alexcutlersblog - Tumblr blog

[alexcutlersblog]

Let’s Brainstorm a New Disney Park

(For those who missed last weeks blog, check it out here.)

So I know how there’s this big controversy in the Disney Parks community currently about this thing called Genie+ which is a truly terrible app. It would probably make a great topic for a blog entry, but this is my blog so instead I am going to brainstorm an idea for a new Disney park in the Disney World resort. Basically instead of my take on a contemporary issue facing the theme park community you get what I can really only describe as theme park fanfiction. Lucky you.

Anyway, let’s imagine a world where Disney, instead of building up their already existing Florida parks with new attractions, has decided to build a completely new one. What do you do with that?

Well there are first a few things to consider. One of which being the theme of the park. I mean there’s already a park based on fantasy, technology and the world, filmmaking and wildlife, so you may be wondering what’s left. Well, I have some ideas:

1. A Historical Park (which may it’s own problems, see Defunctland’s video on Disney’s America which is this idea)

2. A copy of Tokyo DisneySea

3. A completely original park with no Disney properties

Yeah but I know exactly what Disney would do. They will make a park that has little overarching theme that just focuses on transporting the visitor into the lands of various Disney properties. Those who read last week’s post will find this awfully familiar....

I know that basically making this park the Disney version of Epic Universe is pretty lazy, but it is honestly what I think Disney would go for, even if I think they could do much more creative stuff. Making the most out of this situation, here are some of the Intellectual Properties I want/predict would be in this park

Zootopia Land

I think this one is by far the most obvious, because Disney is already making a Zootopia-themed area for Disneyland Shanghai. A U.S version of this land has not been announced yet, so I think it would make sense to make it a part of this theoretical park.

Muppetland

Another preexisting idea, a themed land based around the Muppets franchise has been talked about for nearly 30 years, with Disney never pulling the trigger. The original idea for the area would’ve been built in Hollywood Studios, then MGM Studios, but was cancelled due to the untimely passing of Muppets creator Jim Henson. I believe that the Muppets still has the potential for a great theme park section. I also believe that Disney is starting to have more faith in the Muppets brand after years pretty much abandoning the franchise.

Night at the Museum

Okay this one may sound weird, but I think it could work. Of course, this is all under the assumption that Disney reboots this former Fox franchise..... Which I am just now learning is happening on Disney+ in the form of an animated TV show, so even better. This was also at one point considered for a theme park ride, and I think that once this reboot comes out, a huge area themed around one of the several museums in the series coming to life would be a great idea for a theme park land.

Okay those were only a few ideas for some of the franchises that I could see being a part of a brand new Disney World theme park. Although a completely unique idea with all new characters and world would still be better in my opinion.

[alexcutlersblog]

It’s Time to Talk About Epic Universe

Back in 2019, Universal Studios Announced their third new park in their Orlando resort, Epic Universe. Okay before I talk about anything else, I want to get this out of the way: Epic Universe is a truly terrible name, and I have no idea how they thought a theme park at Universal Studios being called that made sense in any way.

Okay, now that I got that out of my system we can move on. The park itself looks great, with a ton of really cool sections. The first of which being the Florida version of the previously talked about Super Nintendo World (Speaking of which, if you haven’t read that post you can here). Unlike the Japanese version, the Florida rendition of the land will come with the Donkey Kong expansion area upon the park’s opening.

Super Nintendo World at Universal

Now another highlight for me is the area themed after classic Universal Monsters. You see, outside of Halloween (and a weird 2017 Tom Cruise movie) Universal barely mentions the existence of the poor monsters, and that’s a shame. This area has a ton of potential for cool attractions and I am very excited to see more of it.

Said Poor Monsters

Next up, we have an area rumored to be themed after How to Train your Dragon, a series I have absolutely nothing about. I think I went to a friends house to see it, but I ended just playing Super Smash Brothers Melee in another room, so I kinda missed the boat on that one. At any rate, there are rumors of there being a roller coaster similar to West Coast Racers at Six Flags Magic Mountain, which is a really cool coaster where two trains race each other throughout a winding track. So even if I have no attachment to the franchise, that will be cool nonetheless

West Coast Racers

So that just leaves the new Harry Potter area. Look, I have my personal feeling about J.K Rowling fairly obvious before but I want to make it clear that I do not support her transphobia and honestly wish this new area would not be based on one of her works. But I also know that the Wizarding World is a truly amazing theme park expansion and that is only makes sense for them to further expand on that. So that’s great.

