Tower of Terror Closes, Guardians of the Galaxy-Mission: BREAKOUT! Opens 2017 at DCA

After months of Rumours and reports, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts has announced plans to replace the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attraction at Disney's California Adventure with Guardians of the Galaxy-Mission: BREAKOUT!.

As many had wondered, the attraction replacement will include a complete exterior renovation and gutting of the interior to fit the new theme. Essentially, the basic structure and ride system will be the only elements to remain from the soon-to-be-former attraction.

To allow for a Summer 2017 Opening, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror will close in "Early 2017".

Here is the announcement and video:

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... at San Diego Comic-Con, Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios, announced to a packed house of fans that the Guardians of the Galaxy are coming to Disney California Adventure park!

Beginning in summer 2017, the outrageous and irreverent gang will appear in Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! – a comically high-energy, rocking new adventure. Guests will be right in the mix with characters from the blockbuster “Guardians of the Galaxy” films.

Deep inside his fortress-like collection, the mysterious Taneleer Tivan (aka The Collector) is displaying his newest acquisitions, the Guardians of the Galaxy. They are trapped in customized display cases, suspended over a vast abyss. Unbeknownst to their unscrupulous captor, the intrepid Rocket has escaped and is enlisting the Collector’s VIP guests for help. Guests board a gantry lift, which launches them into a chaotic and hilarious adventure as they join Rocket in an attempt to break his fellow Guardians out of captivity.

The new attraction will anchor a broader universe of Super Heroes that will grow over time at Disney California Adventure park. This exciting new presence will transform the structure currently housing The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™ (scheduled to close in early 2017) into an epic new adventure, enhancing the breathtaking free fall sensation with all-new visual and audio effects to create a variety of ride experiences. Guests will experience multiple random, unique ride profiles in which the rise and fall of the gantry lift will rock to the beat of music inspired by the film’s popular soundtrack.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9L9ZAdtNZc0

Released concept art:

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The some-what buried lead in the announcement is that this will be the first attraction in a new Marvel themed area opening in phases at Disney California Adventure.

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Originally Posted by Figment!

The some-what buried lead in the announcement is that this will be the first attraction in a new Marvel themed area opening in phases at Disney California Adventure.

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Yes. This is the part that really grabbed my attention.

Never understood the hype about that movie. I watched it and was pretty underwhelmed. Not excited about this change.

California Adventure is going to be the DHS of the west. What does Guardians have to do with California? This park is going to lose what was the original concept for the park.

I'm so glad I was able to visit California Adventure right after it opened, to enjoy all of the original attractions and shows. I have many memories of various visits to Anaheim over the years. Many of the things I really enjoyed are just fond memories now. :( :(

I was skeptical when I first heard this rumored - and ToT is my absolute favorite ride at WDW. That said, I never felt like the tower fit in at DCA and I often forget to ride it - kind of surprising considering this is a not to be missed on the east coast.

I feel like the location is odd for the tower and it never fit with the themeing right next to bugs land. It was not an original attraction at the park and felt like an afterthought to add a popular attraction from FL when DCA wasn't as successful as they hoped.

I think it will be a great first addition to an overhaul of that whole area into Marvel land - although it does make me wonder why they decided to put Frozen in at the theater as that will now be in the middle of what I think they are talking about turning into Marvel (I believe it is the area that was used for the tea party and by monsters).

I will also admit to being a HUGE Guardians fan and the idea of the tower drops with the Guardians Awesome Mix music sounds incredible so long as the rest of the attraction is done right and the concept art looks promising. So I would consider this another step in the right direction for the evolution of DCA!

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Originally Posted by Lacy

I was skeptical when I first heard this rumored - and ToT is my absolute favorite ride at WDW. That said, I never felt like the tower fit in at DCA and I often forget to ride it - kind of surprising considering this is a not to be missed on the east coast.

I feel like the location is odd for the tower and it never fit with the themeing right next to bugs land. It was not an original attraction at the park and felt like an afterthought to add a popular attraction from FL when DCA wasn't as successful as they hoped.

I think it will be a great first addition to an overhaul of that whole area into Marvel land - although it does make me wonder why they decided to put Frozen in at the theater as that will now be in the middle of what I think they are talking about turning into Marvel (I believe it is the area that was used for the tea party and by monsters).

I will also admit to being a HUGE Guardians fan and the idea of the tower drops with the Guardians Awesome Mix music sounds incredible so long as the rest of the attraction is done right and the concept art looks promising. So I would consider this another step in the right direction for the evolution of DCA!

