DisneySky - COMPLETE & RESTORED

Suchomimus

Well-Known Member
This Transportation Center replaces the vehicle drop-off area east of the Disneyland Esplanade, which then becomes precious expansion space for Disney California Adventure.
People Mover trains stop at 6 dedicated stations across the resort. People Mover tracks replace existing Monorail tracks throughout the resort complex, using existing Monorail infrastructure such as stations whenever possible. The Disneyland Monorail is kept as an attraction within Disneyland, reverted to a single-station round trip scenic ride closer in form to its original 1959 incarnation before it was modified into resort transportation. Changes to a Disneyland classic will no doubt create fan outcry, which we can temper by appealing to nostalgia and history.
Do I suspect you to do the rest of the DLR after you've finished SKY?
 

James G.

Well-Known Member
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Flying Saucers 2.0
B-ticket flat ride


Practice your aim during a dizzying spin in a UFO

A goofy, gonzo, gloriously bonkers flat ride awaits in Cosmic Crater’s central caldera. This is Flying Saucers 2.0, also sometimes known as “Foo Fighters,” a spiritual successor to an old dearly departed (and never entirely successful) Tomorrowland favorite. This followup envisions a training facility for S.K.Y. astronauts, preparing them for all the dizziness and lasers of outer space. Guests will find Flying Saucers 2.0 to be surprisingly repeatable! For while it might look like a standard teacups ride, interactive astro-guns elevate this ride type into the stratosphere!
RIDE STATS
Ride type: Interactive teacups
Capacity per Ride: 60
Hourly capacity: 1,440
Ride cycle duration: 2 minutes
Height restriction: None

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Two hemispherical domes house our UFO testing facility - doubling up for capacity! The polymer domes’ rooftops are awash in a haphazard assortment of sci-fi satellite dishes, mechanical panels, and antennae. The domes are held up by white Googie arches like the LAX Theme Building. Passersby can watch the craziness from off-ride, which should prove quite a spectacle!

The queue begins in between the two domes, underneath a hand-welded sign on chains announcing “Flying Saucers 2.0.” A crashed UFO smoking in heaps spans the entrance archway. Guests wait in the shade under an eave inspired by Tomorrowland 1955’s Space Bar. Vintage NASA-style S.K.Y. posters beckon guests to “Enlist!,” to “Become an Astronaut!,” generally spelling out the ride’s training program premise. Switchbacks overlook both rotating ride platforms; helpful illustration-heavy signage explains the ride’s laser gun mechanisms.

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The queue splits in a “Y” against the far crater wall, where the ride controller oversees from a slanted mission control window built into the sands. Mid-century cinder blocks hold the crater walls in place, dirt visibly pouring over them in spots. Cast members at the “Y” gather groups of guests in both directions, just enough to fill both domes at the same time.




Our pre-ride music - the strangely experimental mid-century oddity that is 1956’s “The Flying Saucer” by Buchanan & Goodman - plays out as guests walk onto the floor. Each dome hosts eighteen flying saucers, with six each on three spinning discs. The ride vehicles are hubcap-shaped retro-futuristic UFOs with simple bench seating facing forward. In each UFO are two atomic ray guns holstered in the dashboard. In both form and function, these blasters borrow a lot from Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters.



The ride begins, speed picks up, as surf guitarist **** Dale’s 1996 recording for Space Mountain plays. The large ride platform rotates clockwise, while the smaller inset discs rotate counter-clockwise - physically, this is Mad Tea Party. But then there are the ray guns! Because on Flying Saucers 2.0, guests don’t spin themselves...they spin other riders!

Large light-up targets cover every available interior surface. Targets are all over the semi-dome ceiling, in recessed panels and rafters inspired by old, forgotten Discoveryland concept art. At the center is a target-covered chrome 1950s robot - equal parts Robbie, Daleks, Gort, and others - spinning opposite the main ride platform. Targets are even found on other UFOs’ rear exhaust ports. Now fire away!

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The object of all this? To shoot other UFOs and cause them to spin uncontrollably for a second or two. Hitting non-UFO targets along the ceiling or along the support arches strengthens your own UFO’s “shield” from opposing laser blasts. Of course different targets hold different values - more shield, or longer spin for your opponents. There is no final score tally, but simply the sheer adrenal pleasure of an out-of-control ray gun frenzy! And should riders grow nauseous from the rotation, their UFO comes equipped with an on-off switch...it stops the spinning, and it also powers down the ray guns. There is the potential to use this strategically. Our ride designers are still fine-tuning the gameplay elements, but they are confident that the end result will be addictively confounding.

Flying Saucers 2.0 is a kaleidoscope of trippy psychedelic lights beams! It is a disorienting dance floor of disco balls and green beams and whatnot! Disneyland locals will be reminded of ElecTRONica. And like a dance party At night the ride becomes Flying Saucers Unearthed, a dance party version of a flat ride, which comes complete with a live DJ and incredible new light show packages. No two rides on this are ever the same!

I was a bit disappointed when you said there would be "no final score tally." Many people, especially on similar rides such as TSMM, take getting a high score (personal best, max score, etc.) seriously. Why not have score tallies? If points/hits/whatever are actually assigned, why not have them displayed?
 

James G.

Well-Known Member
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Quarks
Table service restaurant


Cocktails and molecular gastronomy meals
[ADULT DRINKS]

A curious, forgotten world of Space Age chic - wavy neon mod design and cheesy lounge music and out-of-this-world cocktails - lives again at Quarks! Of DisneySky’s four table service restaurants, this is certainly the most “out there.” The setting is retro-futuristic to the max. The cuisine is experimental. The drinks are in Technicolor.

Quarks sits slightly below Cosmic Canyon’s walkway at the lagoon level, on a rocky spit of land between Atomic Boneyard and Langley Lagoon. It is just high enough to block views of Avengers Airspace. This mid-century Googie creation is shaped like a UFO, with inspiration from Palm Springs’ Elrod House and Joshua Tree’s Kellogg House. Like those houses, Quarks is built organically around a garden of massive sandstone boulders. Joshua trees grow out from all available crevices.

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Underneath a big Googie “Quarks” sign, the kind you’d find at a vintage bowling alley or car wash, a ramp leads down to the lobby wing. The check-in lobby is a ribbed concrete chamber which transitions guests from the desert to the “future.” Deluxe moderne furniture circles around a retro starburst carpet. A floor-to-ceiling magenta lava lamp wall obscures views into the sunken dining room.