Photo from a Them article discussing J.K Rowling’s transphobia

Okay, so that’s a basic rundown of the park, seems cool right? Well, I wouldn’t expect them to deliver on all of these promises. Based on the fact that some of these ideas seemed pretty pie in the sky, the COVID-19 Pandemic has surely killed some of these of ideas. Only time will tell what will actually happen and what won’t however.

[alexcutlersblog]

A Halloween Short Story

For those who missed my last post about Halloween Haunt: check it out here.

So, today I thought I’d switch things up. I already did a big Halloween post last week, so I figured this week I would just write a short story. Don’t worry, I’ll still make sure to include a theme park:

“Guys I think were lost” I say.

“Oh come on, I know we’re close.” My friend responds.

We are definitely lost. This isn’t the first time we have tried to find Adventure Land, probably the third or fourth failed attempt by now. Despite all 4 of us going all the times as children, we still can’t remember how to get there. Guess we spent too much time playing video games in the back seat to take note of the way.

I feel like we have been walking for miles. Honestly we probably have. Plus we still have no idea where we are. Plus it is Halloween night and the ambiance is pretty spooky. Yet despite that, I oddly feel calm. Like, I’m hanging out with my friends for the first time in what feels like forever. I get that we still talk on the phone and stuff, but it feels different to like actually see them in person. I guess being with them makes me more brave or something. Wait-did I hear something?

“Come on, look over there.” One of them said somewhat annoyed as if this is the third or fourth time they have said it.

Oh damn, there it is. The ride that terrified me beyond words, the one ride I never could conquer. The Inquisitor. I can just barely make it out beyond the trees and overgrowth, but there it is. We actually found it.

“You guys ready?”

“Uh yeah” I reply.

We all sneak past the abandoned gates of Adventure Land. As we walk through the old park, memories of childhood come running back to me. Hanging around with my friends because we were too scared to ride any rides, eating at the food court and watching the live shows and even that one time my little sister lost her shoe in the fountain. All of it.

Again, I am still completely baffled about my lack of fear. Come on, it’s an abandoned theme park, at night, on Halloween and I still just feel happy and nostalgic. I’m almost disappointed, almost.

As we travel throughout the park, I realize what we must do. My friends and I make our way across the park we end up at that gigantic wooden structure I stared at so many times as a child.

“Let’s do it, let’s climb to the top of The Inquisitor” I say.

“Okay, that’s crazy as hell, but I’m in.” One of them says, before the rest agree.

So that’s what we do. We go through the old queue I stepped out of so many times, chickening out before going on. Then we make our ascent. Each step, more exciting and shaky than the last. After a few minutes of walking up steps we arrived at the top. The view my younger self could never achieve. It was breathtaking.

Even as a stressed-out college student it amazed me. I could see for what seemed like miles. the night sky and illuminated by light pollution from the nearby city. I waited 15 years for this view, and it was so worth it.

Anyway, I hope you liked my short story. I know it’s not really a blog entry, but I thought I would have some fun this week.

[alexcutlersblog]

King’s Island Halloween Haunt 2021

Check out last weeks blog on Pokémon and Universal Studios new partnership here.

This week I was able to go to King’s Island’s Halloween event Halloween Haunt and I would like to share my experiences today. I was actually really excited to go, because the event didn’t happen last year (for obvious reasons) and I was hoping this year would make up for it. When I arrived at the park around 6:30, I was met with the most full parking lot I have ever seen at King’s Island. Keep in mind that I have gone round 60 times in the past decade or so. Anyways, my group got in the park and got in line for a maze set to open at 7:00 (but really opened around 7:20). The maze in question: Cornered.

