Avengers Campus: E-Watch! (Waiting on the new ride)

[DrStarlander]

The show building is about the same size as Pooh at Disneyland. You could easily fit a slow-moving pretzel-style darkride that utilized mirrors and screens to pull off a variety of impressive landscapes to journey through. Imagine a 21st Century Tron Tunnel as we travel the astral plane.

I would love an illusion-filled Dr. Strange dark ride, or a Spider-Man dark ride that used the PeoplemMover Tron-tunnel effect to simulate swinging down streets (along with some AAs). I'd even take a Fanatsyland-style Spider-Man ride with day-glo sets and limited animation, with a very "classic Disney" feel (but please DO include some villains, not spider-bots, jeez).

But ultimately I don't think it's a big enough building to do any of these quite justice. What the land is missing is role-play a pretend-play for kids -- which is a natural fit for super-heroes, and key to developing a next generation of Marvel fans. So I think they should put an interactive multi-level play area in there (Avengers Academy). Throw a shield like Captain America, bend steel like Hulk, climb walls like Spider-Man, etc. Somewhere in there, they could use the same technology as on Web Slingers but just a station or two you can stand at (the vehicle and over 10,000 sq. ft. isn't necessary...that entertainment can be done in the area the size of a golf-swing simulator).

 

[coffeefan]

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

It is why I would love to see WEB Slingers replaced with something more enjoyable to all. Last time I did WEB Slingers I was feeling it for the next few hours. And given there is so little to enjoy on the attraction as a darkride without flailing about, it's not something I really want to do. Replace it with a trippy illusion-filled Doctor Strange funhouse ride and I'm riding that thing every visit. AC needs a ride that whole family ride.

Just because you don't enjoy something doesn't mean that others don't. I spend hours on Campus weekly. I see hoards of people streaming out of the attraction laughing and smiling. It IS a ride that whole families ride. And enjoy. It's just not for you. That's fine. Mission: Breakout isn't for me - except the queue which I love. But I don't suggest ripping it out and replacing it with a character meet & greet location. lol

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

What the land is missing is role-play a pretend-play for kids -- which is a natural fit for super-heroes, and key to developing a next generation of Marvel fans.

I'm guessing you haven't spent a lot of time on Campus because that's what all the character interactions are for. Kids playing super heroes with their heroes. Holding Cap's shield, trying to lift Mjolnir, learning magic gestures with Doctor Strange, doing their best web slinging moves with Spidey, having weapons training sessions with the Dora Milaje, even learning dance moves from Star-Lord. The whole point of the characters on Campus is to "train recruits".

The characters play games with guests like secret spy missions and delivering messages and hunting for hidden objects and holding and wielding objects of power. The whole Campus IS one big role play for kids and adults. It is THE reason that I and other character fans love the place so darned much. Avengers Campus is the LARP-iest place Disney has ever made.

 

[denyuntilcaught]

Just because you don't enjoy something doesn't mean that others don't. I spend hours on Campus weekly. I see hoards of people streaming out of the attraction laughing and smiling. It IS a ride that whole families ride. And enjoy. It's just not for you. That's fine. Mission: Breakout isn't for me - except the queue which I love. But I don't suggest ripping it out and replacing it with a character meet & greet location. lol

I'm curious to know the guest satisfaction scores for WEB Slingers because, as we know, there's often huge disconnect between the satisfaction of an attraction within the fandom versus the general public. There's only one metric that'll really give us that insight.

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

I'm curious to know the guest satisfaction scores for WEB Slingers because, as we know, there's often huge disconnect between the satisfaction of an attraction within the fandom versus the general public. There's only one metric that'll really give us that insight.

Without access to that info, I can only go by what 4+ years of regular people-watching on Campus since it opened tells me. And that's that families of all ages are enjoying the attraction.

 

[Professortango1]

Just because you don't enjoy something doesn't mean that others don't. I spend hours on Campus weekly. I see hoards of people streaming out of the attraction laughing and smiling. It IS a ride that whole families ride. And enjoy. It's just not for you. That's fine. Mission: Breakout isn't for me - except the queue which I love. But I don't suggest ripping it out and replacing it with a character meet & greet location. lol

The amount of physical activity that attraction requires is a lot..I don't see grandma and grandpa going into cardiac arrest as they fling their limbs about for 2 and a half minutes.

I'll go on Toad or Pinocchio if I'm tired and want a fun ride. I'm not jumping on WEB Singers if I'm tired. It's a low key thrill ride and thrill rides will always have a narrower appeal, demographically, than a family ride.