The circular dining area is heavily indebted to the defunct Encounter restaurant which used to occupy LAX’s Theme Building...a restaurant which, incidentally, was a rare work-for-hire project by Imagineering. Like Encounter, Quarks doubles down on the outdated Space Age stylings: All bubble-shaped chairs and wavy white plastic tables and Populuxe furniture. Oh, and all this has been built around the desert rocks, which divide up the space.

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Like the Elrod House, a radial ceiling of slanted concrete slabs leads the eye up to the center. Here hangs an atomic model chandelier. Dining by Langley Lagoon is below the water level, protected by solid concrete architecture. Diners at this level sit with their faces right next to the gently lapping waves. Inwards-slanted clearstory glass windows provide all diners with panoramic views of Langley Lagoon, which makes for ideal lagoon show viewing. A curvy bar fills the restaurant’s inner perimeter, backed by an aquarium backdrop full of lazily meandering bubbles. Restrooms, located behind the bar, continue the hazy, retro neon ambiance, with wavy countertops and an atomic motif.




Groovy, dreamy lounge music from a forgotten age - music like Earl Backus’ “Haunted Guitar” - drifts across the chamber.

At night, Quarks truly comes alive with neon recessed lighting. Turquoise, teal and magenta colors swirl slowly. Lava lanterns at the tables provide additional psychedelic imagery. Reservations are required for nighttime seating, since Quarks provides one of the best spots in all of DisneySky for viewing our nighttime spectacular, Skies of Fantasy.

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The menu at Quarks is truly out-of-this-world! The kitchen specializes in molecular gastronomy - a form of food science which chemically and physically transforms food (often using liquid nitrogen) in experimental new ways. The end results are as colorful and alien as anything in Quarks. These culinary concoctions can be purchased a-la carte, or as a prix fixe meal. The chefs are always playing around with new techniques, so the menu is always evolving.

Cocktails at the bar are similarly playful. Forget Disney’s typical glowing ice cubes, here the drink itself glows! Beverages bubble and steam. They come in a wide, wild range of colors, like the beakers in an old-fashioned mad science movie. Flavors range from the fruity to the smooth, with a heavy emphasis on flavored vodkas and grenadines. (We also serve beer.)




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Bunker Bistro
Counter service restaurant


Burgers, salads and more

With an asteroid threatening all life on Earth, Dr. Luna Diesel took proactive steps and constructed a fallout shelter dug deep into the ridge of Mt. Helios. Now that the threat of annihilation is thankfully passed (see IMPACT!) that shelter has been transformed into a sprawling counter service restaurant welcoming families and astronauts.

The entrance to Bunker Bistro is located north of the crater facilities. A cave mouth inspired by Bronson Canyon (famed from awful sci-fi flicks like Robot Monster) leads to the blast doors - an open vault airlock. A massive atompunk earth drill sits alongside the entrance, amidst piles of freshly-loosened soil, as a testament to the bunker’s creation. Googie lettering embedded in the striated rock face outside announces the bistro’s name.

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Within is a domelike silo, a towering cathedral of sandstone dug out from the mountain’s interior. Paved with monumental concrete and defined by austere angular shapes, the clear primary influence here is James Bond production designer Ken Adam...in particular his enormous volcano set for You Only Live Twice. A huge, slanted disc-shaped sunroof lets in light from above (it’s just an effect). At the room’s center is a ballistic missile, steaming ferociously. Outer concrete walls feature automat machines, as well as collections of canned foods and MRE barrels.

The slanted wall on the far end features a “Big Board” like in Dr. Strangelove. Picture a fantastical version of NASA’s Mission Control: TV screens several yards across display a blinking satellite map of the Solar System map, as well as large food menus.

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Beneath the board, where guests might expect ordering counters, instead they find a series of touchscreen stations shaped like the nuclear consoles of Dr. No. This is a no-contact ordering setup familiar from Magic Kingdom’s Be Our Guest, hopefully maximizing throughput in this sure-to-be-popular restaurant location. Cast members are on hand to assist should any questions arise. Guests do not receive their food here; rather they receive RFIC “green meteorite” trackers to take to their tables, where servers will later locate guests and bring their meals.

The kitchen - which remains forever unseen - prepares classic American comfort foods with a bit of a bistro spin. Safe and familiar dishes are the specialty here, with options including hamburgers, salads, flatbreads, baked potatoes, and genuinely good casseroles.

Guests head to the dining area through a vaulted nuclear decontamination passage. Wall panels are awash in clattering Geiger counters and yellow nuclear radiation signs. Cool gusts of air blast from slanted vents in the ceiling.

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Narrow vaulted halls create a compression moment, before guests emerge into a spectacular dining chamber. Space for hundreds of diners is hewn from the sandstone cliffs. With its pair of asymmetrical slanted walls, this catacomb recalls Ken Adam’s original design for Dr. Strangelove’s War Room - minus the “Big Board,” of course. In its place is an incredibly wide, clearstory window weld in place by steel girders, offering spectacular observation views of IMPACT!’s launch track. Stainless steel dining tables are arranged on three tiered sections so that every guest can enjoy unobstructed views of the rockets blasting off.

Monolithic concrete slabs hold in the inner sandstone cliffs. This inner section resembles Adam’s design for Blofeld’s private quarters in You Only Live Twice - domestic yet minimalistic, with vertical gardens built into the rock face. Seen close up, these walls feature vintage “duck and cover” nuclear safety placards (strong shades of the Fallout video games). In one corner is a newly-bored tunnel, one still bearing the telltale indents of an industrial-scale drillbit, which leads to the Bistro’s dedicated restrooms.



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Guzzlin’ Gremlins
Beer stand


Wagon offering pretzels and draft beer
[ADULT DRINKS]

When the deserts of Cosmic Crater become too hot and dry for guests, they can always head to the shores of Langley Lagoon and quench their thirst at Guzzlin’ Gremlins. This low-key snack stand pours locally brewed draft beers, the same vintage served at DCA, plus warm, soft pretzels.

Guzzlin’ Gremlins is based out of an army green B-25 fuselage which has been grounded, shorn of its wings, and turned into a beer wagon. Painted on its side is a cartoon gremlin from Roald Dahl’s novel “The Gremlins” - which was actually published in 1943 by the Walt Disney Company!

The reason this plane was decommissioned? It is infested by gremlins!...mischievous creatures in aviation folklore who love to destroy aircraft. Evidence of their presence is practically overwhelming, from the tiny footprints in the nearby sand to the sound of them mucking about inside the B-25’s interior, cackling with glee. Occasionally the military surplus netting which shades guests will flap erratically, always accompanied by the laughter of unseen gremlins.