Cornered is based around a scary corn maze, and it was honestly kind of lame. My problem with it (and most of the event for that matter but I will save that for later) was that there just wasn’t enough actors or sets to make it truly memorable. Cornered had a few stand-out actors, like a man on stilts or a man strapped into a bungee harness that jumps out at at you, but pretty much everyone else was in generic “spooky zombie or monster” mode. I have nothing against the actors themselves, they just weren’t given much to work with in terms of memorable roles. What makes this sting even more is that Cornered actually stands where one of my old favorite mazes once stood, Backwoods Bayou. I feel that maze, themed around a swamp contaminated with toxic sludge, used the setting to it’s advantage much better than the current maze.

After that was kind of a wash, we then made our ways over to an old reliable of Halloween Haunt, Slaughterhouse. This one is actually a ton of fun, and one that’s been a mainstay at the event for as long as I can remember. Slaughterhouse excels in an area that no other maze at King’s Island does, the story. Slaughterhouse is themed around, well a slaughterhouse, but this one is a bit different. When you first enter, it just seems like a regular slaughterhouse just alittle creepier, but as it progresses you start to see human become the slaughtered. It’s a really cool and somewhat subtle shift, and overall just a fun house that makes good use of it’s setting.

Next up, CHAOS. This maze is hilarious, and not really in an intended way. Based around some sort of drug that turns people mad on an intergalactic research station, the storyline for this maze makes pretty much no sense and is thrown out the window as you spend half the haunted house in a mirror maze with blaring techno music. CHAOS is not scary at all, again due to the fact that there is very little in terms of sets or actors to work off of. I never understand how the mirror maze factors into anything. This is all a sham, because the idea of a crew of futuristic scientists turning evil and chasing down guests is a really cool and kinda scary idea. All for naught I guess.

The final 2 houses we went to are other old favorites of mine, Killmart and Madam Fatale’s Cavern of Horror. The former is a fairly simple idea, zombies in a grocery store, but man Killmart does so much right. It’s scary, has a lot of fun vignettes, and it uses the concept to its full potential. While I think Cavern of Terror is somewhat more unique, with the obvious influence of Vincent Price’s Wax Museum, I just find Killmart more fun. Instead of fun commerce gags you get some racially insensitive scenes that don’t really fit well in 2021. I will say that Cavern of Terror has a much better ending, that is so good I won’t even spoil it but needless to say, it’s a cool trick. Overall, I really like both mazes but I have to give the edge to Killmart for being a better, and less racist attraction.

So those were all the houses this year, just 5 scare mazes. That is pretty pitiful, especially when they cut 2 mainstays this year. Wolf Pack and Urgent Scare were other mazes that have been around for as long as I remember, and I really enjoyed them. The lack of scare mazes and actors, a cut to the amount of shows, and less to do overall makes it quite obvious that Cedar Fair made some pretty big budget cuts to Halloween Haunt this year. While that does suck, I guess I would take it over not having any Haunt at all. I guess I am easy to please, but I still enjoyed this year. All the decorations, actors walking around, music and fog everywhere makes the event one of my favorite ways to celebrate Halloween, even in this lesser state.

[alexcutlersblog]

So Pokémon is Coming to Universal Studios Japan so That’s Pretty Cool

So recently it was announced that Universal Studios Japan will be entering an agreement with the Pokémon Company to put the franchise into the theme park. While not commenting on what will be coming to the parks specifically, this is still incredibly exciting news. This also comes in addition to Super Nintendo World, which opened in Japan earlier this year and is planned to come to the California and Florida parks within the next few years.

Super Nintendo World

So I will now use the rest of this post to talk about some of the ideas and predictions I came up with for this possible new expansion:

1. It will be a limited-time 4D movie attraction:

If you read my blog about Japanese theme parks (which you should definitely check out here) you would know that this is quite common. A lot of popular Japanese franchises get these 4-D movies that only last a year or so, and this would probably be the most disappointing option to me. Only having this event for a limited-time would really limit who would be able to visit this expansion. I also don’t think this will happen because the Polygon article I linked stated that this will be a “long term partnership” leading me to believe that this will be a permanent addition.