 

[PiratesMansion]

I'm curious to know the guest satisfaction scores for WEB Slingers because, as we know, there's often huge disconnect between the satisfaction of an attraction within the fandom versus the general public. There's only one metric that'll really give us that insight.

Not that Google reviews necessarily count for much, but last time I checked there was a significant gap between the score for Webslingers and the scores of virtually every other attraction.

 

[Parteecia]

The amount of physical activity that attraction requires is a lot..I don't see grandma and grandpa going into cardiac arrest as they fling their limbs about for 2 and a half minutes.

I'll go on Toad or Pinocchio if I'm tired and want a fun ride. I'm not jumping on WEB Singers if I'm tired. It's a low key thrill ride and thrill rides will always have a narrower appeal, demographically, than a family ride.

Psst -- you don't HAVE to wave your arms...

 

[Professortango1]

Psst -- you don't HAVE to wave your arms...

Yeah, that's kind of what the game requires and rewards. And given there isn't much to the ride aside from the game, you kind of need to participate to any positive experience on the ride.

 

[DrStarlander]

I'm guessing you haven't spent a lot of time on Campus because that's what all the character interactions are for. Kids playing super heroes with their heroes. Holding Cap's shield, trying to lift Mjolnir, learning magic gestures with Doctor Strange, doing their best web slinging moves with Spidey, having weapons training sessions with the Dora Milaje, even learning dance moves from Star-Lord. The whole point of the characters on Campus is to "train recruits".

The characters play games with guests like secret spy missions and delivering messages and hunting for hidden objects and holding and wielding objects of power. The whole Campus IS one big role play for kids and adults. It is THE reason that I and other character fans love the place so darned much. Avengers Campus is the LARP-iest place Disney has ever made.

I'm glad you and others enjoy it, and I get the appeal of character interactions and street theater. I loved Adventurer's Club at Pleasure Island and the train robbery at Knott's, and one of the highlights of our trip to Universal Studios Hollywood last year was an interaction with Dracula. But at Avenger's Campus we're just hustling through the area between Mission: Breakout and Cars Land -- a few minutes walk -- and nothing is usually going on. But I don't think that's unusual, here's what Dave of Fresh Baked said in a recent State of DCA report:

Nov. 3, 2025 State of DCA by Fresh Baked, there at 11:00 a.m.

“It’s looking kind of chill. All the guests are in a queue I guess? Let’s see how many characters we can find out right now. I can see one so far, looks like Ant Man is over there…Just Ant Man, that’s it. I did see Black Panther for a minute over my Mission: Breakout but he went backstage. So that’s it, it’s just Ant Man right now. Looking pretty chill though, it’s kind of quiet for Avenger’s Campus. It’s quiet because they’re not doing shows out here anymore, well, fewer than before. They’re not doing Avengers Assemble, there’s fewer characters out here, and they cut down the shows of the Dora Milaje in half, so people are less inclined, I think, to hang out in Avengers Campus. It’s get in the queue or get out of here.”

The reason I'm not lingering longer (which would increase the chance of being there when a performance happens) is that the overall office-park-with-palm-trees vibe is boring to me. There's almost nothing there that's fantastical or other-worldly or even Earthly but mid-Marvel story (destruction, impact craters, collapsed buildings). What is the place supposed to be? I know the literal answer is something like "it's the Avenger's base in California (hence the palm trees) and it was once the site of Stark Industries." But...where are the flying cars, jetpacks, rockets, and cool things Howard Stark would have made here decades ago? What about Howard Stark's old office, was it preserved like Walt Disney's up in Burbank where we can see his personal artifacts, a drafting board with cool designs on it? (I say more on all that in this post in the Imagineering discussion.) But the point is, if you have to be there when the immersion happens, there needs to be more vibe to enjoy between performances to induce people to stay. Otherwise it's, as Brickey says, "Avenger's Hallway," just a relatively unthemed path to walk through.

So what I'm talking about is hard infrastructure for role-play and fantasy play, so your experience is not determined by whatever budget cuts are going on with live performers. Toontown opened over 30 years and has cool interactives kids can explore and engage with, offering flexible access, and great photo ops. An interactive area of Avenger's Campus could have steel bars you can bend like Hulk, a horizontal "wall" you can climb like Spidey for a fun photo-op, a room with giant (Honey I Shrunk the Kids-like) objects so we can feel like tiny Ant Man, a Doctor Strange illusion-filled funhouse-style hallway of weird perspective and mirrors, and a Web Slinger station, and other fun activities to stimulate the imagination of young kids. This is no-brainer. And I don't mean this instead of live characters.