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I'm surprised that nobody mentioned this, so of course I will. With the name "Quarks," you've veered into the Star Trek universe. Quark's is the name of the restaurant/bar/hologram suite center of Deep Space Nine. Anyone with any Star Trek exposure (and I suspect that anyone who hangs around Cosmic Crater will spend plenty of time watching ST: Any Incarnation and will be very familiar with Quark's). When they come in for a meal and don't see Ferengi serving Aldebaran Whiskey or Maraltian Seev-ale, they're going to be either confused or unhappy, and whoever owns the rights to Star Trek this week will probably feel litigious. I love the restaurant and its entire theme- the name could be an issue.
 

James G.

Well-Known Member
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CHRISTMAS AT DISNEYSKY

Season’s greetings! When the merriest time of year comes to Disneyland Resort, festive celebrations pop up throughout to delight both out-of-towners and local passholders. Disneyland’s holiday offerings include character cavalcades, wintertime shows, and innumerable ride overlays. Disney California Adventure plays the Epcot-style event card with Festival of the Holidays. Across the entire resort, special Christmastime foods and shows and activities spread cheer. And unlike Walt Disney World and its hard-ticket nighttime parties, Disneyland Resort’s holiday entertainment is all part of a regular day in the parks!

DisneySky is not immune to the fun. It too sees Christmas additions to every land. New food, decorations, and more bring warmth to the cold winter skies, starting in early November and running through January. DisneySky’s elaborate lagoon shows metamorphose into unique seasonal extravaganzas. Whether you’re in the park seeking new holiday features, or simply enjoying the existing sights and attractions, Christmastime is the right time for DisneySky!

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DisneySky Christmas Decorations

Top to bottom, every acre of DisneySky transforms with holiday decorations to give every guest a warm, joyful sense of goodwill. The additions begin with the Grand Central Hangar entry, which now houses a massive Christmas tree standing 55 feet tall. Garlands wreath the industrial rafters. Hundreds of ornaments spanning the “Grand Central Tree” feature characters from every animated Disney film. Similar touches festoon the park’s seven destinations.

Befitting an entry land, Runway One receives the heaviest redecoration. A lot of the new seasonal look is very familiar from the classic Christmas accessories seen on Main Street U.S.A. and elsewhere. Everywhere guests look, there are bright holiday lights, garlands, tinsel, poinsettia flowers, red ribbons, gift-wrapped presents, Mickey Mouse wreaths, and ornaments.

Snow and icicles cover Inspiration Observatory. At night, light blue projection mapping bedecks the facility in slowly drifting snowflakes and snowfall. Avionics, DisneySky’s emporium, hosts a gingerbread airplane model as its centerpiece. Centrally located in Dreamers Circle is a statue of Mickey Mouse as Santa Claus riding a jet plane; his “sleigh” is pulled by a team of reindeer statues. This statue serves as a major outdoor event location, with caroling and Christmas bands scheduled to appear here throughout the day.

Since Christmas did not exist in ancient China, Mythic Realms instead honors the Winter Solstice. This is entirely in keeping with DisneySky’s astronomical themes. China’s Harbin Winter Festival provides the primary visual inspiration, with its sculptures of (simulated) snow & ice depicting traditional Chinese subjects. Nighttimes are especially gorgeous, thanks to multicolored LED lights glowing within the ice blocks.

An Old World Christmas, in the German and Scandinavian styles, defines Discovery Glacier. Shops and restaurants feature Christmas trees with candles in place of light strands (no fire hazard; they’re electrical). Temporary Christmas Market wood sheds line Lake Verne, serving as pop-up storefronts for wintertime treats. Strands of white lights give the land a soft, elegant nighttime glow.


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Since Pioneer Fields is the centerpoint for DisneySky’s Halloween celebrations, the land is a bit more low-key for Christmas. Pioneer Fields specializes in Hispanic traditions. There are seven-pointed holiday pinatas hanging everywhere. However, there are no nativity scenes, to avoid possible religious offense.

Diesel Bay is brightened by some rather simple Christmas light additions, with strands spiraling the bases of palm trees and DisneySky JetRail supports. The Hollyhock Stage near Rocketeer Center in downtown Diesel Bay hosts an elegant white-lit Christmas tree inspired by New York’s Rockefeller Center. The jungle interior meanwhile embraces a Hawaiian Christmas approach, with palm front wreaths and banners declaring “Mele Kalikimaka!

A New Mexican Christmas is celebrated in Cosmic Crater. This means that in place of the usual Christmas lights, the roadways and trails are lined with luminarias. Also known as farolitos, these are rows of candlelit paper lanterns (again, electric to avoid fire hazards) which create soft, romantic light. Christmas wreaths are made of dried chili peppers, with alternating red and green shades. A snowman made of tumbleweeds greets guests at Cosmic Crater’s entrance.

Avengers Airspace maintains the same “basic” Christmas decor as Runway One, albeit with less density. Besides, the Langley Lagoon shows totally make up for it! Nighttime lighting packages bathe the skyscraper facades in festive red and green hues.


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Character Encounters

Most of DisneySky’s Christmastime character encounters consist of the park’s usual characters appearing in wintertime garb. This is especially noteworthy in Runway One, where Mickey and the other Fab Five gather festooned in warm fur-lined coats and Santa outfits. A somewhat jokier approach is employed in Avengers Airspace, where Marvel’s superheroes dress as usual, while also wearing Santa hats.

There are a few dedicated meet ‘n’ greet facilities included to spread additional cheer. Discovery Glacier, with its 19th-century snowbound Europe setting, is a natural spot to include some characters from Frozen. But lest we spoil the land’s meticulous steampunk theme with an overbearing character intrusion, only a small corner of Tinkerer’s Workshop is altered. For only a few months out of the year, guests can queue up to meet Arrendelle’s visiting dignitaries, Anna and Elsa and Olaf, all dressed in their best wintertime vestments, in A Very Merry Frozen Christmas.

Meanwhile, Marceline Character Hub - Runway One’s year round meet ‘n’ greet attraction which is designed specifically for regularly rotating character appearances - hosts a special Flights to Santa’s Workshop overlay. One of the Hub’s theaters flies guests out to the North Pole to meet with the big man himself!


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Seasonal Treats

Dessert venues throughout DisneySky create new seasonal sweets for each annual event. The churro carts serve cocoa-filled gingerbread churros. Places like Wright Bakers and Pie-in-the-Sky Pie Shoppe dish out peppermint ice creams, figgy puddings, even the dreaded fruit cake (only DisneySky does it well!). In Discovery Glacier, the pop-up Winter Village provides traditional Germanic tidbits, including cups of hot spiced cocoa, stollen bread, and pfeffernusse cookies.