An example of a limited time 4-D ride at Universal Japan  Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba XR Ride.

2. This will be an extension to Super Nintendo World

Okay, this may sound like the obvious conclusion, but I actually think that this might not be the case. You see, Nintendo and Pokémon usually try to stay separate when it comes to promotion and events, and this is for a few reasons. One of these reasons is that Nintendo doesn’t actually fully own the Pokémon franchise, as it is a joint venture between them, Game Freak, and Creatures Inc. So this makes me think that there is a strong possibility that Super Nintendo World and Pokémon land will be two, unique areas. Speaking of which...

A bird’s eye view of Super Nintendo World

3. Pokémon Land: a whole new region to explore.

For those unaware, each Pokémon game, or “generation” takes place in a unique region that has it’s own culture and topography. For example, past generations have taken inspiration from Japan, Paris, New York, and England. So I think that this could also apply to the theme park land. I have absolutely no proof for what I’m about to say, other than it would be pretty cool. I imagine a Pokémon theme park land that is inspired by something like The Wizarding World of Harry Potter or Pandora: The World of Avatar in a sense that you are completely immersed in a small, localized world. This theoretical area would be based on a new region in the Pokémon Universe, similar to what Disney did with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. So this area would house all sorts of attractions and just be very well themed, and of course you could visit iconic Pokémon locations like a Gym or a Pokémon Center. Boom, Universal makes a few billion more dollars.

A photo of the Poképark, a temporary, Japanese theme park that operated from 2005 to 2006.

 Now it is quite obvious which one of these I would personally prefer, but I genuinely think it is a good idea and somewhat realistic. At any rate, I am incredibly excited to see what comes from this partnership.

[alexcutlersblog]

Let’s Talk About Theme Park Queues

For those who missed my last article on Japanese theme parks check it out here!

So this week on Queue-ality Assurance I thought I would live up to my name and talk about some of my favorite theme park queues. Waiting in lines in a theme park can be the absolute worst, which is why I really appreciate when theme parks go out of their way to go in and the queues as interesting as possible.

First off, I want to talk about a Nostalgic favorite of mine, from good old King's Island. Scooby-Doo's Haunted Mansion (now called Boo-Blasters on Boo Hill) was really the first themed queue I remember being in. When looking at it now, it may not seem like much but back in the day I loved it. The creepy haunted house aesthetic, the little LED eyes that would show through the fake windows, it just screams spooky. Not to mention that Shaggy and Scooby used to come out and entertain the audience every once and awhile, before the renovation.

Another childhood line I remember enjoying, also from King's Island, is the 1996 launch coaster known as Flight of Fear. This ride is literally just themed off of the X-Files. Flying Saucers, secret military base, conspiracies, it's obvious. Keep in mind that this show also used to be loosely based on the 90's version of The Outer Limits, which amounted to little besides a references in the preshow. Speaking of which, the fact that a non-Disney or Universal park actually had a video that played before the ride was awesome to me as a kid. Speaking of the video, it's actually like super cool. It's like a mobius strip, where the end and beginning feed into each other. While a little cheesy, I think that it is definitely worth a watch.

Okay now time for the big boys. Disney and Universal. Now I don’t really want to mention the super new or modern ones, because that would be lame (and I am not lame). So instead I am going to mention Peter Pan’s Flight. This queue blew my mind as a kid because it did something no other line I knew did, it was interactive. There was a ton of fun little minigames you could try out, and it was so cool. It always has a special place in my heart, even if some lines are objectively better.

Okay I want to mention one more because it is just super cool. Skull Island: Reign of Kong is a mediocre attraction that has one major get. It has one of the most impressive facades I have ever seen. I have this vivid memory of walking down the path at Islands of Adventure only to see this gigantic wall stand before us, I was honestly blown away, it’s truly massive. And it doesn’t stop once you get inside, because the indoor queue is actually super awesome as well. It actually has an animatronic, one of those robot looking things they have in rides, in the line itself. This super well-animated priestess chants forebodingly about Kong, and it really sets the tone of the ride. There’s also these terrifying creatures in the line, like an animatronic worm monster that looks really lifelike. Man, if only the ride itself lived up to waiting in line for it.