I look at what Universal is doing in terms of interactive infrastructure, such as the bands and games in Super Nintendo World, the wands and discoverable interactives in the Wizarding World lands, the viking play area in Isle of Berk (and all these lands also have costumed characters walking around interacting with guests or meet and greets) and I think Disney is significantly under-exploiting their IP with Avenger's Campus and opportunity to connect with families and kids.

 

[DrStarlander]

Yeah, that's kind of what the game requires and rewards. And given there isn't much to the ride aside from the game, you kind of need to participate to any positive experience on the ride.

The criticisms I have for this attraction -- which I have heard from others as well -- is that it does not feel like a great embodiment of the Spier-Man IP. Yes, you shoot webs using a neat, but not amazing (see defunct Microsoft Kinect) technology. But distracting from that is that the content (spider-bots, no villains, and the location is Avenger's Campus and not NYC) is unrecognizable and doesn't represent decades of Spider-Man media. Then, the final death blow, are the boxy lumbering vehicles which are antithetical to Spider-Man's known physical characteristics and movement.

I think they could (relatively cheaply) revise this attraction to be a pan-Avengers ride in which instead of moving (for no reason) between various hallways/screens of Spidey gameplay, each station in the ride was for a different Avengers. At one screen you shoot webs, encouraged by Spidey. At another you blast Repulser Blasts under the direction of Iron Man. At another you smash rocks and debris coming at you as Hulk. Etc. In this version, the boxy vehicles would be excused, as they wouldn't fail to represent a specific character well. The multiple stations in the ride would have more meaning (and would even be better if each had a super-hero AA greeting you as you drive into that area).

Then, as you complete the ride, it could tell you which character you did best with, suggesting you train with that super-hero. I think as a pan-Avenger's training ride, some of it's shortcomings would be minimized.

 

[Professortango1]

The criticisms I have for this attraction -- which I have heard from others as well -- is that it does not feel like a great embodiment of the Spier-Man IP. Yes, you shoot webs using a neat, but not amazing (see defunct Microsoft Kinect) technology. But distracting from that is that the content (spider-bots, no villains, and the location is Avenger's Campus and not NYC) is unrecognizable and doesn't represent decades of Spider-Man media. Then, the final death blow, are the boxy lumbering vehicles which are antithetical to Spider-Man's known physical characteristics and movement.

I think they could (relatively cheaply) revise this attraction to be a pan-Avengers ride in which instead of moving (for no reason) between various hallways/screens of Spidey gameplay, each station in the ride was for a different Avengers. At one screen you shoot webs, encouraged by Spidey. At another you blast Repulser Blasts under the direction of Iron Man. At another you smash rocks and debris coming at you as Hulk. Etc. In this version, the boxy vehicles would be excused, as they wouldn't fail to represent a specific character well. The multiple stations in the ride would have more meaning (and would even be better if each had a super-hero AA greeting you as you drive into that area).

Then, as you complete the ride, it could tell you which character you did best with, suggesting you train with that super-hero. I think as a pan-Avenger's training ride, some of it's shortcomings would be minimized.

That's a great easy idea to improve upon the ride! As it sits right now, I rarely ride it and when I do, I do so ironically and regret it by the time I get the Mission BO screen. Compare that with Pinocchio, Toad, Pooh, and Monsters Inc which I ride almost every visit.

 

[mickEblu]

The criticisms I have for this attraction -- which I have heard from others as well -- is that it does not feel like a great embodiment of the Spier-Man IP. Yes, you shoot webs using a neat, but not amazing (see defunct Microsoft Kinect) technology. But distracting from that is that the content (spider-bots, no villains, and the location is Avenger's Campus and not NYC) is unrecognizable and doesn't represent decades of Spider-Man media. Then, the final death blow, are the boxy lumbering vehicles which are antithetical to Spider-Man's known physical characteristics and movement.

I think they could (relatively cheaply) revise this attraction to be a pan-Avengers ride in which instead of moving (for no reason) between various hallways/screens of Spidey gameplay, each station in the ride was for a different Avengers. At one screen you shoot webs, encouraged by Spidey. At another you blast Repulser Blasts under the direction of Iron Man. At another you smash rocks and debris coming at you as Hulk. Etc. In this version, the boxy vehicles would be excused, as they wouldn't fail to represent a specific character well. The multiple stations in the ride would have more meaning (and would even be better if each had a super-hero AA greeting you as you drive into that area).

Then, as you complete the ride, it could tell you which character you did best with, suggesting you train with that super-hero. I think as a pan-Avenger's training ride, some of it's shortcomings would be minimized.