A few of DisneySky’s premier table service and counter service restaurants include distinctive seasonal meals. Barnyard Barbecue serves traditional Christmas dinners, with both turkey and ham options. Bulldog Cafe, already known for its tamales, serves them “Christmas style” smothered in both red and green New Mexican chile.


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Entertainment & Overlays

Holiday entertainment offerings in DisneySky range from quaint streetmosphere performances to grand extravaganzas in Langley Lagoon. Disney Parks’ hard-working entertainment divisions create fantastic new offerings yearly, so this is but a sampling of the seasonal merriment guests might discover.

Carolers populate Runway One throughout the day and night. They are especially fond of singing in Dreamers Circle, in a designated performance arena. Guests may join in, aided by souvenir lyric sheets, all under the shadow of “Mickey Claus” in his jet plane sleigh. At night when departing guests must again pass down Runway One’s main boulevard, the carolers kick into high gear. Artificial snow machines dot the hangar rooftops, while the carolers gather around artificial bonfires lining the walkways.

In the Hispanic world of Pioneer Fields, cast members celebrate Las Posadas, a novenario candlelight procession with songs dedicated to the winter solstice.

And in Diesel Bay, the Rocketeer Center Christmas Tree is host to a special tree lighting ceremony which takes place at dusk.


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As with Halloween, again the main ride overlay takes place at Pioneer Fields’ Airtopia flat ride. For the Christmas season, the ride is rechristened Merry-topia. Again the hovering hot air balloons are redressed, this time as immaculate Christmas ornaments, complete with glistening lighting packages and an accompanying yuletide soundtrack.

Then there are the large-scale offerings in Langley Lagoon! This setting, visible primarily from the Helicarrier in Avengers Airspace, is DisneySky’s primary spectacular venue. Both the daytime Kite Festival and the nighttime Skies of Fantasy shows receive major holiday overhauls.

Christmastime Kite Festival replaces our typical waterborne DisneySky Kite Festival with a seasonal medley of holiday songs to accompany special Christmas-themed kites...all with the show’s original cast of lovable Disney characters. Songs include “Joy to the World,” “Deck the Halls,” “We Wish You A Merry Christmas,” and other favorites.

Merry Skies of Fantasy is our yuletide nighttime spectacular. The regular Skies of Fantasy employs a combination of physical sets and projections, much in the style of Fantasmic!, making a top-to-bottom transformation unlikely. Instead, most of the “Merry” appears in the show’s mesmerizing finale, which now features classical Christmas music such as Tchaikovsy’s “Nutcracker Suite” (replacing Holtz’s “Jupiter”), while screens on the main conical stage transform the platform into a dazzling Christmas tree. Projection mapping covers the entire western slope of Mt. Helios with snowfall, and with appropriate Disney imagery such as Fantasia’s winter sprites.



We hope you enjoyed your yuletide visit to DisneySky. May all your days be merry and bright, and airy with flight.
You probably wondered where I've been. Mostly cooking for Christmas, but now that we're working on piles of leftovers, I found time to get back in here and immerse myself in DisneySky...and find things to point out that bother me. You said that there would be no nativity scene in Pioneer Fields to avoid possible religious offense. I'm not going to get into the entire "keep Christ in Christmas" thing, but really, such things as the Christmas Procession that's been done in DL forever already brings the Nativity story into Disney. I'm not saying that you should transform DisneySky into Bethlehem, but I think that, if you already have a Cathedral in Pioneer Fields (Cathedral Collections) and already use it as a meet-and-greet, I think that a simple, culturally accurate Nativity scene in front of the Cathedral would not only be appropriate but appreciated.
 

Suchomimus

Well-Known Member
I'm surprised that nobody mentioned this, so of course I will. With the name "Quarks," you've veered into the Star Trek universe. Quark's is the name of the restaurant/bar/hologram suite center of Deep Space Nine. Anyone with any Star Trek exposure (and I suspect that anyone who hangs around Cosmic Crater will spend plenty of time watching ST: Any Incarnation and will be very familiar with Quark's). When they come in for a meal and don't see Ferengi serving Aldebaran Whiskey or Maraltian Seev-ale, they're going to be either confused or unhappy, and whoever owns the rights to Star Trek this week will probably feel litigious. I love the restaurant and its entire theme- the name could be an issue.
 

D Hulk

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I'm surprised that nobody mentioned this, so of course I will. With the name "Quarks," you've veered into the Star Trek universe. Quark's is the name of the restaurant/bar/hologram suite center of Deep Space Nine. Anyone with any Star Trek exposure (and I suspect that anyone who hangs around Cosmic Crater will spend plenty of time watching ST: Any Incarnation and will be very familiar with Quark's). When they come in for a meal and don't see Ferengi serving Aldebaran Whiskey or Maraltian Seev-ale, they're going to be either confused or unhappy, and whoever owns the rights to Star Trek this week will probably feel litigious. I love the restaurant and its entire theme- the name could be an issue.
You probably wondered where I've been. Mostly cooking for Christmas, but now that we're working on piles of leftovers, I found time to get back in here and immerse myself in DisneySky...and find things to point out that bother me. You said that there would be no nativity scene in Pioneer Fields to avoid possible religious offense. I'm not going to get into the entire "keep Christ in Christmas" thing, but really, such things as the Christmas Procession that's been done in DL forever already brings the Nativity story into Disney. I'm not saying that you should transform DisneySky into Bethlehem, but I think that, if you already have a Cathedral in Pioneer Fields (Cathedral Collections) and already use it as a meet-and-greet, I think that a simple, culturally accurate Nativity scene in front of the Cathedral would not only be appropriate but appreciated.
Avengers Airspace coming within the hour...promise.

But responding to my esteemed colleague's points first. Regarding DS9, I haven't ever seen it. (We're a Doctor Who household.) If the name Quarks needs changing, offhand perhaps Quantum's could work.

The question of a nativity scene in Pioneer Fields indeed did weigh on me. It seems like a "damned if you do, damned if you don't"
scenario, sadly. Though you cite Disneyland's Christmas Procession, generally the Disney Parks seem to maintain a strenuously neutral position regarding religion. Including a cathedral in Pioneer Fields (somewhat like the chapel in DisneySea's Cape Cod area) can be read as a neutral cultural element, but I feared that staging a nativity there could potentially seem like endorsement. Happily, with live annual events, it would be easy enough add nativity scenes in the future, and on a personal level that is something I would very much enjoy.
 

