double in size. Stark Flight Lab and Avengers Infinity Defense will join existing attractions WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure and Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT! Guests can also see several Avengers wondering throughout the area near the Avengers Headquarters and the Ancient Sanctum, including Black Widow, Captain America, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, and others.

In addition to the Avengers Campus expansion, Disneyland is also expecting to bring an all-new Avatar experience to Disney California Adventure, inspired by Avatar: The Way of Water, as well as an experience inspired by the Pixar film Coco. The first audio-animatronic figure of Walt Disney will debut for a new show called "Walt Disney -- A Magical Life," which will detail some of Walt's proudest accomplishments and vision for his parks. These announcements accompanied a variety of announcements for updates and expansions coming to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. With these projects underway, they are expected to add several new areas to the parks and bring new experiences to Disney parks guests over the next few years.