I think this is a very good and relatively cheap to implement idea that could help upgrade this ride. Unfortunately, I don’t think it would move the needle in the long run as the attractions inherent flaws are difficult to overcome. You re still moving around in that box and being parked in front of screens to wave your arms around. Nothing tactile. I will say those vehicles are quite comfortable but yeah they don’t say Spider-Man or Marvel. After a ride or two on the new version I think it would go right back down to the bottom of the list again. No matter you how slice it Marvel/ Spiderman being attached will always guarantee that any version of this attraction has a 40 minute wait and it’s just not worth it.

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

I'm glad you and others enjoy it, and I get the appeal of character interactions and street theater. I loved Adventurer's Club at Pleasure Island and the train robbery at Knott's, and one of the highlights of our trip to Universal Studios Hollywood last year was an interaction with Dracula. But at Avenger's Campus we're just hustling through the area between Mission: Breakout and Cars Land -- a few minutes walk -- and nothing is usually going on. But I don't think that's unusual, here's what Dave of Fresh Baked said in a recent State of DCA report:

View attachment 893293

Nov. 3, 2025 State of DCA by Fresh Baked, there at 11:00 a.m.

“It’s looking kind of chill. All the guests are in a queue I guess? Let’s see how many characters we can find out right now. I can see one so far, looks like Ant Man is over there…Just Ant Man, that’s it. I did see Black Panther for a minute over my Mission: Breakout but he went backstage. So that’s it, it’s just Ant Man right now. Looking pretty chill though, it’s kind of quiet for Avenger’s Campus. It’s quiet because they’re not doing shows out here anymore, well, fewer than before. They’re not doing Avengers Assemble, there’s fewer characters out here, and they cut down the shows of the Dora Milaje in half, so people are less inclined, I think, to hang out in Avengers Campus. It’s get in the queue or get out of here.”

The reason I'm not lingering longer (which would increase the chance of being there when a performance happens) is that the overall office-park-with-palm-trees vibe is boring to me. There's almost nothing there that's fantastical or other-worldly or even Earthly but mid-Marvel story (destruction, impact craters, collapsed buildings). What is the place supposed to be? I know the literal answer is something like "it's the Avenger's base in California (hence the palm trees) and it was once the site of Stark Industries." But...where are the flying cars, jetpacks, rockets, and cool things Howard Stark would have made here decades ago? What about Howard Stark's old office, was it preserved like Walt Disney's up in Burbank where we can see his personal artifacts, a drafting board with cool designs on it? (I say more on all that in this post in the Imagineering discussion.) But the point is, if you have to be there when the immersion happens, there needs to be more vibe to enjoy between performances to induce people to stay. Otherwise it's, as Brickey says, "Avenger's Hallway," just a relatively unthemed path to walk through.

So what I'm talking about is hard infrastructure for role-play and fantasy play, so your experience is not determined by whatever budget cuts are going on with live performers. Toontown opened over 30 years and has cool interactives kids can explore and engage with, offering flexible access, and great photo ops. An interactive area of Avenger's Campus could have steel bars you can bend like Hulk, a horizontal "wall" you can climb like Spidey for a fun photo-op, a room with giant (Honey I Shrunk the Kids-like) objects so we can feel like tiny Ant Man, a Doctor Strange illusion-filled funhouse-style hallway of weird perspective and mirrors, and a Web Slinger station, and other fun activities to stimulate the imagination of young kids. This is no-brainer. And I don't mean this instead of live characters.

I look at what Universal is doing in terms of interactive infrastructure, such as the bands and games in Super Nintendo World, the wands and discoverable interactives in the Wizarding World lands, the viking play area in Isle of Berk (and all these lands also have costumed characters walking around interacting with guests or meet and greets) and I think Disney is significantly under-exploiting their IP with Avenger's Campus and opportunity to connect with families and kids.

And again, those who don't hang out for more than five minutes on Campus miss the good stuff happening daily on Campus - including what people are actually having fun doing.

If I stood by Snow White's wishing well while no characters were there and left after five minutes, I'd think it was boring too. But if I stood there all day and saw Snow White & the Evil Queen, Anna & Elsa, Belle & Gaston, Aurora, Rapunzel & Flynn, and watched everyone's interactions with them at that location and had a few myself, I'd realize that's one of the most magical spots in the entire resort. But if you're judging a place in five minutes rather than in totality of the day OR you're going to the wishing well to shop or find food or ride a rollercoaster, well, no wonder you aren't enjoying it. Again, not everything is for everyone. There are plenty of places that don't cater to my interests, so I don't go there demanding they do. I just find the places like AC - or the wishing well lol - that cater to what I like to do and hang out there.

I'm not saying there's no room for improvement - we need more shows back on Campus for a start and hopefully that will happen post-construction. But I not only have a lot of fun there regularly, I see so many other guests having fun as well, that I feel bad for people who are passing through so fast they're missing out.