D Hulk

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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AVENGERS AIRSPACE

Fly into the thrilling world of the Avengers and other superheroes in New York City


TIME: Now

Avengers Airspace highlights the modern cutting edge of technology and exploration, as seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is the only DisneySky destination that’s dedicated to a single IP. Marvel fits DisneySky’s aerial themes incredibly well; S.H.I.E.L.D.’s massive scale Helicarrier is at the forefront of flight, while heroes like Thor and Doctor Strange explore beyond the boundaries of our cosmos into a bizarre multiverse of boundless potential. All the thrills and personality of Marvel’s Avengers films can be found in Avengers Airspace!

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Avengers Airspace uses a very different design philosophy than Disney’s Avengers Campus concept. While those lands are set in their parks’ real world locations and have a shared backstory, Avengers Airspace envelops guests in the world of New York city as seen in the MCU. To avoid any logical issues, this land isn’t technically set in the MCU, but rather in a parallel universe known as Earth-2719 - named for Disney Studios’ original Hyperion street address. In this timeline, S.K.Y. and S.H.I.E.L.D. coexist; William Diesel and Howard Stark shared inventions. The offerings of Avengers Airspace complement the Marvel attractions coming to Disney California Adventure (based on information available), highlighting different heroes and different experiences.

Guests get to live out all their superhero dreams in Avengers Airspace! They can interact with an ever-expanding, ever-rotating roster of heroes, or train to become a hero themselves. They can ride the Bifrost and explore Thor’s Nine Realms, or encounter strange paranormal worlds with Doctor Strange. Or guests can enjoy the ultimate adventure and fight alongside all the Avengers in battle against Thanos, with Infinity Stones transporting them throughout known existence. In Avengers Airspace, the very nature of reality collapses and endless possibilities await!



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Attractions: 88. Avengers: Infinity Gauntlet, 89. Thor: Beyond the Bifrost, 90. Doctor Strange in the Sanctum of Insanity, 91. Hulk Speak: A Group Experiment, 92. Superhero Tryouts, 93. The Core, 94. DisneySky JetRail
Dining: 95. Shawarma Palace, 96. Murph's Bodega, 97. Famous Beta Ray's Original Pizza, 98. Midgard Grub, 99. Super Dogs, 100. Capsicles, 101. S.H.I.E.L.D. Galley, 102. Club 133
Retail: 103: Avengers Academy Boytique, 104. Helicarrier Munitions, 105. Damage Control Storehouse, 106. Odin's Vault, 107. Super Soldier Superstore, 108. Kirby Newsstand, 109. Ditko's



Land Layout & Details

Avengers Airspace is divided into two main sections: a Manhattan neighborhood known as Goodman Park, and Helicarrier No. 64 (as featured in The Avengers) docked in the harbor.

Avengers Airspace is set in contemporary New York City, which is the sort of setting which has proved difficult to do in a theme park. It is harder to make contemporary places romanticized, immersive or transporting. Our solution (hopefully somewhat successful) is to really emphasize the MCU elements, from Avenger murals to damage from the Battle of New York. The urban environment is realized with prominent forced perspective, with similar strategies as Tokyo DisneySea’s New York-set American Waterfront. This should create a believable unreality which makes Avengers Airspace feel decidedly different from the real New York City.


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There are two MCU timelines featured in Avengers Airspace...of course allowing for some flexibility (especially in meet ‘n’ greets) as the MCU continually changes. The Helicarrier deck is set during Phase Two, after The Avengers and before Age of Ultron...but with some interference from the Time Stone. The urban Goodman Park city area is set during Phase Three, in the time after Spider-Man Homecoming but before Thor Ragnarok, a time when Asgard still exists and when newer heroes such as Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Ant-Man and Black Panther are well established.

The various MCU soundtracks provide suitably bombastic land music.




Let’s begin our tour of Avengers Airspace from Runway One’s Mercury Circle. Land entry is through a replica of Greenwich Village’s Washington Square Park arch. This marble Roman triumphal arch thematically ties the modern superheroes back to the heroes of ancient myth. Far away, Helicarrier No. 64 rests moored in the waters of Langley Lagoon. Using this craft to obscure viewpoints, we can build tiny forced perspective New York skyscrapers along the park’s far berm (with the modern buildings of Anaheim visible behind them) and adequately simulate an expansive cityscape.

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Goodman Park

The Goodman Park urban area is a hybrid of several New York neighborhoods. The waterfront area is modeled after Battery Park, while the surrounding streets take after Greenwich Village. This section is laid out somewhat like New Orleans Square or American Waterfront with two interlocking streets (like two hands hooking together) where tight corners and other tricks make the city feel far larger than it really is.

Utmost attention is given to making the cityscape believable. Textured asphalt roadways and concrete sidewalks are aged with weather stains. Steam wafts from rain gutters and from manholes topped with the Avengers’ iconic “A.” There are street lamps, parking meters, leaking fire hydrants (which in the summertime tend to spray water as a cooling element), and even interactive coin-op Daily Bugle newspaper boxes. An artist’s easel along the Battery Park waterfront shows a watercolor painting of distant Mt. Helios, jokingly done to recall the famous New Yorker cover of the United States as seen from New York City. A second nearby easel shows a half-finished pencil sketch of Helicarrier 64 and the skyline.


AA4.jpg


Immediately to the right upon entry is a decommissioned 1920s power plant. This is home to The Core, a “black box” flex space designed for temporary attractions, particularly attractions which capitalize upon the ever-changing MCU. Just beyond that is Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum, home to a mind-bending Vekoma Mad House known as Doctor Strange in the Sanctum of Insanity.

The roadways split at the Sanctum’s corner: Waterfront Way continues along the lagoon edge while Bleecker Street heads right into the city. Bleecker Street deadends shortly in a gigantic Art Nouveau wooden gate (an eventual expansion pad entry point), with maple-lined 6th Avenue continuing to the left. A second floor Gothic skybridge spans the road. The crossroads area near Bleecker includes the Ditko’s caricature artist and the Super Dogs hotdog cart. A fading mural advertising the 2010 Stark Expo covers the brick wall across from 177A Bleecker. Langley Lagoon’s waters include a copy of Greenwich’s Washington Square Fountain, which will serve as a “weenie” when seen from the expansion pad gates.

