A shocking bit of Disney news released at San Diego Comic-Con at the end of July has taken Disneyland frequenters and visitors by surprise. At the event, it was announced that "The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" ride at Disneyland’s California Adventure will no longer exist. Instead, the ride will become a part of what was hinted at to be a much larger Marvel expansion in the park.
The ride, currently residing in Hollywood Land, is themed after the once-famous show, “The Twilight Zone.” It features a supernatural-laced sequence and the ambiance is reminiscent of an old 1930’s hotel. But the eerie ride will soon be revamped into a thrill-ride themed after “Guardians of the Galaxy”—and it makes perfect sense that the ride will reopen in 2017, right around the time the film’s sequel is released.
With such a large change, it is no surprise that there have been some upset fans questioning Disney’s plans--enough upset to make one Disney fan create a petition. In a video released by the Disneyland YouTube channel, Joe Rohde, an “Imagineer” that has worked on many park projects, slightly foreshadows that this won’t be the last Marvel addition to the park. Even so, it makes us wonder if there are plans to completely eliminate Hollywood Land and turn it into an area that encompasses the Marvel universe, as the most blatant sign (The Hollywood Tower Hotel) of Hollywood will now be taken down.
There is no doubt that the changes to the park will be done in exquisite taste and add something new and exciting to Disney's California Adventure, but it is a little saddening that the ride will no longer exist in California.
But this is only one of the many changes that the California parks will see in the coming years. Not only is Disney bringing more Marvel into the parks, but they are adding tons of “Star Wars” elements as well. Currently, a large part of the Disneyland park is sectioned off while construction of a new land based off of the “Star Wars” franchise continues.
There has also been speculation on many other changes that Disney has for its California theme park, but no official statements have been made.
It seems as though this is the year of change for Disney, and it will be exciting to see what they think of next.