 

[DrStarlander]

And again, those who don't hang out for more than five minutes on Campus miss the good stuff happening daily on Campus - including what people are actually having fun doing.

If I stood by Snow White's wishing well while no characters were there and left after five minutes, I'd think it was boring too. But if I stood there all day and saw Snow White & the Evil Queen, Anna & Elsa, Belle & Gaston, Aurora, Rapunzel & Flynn, and watched everyone's interactions with them at that location and had a few myself, I'd realize that's one of the most magical spots in the entire resort. But if you're judging a place in five minutes rather than in totality of the day OR you're going to the wishing well to shop or find food or ride a rollercoaster, well, no wonder you aren't enjoying it. Again, not everything is for everyone. There are plenty of places that don't cater to my interests, so I don't go there demanding they do. I just find the places like AC - or the wishing well lol - that cater to what I like to do and hang out there.

I'm not saying there's no room for improvement - we need more shows back on Campus for a start and hopefully that will happen post-construction. But I not only have a lot of fun there regularly, I see so many other guests having fun as well, that I feel bad for people who are passing through so fast they're missing out.

Is it possible the "hang out there all day" experience (perfect for catching spontaneous characters/street theater) you are taking about may be a locals/annual pass track of enjoying the park and a "move through swiftly and try to see everything important before flying home" track is for tourists (like me), and they're just different ways of experiencing the same park because of the different guests' unique circumstances?

 

[mickEblu]

Is it possible the "hang out there all day" experience (perfect for catching spontaneous characters/street theater) you are taking about may be a locals/annual pass track of enjoying the park and a "move through swiftly and try to see everything important before flying home" track is for tourists (like me), and they're just different ways of experiencing the same park because of the different guests' unique circumstances?

Right. In addition Fantasyland has 13 attractions, is full of kinetic energy and nooks and crannies to explore in addition to the characters. Folks are more likely to catch those moments in Fantasyland because they re spending more time there. Because they want to be there and there is more to do. You can’t expect someone to wander around Avengers Campus waiting for something to do or something to look at. Especially someone with limited time at the parks.

 

[DrStarlander]

Right. In addition Fantasyland has 13 attractions, is full of kinetic energy and nooks and crannies to explore in addition to the characters. Folks are more likely to catch those moments in Fantasyland because they re spending more time there. Because they want to be there and there is more to do. You can’t expect someone to wander around Avengers Campus waiting for something to do or something to look at. Especially someone with limited time at the parks.

Absolutely. It would be like telling someone traveling to Tokyo Disneyland Resort with just a couple of days to see both parks that if they "hang out" in the Cape Cod area of Tokyo DisneySea "all day" there are cool characters and street performances, and if they don't do that (and they won't, because that wold be a terrible way to spend half your precious time there) that it's your fault for not happening to be there when the entertainment happens.

I fully get that Disney is trying to shift things over to a "country club" model where people commit to spending thousands of dollars a year at the parks and "hang out" there, and that cold shift the type of entertainment/experiences being offered. But the parks should also work for tourists, at least for another 10 to 20 years!

 

[mickEblu]

Absolutely. It would be like telling someone traveling to Tokyo Disneyland Resort with just a couple of days to see both parks that if they "hang out" in the Cape Cod area of Tokyo DisneySea "all day" there are cool characters and street performances, and if they don't do that (and they won't, because that wold be a terrible way to spend half your precious time there) that it's your fault for not happening to be there when the entertainment happens.

I fully get that Disney is trying to shift things over to a "country club" model where people commit to spending thousands of dollars a year at the parks and "hang out" there, and that cold shift the type of entertainment/experiences being offered. But the parks should also work for tourists, at least for another 10 to 20 years!

Yeah I mean it’s great my dude loves Avengers Campus but I’m not sure why it’s so hard for him to understand that he’s in an extremely small minority of people who enjoy/treat the land and the parks in that way.

 

[Professortango1]

Yeah, the longest I am in Avenger's Campus (I don't really count the Mission BO extended queue by the parade gate) is when I am grabbing a bite a Pym's. 20 minutes tops. The Spider-Man "show" viewing area is a busy narrow walkway, not a hang out spot. And the central "hub" of Avengers Campus just has a lot of dead space, one attraction (which is the worst in the resort), and the empty stage area where Doctor Strange used to perform magic. It's not a pleasant or fun place to sit and enjoy given how drab and open the land is in the main part and the poor use of space/design for the Spider-Man area and the Misison BO area. A dead corner, a narrow walkway, and a big open concrete slab with metal tables. The land doesn't encourage hanging out.