AA5.jpg


Murph’s Bodega on the corner of 6th and Bleecker is a classic New York style delicatessen. Next door is Famous Beta Ray’s Original Pizza, which shares dining space with Murph’s in the form of a converted glass-covered alleyway. Across the street is Shawarma Palace, a Mediterranean takeout eatery made famous by the Avengers’ patronage. Shawarma Palace takes up the eastern half of this block, except for one corner which hides the secret entrance to Club 133, a private members only club located in the city’s upper levels. The block’s western half is dominated by the massive Super Soldier Superstore emporium, accessible from both 6th and Waterfront. The waterfront exterior features Kirby Newsstand, a kiosk carrying genuine and up-to-date Marvel Comics.


AA6.jpg


Details large and small bring life to the city along 6th Avenue. There is a parked Lucky Star Cab Co. taxicab, familiar from The First Avenger. On the far end of 6th Ave., a metro entrance leads below street level; occasionally nearby grates shake with the sounds of speeding subway trains below. Tenement walls feature murals, including one for Broadway’s Lion King. More ads appear on rooftop forced perspective billboards, celebrating Marvel companies like Roxxon Oil Corporation, Stark Industries, and Vistacorp. A rooftop water tower advertises Pingo Dolce, the green Brazilian guarana soda from The Incredible Hulk. Rooftops even include pigeon coops, populated with cooing noises. Metal fire escape ladders line the apartment facades; one is covered in Spider-Man’s web slinger residue. An upstairs window stencil advertises the Law Firm of Nelson & Murdock.

As with every town in DisneySky, false facades everywhere feature additional storefronts and details. On Bleecker street, a sleek golden plaque points out the Wakandan Embassy, which bears posters for King T’Challa’s Wakanda-Harlem Outreach Center. The Sokovian flag flaps from a nearby embassy. All along 6th Ave. and Waterfront Way are inaccesible shops such as a dentist, florist, bail bonds, a karate school (with Shang-Chi reference), a laundromat, a pharmacy, and the below grade “Comedy Realm” comedy club. A travel agency highlights familiar Marvel destinations: Wakanda, famed for its “textiles and agriculture,” “lovely” Sokovia, “mystic” Kathmandu, “orderly” Latvia. Like the Imagineer credits on Main Street, Greenwich’s high-toned stoop apartment mailboxes list names of famous Marvel Comics artists.


AA7.jpg


Both 6th Ave. and Waterfront Way end in Goodman Plaza, famed for its Museum of Norse History. The museum contains Thor: Beyond the Bifrost, a water dark ride E-ticket done on a mighty scale. Odin’s Vault is a post-ride gift shop selling Asgardian-themed goods. Midgard Grub is a snack window in a Grand Central Terminal building to the left. Like New York’s elevated trains, the DisneySky JetRail sails overhead and vanishes into a soot-stained tunnel. In front of the Norse museum, at the center of a smoking crater in the asphalt, lies Thor’s hammer Mjolnir. Like Exalibur in Disneyland’s Fantasyland, this cannot be lifted, though guests are invited to pass through the police barrier tape and attempt this feat.

At the front of Goodman Plaza, set off against the nearby Helicarrier, is a bronze statue fountain depicting the original six Avengers - Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye. They stand back-to-back in battle, like the famous moment in 2012’s The Avengers. A plaque dedicates this monument “to the victims of the Battle of New York.” Nearby graffiti features messages like “Thk U Avengers!” Indeed, the surrounding buildings all bear scars from this deadly alien invasion. Some damage is now under scaffolding being repaired, according to signage “courtesy of Damage Control.”




The journey through Avengers Airspace continues tomorrow as we board Helicarrier No. 64.
 
Last edited:

Outbound

Well-Known Member
enhance


AVENGERS AIRSPACE

Fly into the thrilling world of the Avengers and other superheroes in New York City


TIME: Now

Avengers Airspace highlights the modern cutting edge of technology and exploration, as seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is the only DisneySky destination that’s dedicated to a single IP. Marvel fits DisneySky’s aerial themes incredibly well; S.H.I.E.L.D.’s massive scale Helicarrier is at the forefront of flight, while heroes like Thor and Doctor Strange explore beyond the boundaries of our cosmos into a bizarre multiverse of boundless potential. All the thrills and personality of Marvel’s Avengers films can be found in Avengers Airspace!

enhance


Avengers Airspace uses a very different design philosophy than Disney’s Avengers Campus concept. While those lands are set in their parks’ real world locations and have a shared backstory, Avengers Airspace envelops guests in the world of New York city as seen in the MCU. To avoid any logical issues, this land isn’t technically set in the MCU, but rather in a parallel universe known as Earth-2719 - named for Disney Studios’ original Hyperion street address. In this timeline, S.K.Y. and S.H.I.E.L.D. coexist; William Diesel and Howard Stark shared inventions. The offerings of Avengers Airspace complement the Marvel attractions coming to Disney California Adventure (based on information available), highlighting different heroes and different experiences.

Guests get to live out all their superhero dreams in Avengers Airspace! They can interact with an ever-expanding, ever-rotating roster of heroes, or train to become a hero themselves. They can ride the Bifrost and explore Thor’s Nine Realms, or encounter strange paranormal worlds with Doctor Strange. Or guests can enjoy the ultimate adventure and fight alongside all the Avengers in battle against Thanos, with Infinity Stones transporting them throughout known existence. In Avengers Airspace, the very nature of reality collapses and endless possibilities await!



enhance

Attractions: 88. Avengers: Infinity Gauntlet, 89. Thor: Beyond the Bifrost, 90. Doctor Strange in the Sanctum of Insanity, 91. Hulk Speak: A Group Experiment, 92. Superhero Tryouts, 93. The Core, 94. DisneySky JetRail
Dining: 95. Shawarma Palace, 96. Murph's Bodega, 97. Famous Beta Ray's Original Pizza, 98. Midgard Grub, 99. Super Dogs, 100. Capsicles, 101. S.H.I.E.L.D. Galley, 102. Club 133
Retail: 103: Avengers Academy Boytique, 104. Helicarrier Munitions, 105. Damage Control Storehouse, 106. Odin's Vault, 107. Super Soldier Superstore, 108. Kirby Newsstand, 109. Ditko's



Land Layout & Details

Avengers Airspace is divided into two main sections: a Manhattan neighborhood known as Goodman Park, and Helicarrier No. 64 (as featured in The Avengers) docked in the harbor.