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The new Marvel land will be located BEHIND the current ToT. There is an employee parking lot there now that they will be building on. The current Hollywood Backlot area will remain as is.

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Originally Posted by BrerGnat

The new Marvel land will be located BEHIND the current ToT. There is an employee parking lot there now that they will be building on. The current Hollywood Backlot area will remain as is.

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Thanks for giving me some hope that not everything that I loved and enjoyed about DCA will disappear.

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Originally Posted by NewDVCowner

Never understood the hype about that movie. I watched it and was pretty underwhelmed. Not excited about this change.

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By your tag line I would take you as a Star Wars fan. I thought the first GOTG was awesome and can't wait for the second next summer. To me GOTG was more like the original Star Wars in that it was somewhat gritty and less polished than it's Avengers cousin. I'm a big fan of the Avengers as well, but GOTG just comes across as more from the hip. Either way, crazy good stuff in the Disney movie pipeline!

Sounds interesting. That said, I've never even watched the Guardians of the Galaxy movie, so am pretty clueless about it all.

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Originally Posted by BrerGnat

The new Marvel land will be located BEHIND the current ToT. There is an employee parking lot there now that they will be building on. The current Hollywood Backlot area will remain as is.

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Thanks for the explanation - even better!

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Originally Posted by baldburke

To me GOTG was more like the original Star Wars in that it was somewhat gritty and less polished than it's Avengers cousin.

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I agree with this! I'm not really a fan of Avengers but thought GOTG was a lot of fun and was more like Star Wars than a typical super hero movie!

T of T is a GREAT ride. Who cares about Guardians? Are they going to replace Mickey Mouse with Rocket (the raccoon-like character, and yes I had to look that up).
What a shame.
Let's get rid of Pirates too, since there haven't been any new installments lately.
I do agree that T of T is located in an odd place.

A thought - I never thought Tower of Terror was in an odd place. It was in Hollywood Land, which tied in to the storyline. But when they decided to open up the gate between the Tower and Bug's Land it kind of lost the distinction of what land it was in. I've never seen Guardian's of the Galaxy but think the ideas for the Tower sound like they will work. I love the theme currently being used but the attraction certainly does not have the same draw it once did. Hoping this will revive interest.

An update - Beginning Friday, September 9th, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror will offer a "Late Check-Out". Each night after twilight you will be able to experience the attraction in complete darkness. This will continue through the final day of operation, January 2, 2017. Of course there will also be a bundle of commemorative merchandise available for purchase.

Walt Disney Imagineering has released a sneak peek at the model of the new facade for Guardians of the Galaxy-Mission Breakout:

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUc1z2RF9qM

Looks like they're going to do away with the 'windows' that you stop at at the top before the fall. That's too bad, I always enjoyed being able to look out over the park.

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Originally Posted by NewDVCowner

Looks like they're going to do away with the 'windows' that you stop at at the top before the fall. That's too bad, I always enjoyed being able to look out over the park.

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The windows are still there.

The Grand Opening Date for Guardians of the Galaxy-Mission: BREAKOUT! has been announced as May 27, 2017.

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Originally Posted by Figment!

The Grand Opening Date for Guardians of the Galaxy-Mission: BREAKOUT! has been announced as May 27, 2017.

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Of course...over a holiday weekend. Interesting that they are competing with themselves and opening Pandora on the same day. Guess they want to flood the presses.



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Disney Parks has released for details regaring the forthcoming attraction:

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Originally Posted by Disney Parks & Resorts

...Each time guests board a gantry lift to rescue the Guardians of the Galaxy from The Collector’s Fortress, they will experience one of the six randomized scenarios created for the attraction. Each ride profile will utilize the attraction’s hair-raising ascend-and-drop sensation, as Rocket hotwires the lift to play one of these awesome songs from the ‘60s, ‘70s or early ‘80s:

“Hit Me With Your Best Shot” by Pat Benatar (1980)
“Give Up The Funk” by Parliament (1975)
“Born To Be Wild” by Steppenwolf (1968)
“I Want You Back” by The Jackson 5 (1969)
“Free Ride” by The Edgar Winters Group (1973)
“Burning Love” by Elvis Presley (1972)

The songs and drop sequences aren’t the only things that will vary among these randomized scenarios – each one shows a different version of the escape, with different action sequences playing out before your rising and falling gantry lift.
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