[alexcutlersblog]

10/3: Japanese Theme Parks Look so Cool

For those who haven’t read my previous blog on the Simpsons area at Universal check it out here: https://bit.ly/3Fe1HCP

At risk of not sounding like a total dork, I will try to keep my gushing to a minimum. Anyways, as of late I have began the very early stage of planning a trip to Japan with my siblings sometime in 2023. That process got me thinking about all the cool places the country has to visit.

Including a lot of amazing theme parks.

These theme parks go beyond your typical Disney and Universal (which both have amazing theme parks that I will be talking about) but you also have parks like Nagashima Spa Land and Fuji-Q Highland with these amazing attractions that make me want to buy a ticket and leave right now. These parks more geared towards thrill seekers with some of the craziest roller coasters on the planet (I woud, specifically like to shout out mention the absolute insanity that is Eejanaika). While I will be focusing mainly on more “themed” parks, I thought it necessary to shout these ones out too.

Let us start with Disney, and man what a way to start. The Tokyo Disneyland resort is lauded as being one of the best. Tokyo Disneyland is split into two main parks, Tokyo Disneyland itself and Tokyo DisneySea. The original park is fairly similar to the Magic Kingdom down in Florida with s few notable exceptions. The one I would like to single out is The Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast. This ride, based on the film, is probably the attraction I want to be brought over to America the most. It looks amazing, not like a lot of the screen based attractions I’ve complained about on this blog. It harkens back to Disney Rides of old by you know, being good. Okay the Star Wars rides look pretty cool, but this ride is honestly on a whole other level.

Moving over to Tokyo DisneySea, you might be surprised by something. That something being that the park looks almost nothing like the other Disney parks. DisneySea has a lot of it’s own unique theming, giving it an almost unmatched atmosphere that we rarely see in the states. Exclusive attractions here include Sinbad’s Storybook Voyage and Journey to the Center of the Earth. I think part of me is infatuated by this park so much because it harkens back to the original idea for Disneyland Paris’ Space Mountain land, which is a topic for another time (Or you could watch Defunctland’s excellent video on the topic.)

Okay, let’s talk about Universal. Universal Studios Japan almost feels like a combination of the best parts of Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. The parks has a lot of the USF’s iconic attractions, but it also has Marvel Super Hero Island and Hogwarts from ISL. This means that Universal Studios Japan is like a “best of” for both parks, with it’s own flair. For one, this park is the only Universal park that still has Jaws: The Ride, one the several iconic original USF rides that were removed too soon (another topic for another day.) 

Another major, if temporary, get for USJ is Super Nintendo World, which just opened this year. As a lifelong Mario fan, this area looks simply breathtaking and I can’t believe we have to wait a few more years to get it in the United States. Universal Studios Japan also has a ton more temporary attractions and events than we do in the states, especially when it comes to video game and anime crossovers. Here is just a sample of some of the anime and video games that have had limited-time attractions at Universal Studios Japan:

1. Final Fantasy

2. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

3. Demon Slayer: Kimestu No Yaiba

4. Attack On Titan

5. Dragon Quest

6. Neon: Genesis Evangelion (Standalone and in a Godzilla Crossover)

7. Monster Hunter World

8. Resident Evil

9. Sailor Moon

10. Dragon Ball

Okay you get the idea. While most of these are just limited-time 4-D theater rides, it’s crazy to me that none of these have been brought over as I think a lot of them would be pretty successful over here.

And just when you thought I was done talking about anime, soon there will be a whole theme park dedicated to one of the most beloved anime studios, Studio Ghibli. Yes, the creators of such films as Spirited Away, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, and Howl’s Moving Castle (my personal favorite) are going to be the center of a theme park set to open next year. It will feature a ton of areas themed around Ghibli movies, and I couldn’t be more excited for it.

I think it’s safe to say that I am a fan of Japanese theme parks. As much as love American theme parks, European and Asian theme parks can have some truly revolutionary and gorgeous experiences that you just don’t see over here. 