Avengers Airspace is set in contemporary New York City, which is the sort of setting which has proved difficult to do in a theme park. It is harder to make contemporary places romanticized, immersive or transporting. Our solution (hopefully somewhat successful) is to really emphasize the MCU elements, from Avenger murals to damage from the Battle of New York. The urban environment is realized with prominent forced perspective, with similar strategies as Tokyo DisneySea’s New York-set American Waterfront. This should create a believable unreality which makes Avengers Airspace feel decidedly different from the real New York City.

enhance


There are two MCU timelines featured in Avengers Airspace...of course allowing for some flexibility (especially in meet ‘n’ greets) as the MCU continually changes. The Helicarrier deck is set during Phase Two, after The Avengers and before Age of Ultron...but with some interference from the Time Stone. The urban Goodman Park city area is set during Phase Three, in the time after Spider-Man Homecoming but before Thor Ragnarok, a time when Asgard still exists and when newer heroes such as Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Ant-Man and Black Panther are well established.

The various MCU soundtracks provide suitably bombastic land music.




Let’s begin our tour of Avengers Airspace from Runway One’s Mercury Circle. Land entry is through a replica of Greenwich Village’s Washington Square Park arch. This marble Roman triumphal arch thematically ties the modern superheroes back to the heroes of ancient myth. Far away, Helicarrier No. 64 rests moored in the waters of Langley Lagoon. Using this craft to obscure viewpoints, we can build tiny forced perspective New York skyscrapers along the park’s far berm (with the modern buildings of Anaheim visible behind them) and adequately simulate an expansive cityscape.

enhance

Goodman Park

The Goodman Park urban area is a hybrid of several New York neighborhoods. The waterfront area is modeled after Battery Park, while the surrounding streets take after Greenwich Village. This section is laid out somewhat like New Orleans Square or American Waterfront with two interlocking streets (like two hands hooking together) where tight corners and other tricks make the city feel far larger than it really is.

Utmost attention is given to making the cityscape believable. Textured asphalt roadways and concrete sidewalks are aged with weather stains. Steam wafts from rain gutters and from manholes topped with the Avengers’ iconic “A.” There are street lamps, parking meters, leaking fire hydrants (which in the summertime tend to spray water as a cooling element), and even interactive coin-op Daily Bugle newspaper boxes. An artist’s easel along the Battery Park waterfront shows a watercolor painting of distant Mt. Helios, jokingly done to recall the famous New Yorker cover of the United States as seen from New York City. A second nearby easel shows a half-finished pencil sketch of Helicarrier 64 and the skyline.

enhance


Immediately to the right upon entry is a decommissioned 1920s power plant. This is home to The Core, a “black box” flex space designed for temporary attractions, particularly attractions which capitalize upon the ever-changing MCU. Just beyond that is Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum, home to a mind-bending Vekoma Mad House known as Doctor Strange in the Sanctum of Insanity.

The roadways split at the Sanctum’s corner: Waterfront Way continues along the lagoon edge while Bleecker Street heads right into the city. Bleecker Street deadends shortly in a gigantic Art Nouveau wooden gate (an eventual expansion pad entry point), with maple-lined 6th Avenue continuing to the left. A second floor Gothic skybridge spans the road. The crossroads area near Bleecker includes the Ditko’s caricature artist and the Super Dogs hotdog cart. A fading mural advertising the 2010 Stark Expo covers the brick wall across from 177A Bleecker. Langley Lagoon’s waters include a copy of Greenwich’s Washington Square Fountain, which will serve as a “weenie” when seen from the expansion pad gates.

enhance

Murph’s Bodega on the corner of 6th and Bleecker is a classic New York style delicatessen. Next door is Famous Beta Ray’s Original Pizza, which shares dining space with Murph’s in the form of a converted glass-covered alleyway. Across the street is Shawarma Palace, a Mediterranean takeout eatery made famous by the Avengers’ patronage. Shawarma Palace takes up the eastern half of this block, except for one corner which hides the secret entrance to Club 133, a private members only club located in the city’s upper levels. The block’s western half is dominated by the massive Super Soldier Superstore emporium, accessible from both 6th and Waterfront. The waterfront exterior features Kirby Newsstand, a kiosk carrying genuine and up-to-date Marvel Comics.

enhance


Details large and small bring life to the city along 6th Avenue. There is a parked Lucky Star Cab Co. taxicab, familiar from The First Avenger. On the far end of 6th Ave., a metro entrance leads below street level; occasionally nearby grates shake with the sounds of speeding subway trains below. Tenement walls feature murals, including one for Broadway’s Lion King. More ads appear on rooftop forced perspective billboards, celebrating Marvel companies like Roxxon Oil Corporation, Stark Industries, and Vistacorp. A rooftop water tower advertises Pingo Dolce, the green Brazilian guarana soda from The Incredible Hulk. Rooftops even include pigeon coops, populated with cooing noises. Metal fire escape ladders line the apartment facades; one is covered in Spider-Man’s web slinger residue. An upstairs window stencil advertises the Law Firm of Nelson & Murdock.

As with every town in DisneySky, false facades everywhere feature additional storefronts and details. On Bleecker street, a sleek golden plaque points out the Wakandan Embassy, which bears posters for King T’Challa’s Wakanda-Harlem Outreach Center. The Sokovian flag flaps from a nearby embassy. All along 6th Ave. and Waterfront Way are inaccesible shops such as a dentist, florist, bail bonds, a karate school (with Shang-Chi reference), a laundromat, a pharmacy, and the below grade “Comedy Realm” comedy club. A travel agency highlights familiar Marvel destinations: Wakanda, famed for its “textiles and agriculture,” “lovely” Sokovia, “mystic” Kathmandu, “orderly” Latvia. Like the Imagineer credits on Main Street, Greenwich’s high-toned stoop apartment mailboxes list names of famous Marvel Comics artists.

enhance


Both 6th Ave. and Waterfront Way end in Goodman Plaza, famed for its Museum of Norse History. The museum contains Thor: Beyond the Bifrost, a water dark ride E-ticket done on a mighty scale. Odin’s Vault is a post-ride gift shop selling Asgardian-themed goods. Midgard Grub is a snack window in a Grand Central Terminal building to the left. Like New York’s elevated trains, the DisneySky JetRail sails overhead and vanishes into a soot-stained tunnel. In front of the Norse museum, at the center of a smoking crater in the asphalt, lies Thor’s hammer Mjolnir. Like Exalibur in Disneyland’s Fantasyland, this cannot be lifted, though guests are invited to pass through the police barrier tape and attempt this feat.

At the front of Goodman Plaza, set off against the nearby Helicarrier, is a bronze statue fountain depicting the original six Avengers - Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye. They stand back-to-back in battle, like the famous moment in 2012’s The Avengers. A plaque dedicates this monument “to the victims of the Battle of New York.” Nearby graffiti features messages like “Thk U Avengers!” Indeed, the surrounding buildings all bear scars from this deadly alien invasion. Some damage is now under scaffolding being repaired, according to signage “courtesy of Damage Control.”




