The city of Anaheim has approved patents for Disney’s new Marvel-themed land at Disney’s California Adventure. The building permits include improvements to behind-the-scenes areas, bathroom overhauls, a microbrewery, a retail outlet, and a character meet and greet area.
Some of the permits that were approved for on Wednesday included a 2,071 square feet merchandise outlet with three attached canopies. The permits don’t outright call it the Marvel expansion. Disney describes it as a Golden State Expansion.
Matthew Gottula discovered the first batch of patents:
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There was permit filed for a microbrewery and counter service restaurant for the Marvel Land. The patent says Pimm Restaurant which could easily be code for Hank Pym. Ant-Man is getting a restaurant in Marvel Land at Walt Disney Studios in Paris.
It also makes sense that Disney is planning for merchandise. Marvel is one of their most popular franchises and the merchandise at Disney Parks has well been lacking.
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There will be an Avengers store spot and a separate Spider-Man store spot. Which makes sense since those two franchises have the headlining rides for the land.
Another patent for the Spider-Man attraction includes new walls, ceiling, queue, showroom, corridors, and a show scene from the attraction. Disney representatives haven’t commented on the new Marvel Land attractions but we are expected an update at this year’s D23 Expo.
The Spider-Man attraction is rumored to be an interactive adventure that allows visitors to join Tony Stark’s W.E.B. and fight the forces of evil. The other attraction is rumored to be a massive E-ticket story coaster that focuses solely on the Avengers.
That’s not all for Marvel in Disney Parks though. The two other Marvel lands are coming to Hong Kong Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris. Paris will get its attractions in 2020, and Hong Kong will get its completed land in 2023. Marvel Land as a concept is still very developmental so changes may occur. Guardians of the Galaxy is also getting its own coaster at Epcot in 2021.
After the $1 billion expansion of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Disney is taking advantage of the strong economy and it’s investing heavily into its theme parks. Disney is going to capitalize on the imminent success of Galaxy’s Edge by making new attractions and themed lands that entertain guests and result in new and repeat visitors.
The sacrificial lamb for Marvel Land was A Bug’s Land which was based on Disney-Pixar’s A Bug’s Life. The area will be demolished to make way for the new Marvel experiences and it will connect the land with the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout attraction.
Disney is being clever with the construction of Marvel Land. Typically, Disney puts up its normal Imagineering classic Walt Disney quotes on the wall. This time they took advantage and used Tony Stark’s Stark Industries. Playing into the fact that Tony Stark and the Avengers need to build a superhero campus in California.
Marvel is one of the biggest franchises on the planet. It will be interesting to see if Disney decides to raise the bar with its Marvel projects. Maybe in the future, we will see a whole park dedicated to Marvel? It isn’t out of the realm of possibility especially now that Disney owns 21st Century Fox they could create some wild new park ideas. For now, it looks like Disney is going to deliver a little taste of what Imagineering has to offer for Marvel.
Disney hasn’t announced the name of the new land. It will for sure not be called Marvel Land due to the Universal/Marvel licensing agreement, which will continue to drive Disney-Marvel fans insane.
Zach Perilstein is the Editor-in-Chief of the Boardwalk Times