[alexcutlersblog]

9/26: The Simpsons Land at Universal Studios is Almost as bland as Modern Simpsons

Recently I have been binging a lot of Simpsons content, something I do every few months or so. Watching episodes on Disney+, learning about the history of the show, watching content by online content creators such as TheRealJims, and just enjoying (The first 8 seasons) of this series. Now don’t think my love for the show means I haven’t found something theme park related to complain about: Enter Simpsons Land at Universal Studios.

This theme park land, opening in 2008, had so much incredible potential. Taking one of the most popular cartoon franchises ever, one with so many wacky characters and landmark, and turning it into a theme park land is such a great idea. Springfield is such an iconic setting, and being able to explore a detailed and dense version of that (such as The Wizarding World) would have made so many people excited, yet this is what we got.

Now, if they didn’t want to do a recreation of Springfield they had other options. The early years had 2 in universe theme parks the Simpsons go to, Duff Gardens and Itchy and Scratchy Land. Both of those would have been great blueprints for the series, especially the latter. For those who haven’t seen the episode, I&SL is a parody of Westworld (The original movie not the series.) The family goes to the theme park, robots become evil, and The Simpsons save the day. Boom, there you go, the show already gave them a great idea for a ride 14 years before Universal even built the thing.

So what did we get? A very disjointed, cheap, and disappointing area. Basically they tried to do both of what I suggested, doing a theme park parody and a recreation of Springfield, but both areas feel underdeveloped. I’ll start with the recreation of Springfield. They did recreate a few buildings well, mainly Moe’s Tavern and Krusty Burger, but oh boy did they mess up the Kwik-E-Mart bad. When I went for the first time, I thought I could walk up and buy a squishy and have an intense acid trip where I end up joining the Junior Campers, but upon entering I was only met with a few plushies and nothing resembling the iconic store. Needless to say I was very disappointed. Although you can buy Squishees at a different restaurant but my point still stands.

Now while they could’ve improved that section a lot, it’s much better than the other area. Like previously said, the designers of this area had ample opportunity to make a great theme park area based on a theme park, but they decided to go with the most generic option possible. Krusty Land feels like a carnival with Simpsons characters slapped on, not a carnival in the world of the show. Instead of unique theming, the park decided to litter the section with carnival games and other cheap novelties, making the land feel even cheaper. I believe, however, that the biggest sin of this land is the ride itself, aptly named The Simpsons Ride.

Okay nah, just kidding, The Simpsons ride is alright. It’s a little too fast paced, there really isn’t much time for any jokes to breathe, but overall it has some fun moments and pretty good storyline, with famous Simpsons villain Sideshow Bob hijacking the theme park to finally get revenge on the Simpson family, and it devolving from there. While not my favorite ride in the part, it’s not the reason I hate the land as much as I do.

Overall I just left the area feeling unsatisfied. I almost wonder what would’ve been different if the land opened after The Wizarding World, as that was the shifting point in theme park lands. What’s even worse is that I doubt that Universal will extensively update the land anytime soon, as it stands with Marvel’s Superhero Island in that weird group of “properties that Universal made theme park lands out of that are now owned by their direct competition.” Finally, I would like to note that The Simpsons Ride was the replacement of the fan-favorite Back To The Future: The Ride, making it one of the many opening day Universal Studios Orlando that was replaced in the Mid-2000′s. However, that topic is for another day...

[alexcutlersblog]

Avengers Campus: Earth’s Okayist Theme Park Expansion

So Avengers Campus opened.... Like 3 months ago, and man I wish I cared. I love theme parks, especially Disney theme parks, but man it just does nothing for me, and I think I have figured out why.

For those of you who are unaware, Avengers Campus is the newest expansion to the Disney’s California Adventure theme park, which itself is a part of the larger Disneyland Resort. The park opened in 2001 with basically nothing besides a few restaurants and this terrifying caricature of Drew Carrey:

And that was basically it’s legacy for the next decade or so, until 2012. 

That year, Disney decided that they didn’t want to continue embarrassing themselves and release Cars Land, which was based on the Cars series of mediocre films. Despite many people’s thoughts on the movies themselves, the land was critically praised for it’s theming and attractions, including Radiator Springs Racers, the marque attraction for the area.

Now what made Disney decide to actually put effort into their parks? Two words: Harry Potter. Professional transphobe and occasional writer J.K Rowling’s iconic franchise has spawned too many books, movies, video games, toys, card games, LEGOs, and parody musicals to count, and she was being courted to add theme park lands to that list. Both Disney and their theme park rival Universal Studios wanted to get the boy wizard into their theme parks, with Universal eventually winning out due to their commitment to make and actual train carry passengers into the area.

You may be wondering what this has to do with Avengers Campus, well to be honest I don’t think Avengers Campus would exist without it. That is because The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is the single most influential thing to happen to theme parks this millennium. The land, originating in the Islands of Adventure theme park in Universal Studios Florida, was designed from the ground up to intensely accurate and intricately detailed. Nearly every square inch of the area, from the rides to the shops, looks like it came straight out of the films. 

This proved to be an incredible success, and Universal quickly built a clone of the land in Hollywood and the Diagon Alley expansion in their Orlando park. Disney looked at the many famous intellectual properties they could use to replicate the success of the Wizarding World, and they chose... Avatar. No not the one with the bald kid, that one about the blue aliens that somehow made a billion dollars. Somehow, despite how hilariously forgettable the I.P Pandora: The World of Avatar is based on, Disney’s response to Universal’s Harry Potter land proved to a major success, with people finding the theming to be on par with Universal’s efforts when the land opened in Animal Kingdom in 2017.

Okay finally getting to Avengers Campus now, I promise. So, with Pandora proving to be a major success, Disney decided to replicate that formula with franchise that they 1) owned (well they didn’t own Avatar at the time) and 2) people actually cared about. Enter Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Marvel’s Avengers Campus. These two lands opened at Disney Land and Disney World in 2019 and 2021 and while Star Wars was met with much acclaim, Avengers Campus was met with much more mixed reception, not just by me I swear.

Okay, so I just lied back there. I said that Galaxy’s Edge and Avengers Campus opened at both Disneyland and Disney World, when in reality, only the Star Wars area made it to Florida. The explanation for why this park isn’t in Disney World is also the major reason why I think I’m not too hot on the new area:

The fact Universal actually has a much better Marvel land at their own theme park in Florida.

Marvel Super Hero Island is actually housed at the same theme park as the Wizarding World, Islands of Adventure, and I myself consider it a precursor to it.  The area is actually fairly well-themed for 1999 and has one of the first screen-based attractions in the world, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, which would go on to be used in both of Harry Potter’s major rides.

Now when Disney bought Marvel in 2009, the company still honored their licensing deal with Universal, meaning that Disney could not build a Marvel-themed area east of the Mississippi. So this means that many Disney park fans will not even get to experience   the land, but I personally don’t think they’re missing much.

Okay so, to be fair, I haven’t actually been there myself but I have seen extensive footage and photos of the attractions there and all I can really think to myself is that it looks like a more generic version of what has existed for the past 20 years on the other side of the country.

I mean this new Spider-Man ride, while neat that it is interactive, just seems like it has a lot less character than his previous theme park adventure, and that can honestly be applied to the entire area. While Super Hero Island features very loud and comic-book inspired architecture, the Disney version has the generic metallic and sleek designs of the MCU. Now I get that this is totally a me thing, but I am not personally a fan of the art style the Marvel Cinematic Universe has adopted, and I honestly prefer the garish 90’s designs.

That being said, the Ant-Man restaurant sounds super cool, and eating tiny or huge versions of regular food sounds way cooler than eating a regular sized burger at a cafeteria that is lightly themed to Captain America.

Overall the land kind of seems soulless, like Disney didn’t know what to do so they made the most generic land possible and put Spider-Man and friends on top of it. And that honestly bums me out, because these characters deserve a theme park experience that makes you feel like an Avenger, throwing Mjolnir with Thor or blasting baddies with Iron Man. What we got feels like a temporary overlay that will be replaced by the new hot I.P in 5 years, while a great blueprint has already existed for 22 years.