The journey through Avengers Airspace continues tomorrow as we board Helicarrier No. 64.

So when is Avengers Airspace?
 

Pi on my Cake

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
Avengers Airspace coming within the hour...promise.

But responding to my esteemed colleague's points first. Regarding DS9, I haven't ever seen it. (We're a Doctor Who household.) If the name Quarks needs changing, offhand perhaps Quantum's could work.

The question of a nativity scene in Pioneer Fields indeed did weigh on me. It seems like a "damned if you do, damned if you don't"
scenario, sadly. Though you cite Disneyland's Christmas Procession, generally the Disney Parks seem to maintain a strenuously neutral position regarding religion. Including a cathedral in Pioneer Fields (somewhat like the chapel in DisneySea's Cape Cod area) can be read as a neutral cultural element, but I feared that staging a nativity there could potentially seem like endorsement. Happily, with live annual events, it would be easy enough add nativity scenes in the future, and on a personal level that is something I would very much enjoy.
Just as a "for the record" to throw out there (not that it really matters either way), but Hollywood Studios had a Nativity as a feature of the Osborne Spectacle of Lights along with angels and a globe with Bethlehem marked on it. So, there's precedent for Disney including those elements without focusing on them or becoming overtly religious. (And a few Hanukkah and Jewish symbols were in other parts of the display as well).
1609106529722.png


enhance


AVENGERS AIRSPACE

Fly into the thrilling world of the Avengers and other superheroes in New York City


TIME: Now

Avengers Airspace highlights the modern cutting edge of technology and exploration, as seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is the only DisneySky destination that’s dedicated to a single IP. Marvel fits DisneySky’s aerial themes incredibly well; S.H.I.E.L.D.’s massive scale Helicarrier is at the forefront of flight, while heroes like Thor and Doctor Strange explore beyond the boundaries of our cosmos into a bizarre multiverse of boundless potential. All the thrills and personality of Marvel’s Avengers films can be found in Avengers Airspace!

enhance


Avengers Airspace uses a very different design philosophy than Disney’s Avengers Campus concept. While those lands are set in their parks’ real world locations and have a shared backstory, Avengers Airspace envelops guests in the world of New York city as seen in the MCU. To avoid any logical issues, this land isn’t technically set in the MCU, but rather in a parallel universe known as Earth-2719 - named for Disney Studios’ original Hyperion street address. In this timeline, S.K.Y. and S.H.I.E.L.D. coexist; William Diesel and Howard Stark shared inventions. The offerings of Avengers Airspace complement the Marvel attractions coming to Disney California Adventure (based on information available), highlighting different heroes and different experiences.

Guests get to live out all their superhero dreams in Avengers Airspace! They can interact with an ever-expanding, ever-rotating roster of heroes, or train to become a hero themselves. They can ride the Bifrost and explore Thor’s Nine Realms, or encounter strange paranormal worlds with Doctor Strange. Or guests can enjoy the ultimate adventure and fight alongside all the Avengers in battle against Thanos, with Infinity Stones transporting them throughout known existence. In Avengers Airspace, the very nature of reality collapses and endless possibilities await!



enhance

Attractions: 88. Avengers: Infinity Gauntlet, 89. Thor: Beyond the Bifrost, 90. Doctor Strange in the Sanctum of Insanity, 91. Hulk Speak: A Group Experiment, 92. Superhero Tryouts, 93. The Core, 94. DisneySky JetRail
Dining: 95. Shawarma Palace, 96. Murph's Bodega, 97. Famous Beta Ray's Original Pizza, 98. Midgard Grub, 99. Super Dogs, 100. Capsicles, 101. S.H.I.E.L.D. Galley, 102. Club 133
Retail: 103: Avengers Academy Boytique, 104. Helicarrier Munitions, 105. Damage Control Storehouse, 106. Odin's Vault, 107. Super Soldier Superstore, 108. Kirby Newsstand, 109. Ditko's



Land Layout & Details

Avengers Airspace is divided into two main sections: a Manhattan neighborhood known as Goodman Park, and Helicarrier No. 64 (as featured in The Avengers) docked in the harbor.

Avengers Airspace is set in contemporary New York City, which is the sort of setting which has proved difficult to do in a theme park. It is harder to make contemporary places romanticized, immersive or transporting. Our solution (hopefully somewhat successful) is to really emphasize the MCU elements, from Avenger murals to damage from the Battle of New York. The urban environment is realized with prominent forced perspective, with similar strategies as Tokyo DisneySea’s New York-set American Waterfront. This should create a believable unreality which makes Avengers Airspace feel decidedly different from the real New York City.

enhance


There are two MCU timelines featured in Avengers Airspace...of course allowing for some flexibility (especially in meet ‘n’ greets) as the MCU continually changes. The Helicarrier deck is set during Phase Two, after The Avengers and before Age of Ultron...but with some interference from the Time Stone. The urban Goodman Park city area is set during Phase Three, in the time after Spider-Man Homecoming but before Thor Ragnarok, a time when Asgard still exists and when newer heroes such as Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Ant-Man and Black Panther are well established.

The various MCU soundtracks provide suitably bombastic land music.




Let’s begin our tour of Avengers Airspace from Runway One’s Mercury Circle. Land entry is through a replica of Greenwich Village’s Washington Square Park arch. This marble Roman triumphal arch thematically ties the modern superheroes back to the heroes of ancient myth. Far away, Helicarrier No. 64 rests moored in the waters of Langley Lagoon. Using this craft to obscure viewpoints, we can build tiny forced perspective New York skyscrapers along the park’s far berm (with the modern buildings of Anaheim visible behind them) and adequately simulate an expansive cityscape.

enhance

Goodman Park

The Goodman Park urban area is a hybrid of several New York neighborhoods. The waterfront area is modeled after Battery Park, while the surrounding streets take after Greenwich Village. This section is laid out somewhat like New Orleans Square or American Waterfront with two interlocking streets (like two hands hooking together) where tight corners and other tricks make the city feel far larger than it really is.

Utmost attention is given to making the cityscape believable. Textured asphalt roadways and concrete sidewalks are aged with weather stains. Steam wafts from rain gutters and from manholes topped with the Avengers’ iconic “A.” There are street lamps, parking meters, leaking fire hydrants (which in the summertime tend to spray water as a cooling element), and even interactive coin-op Daily Bugle newspaper boxes. An artist’s easel along the Battery Park waterfront shows a watercolor painting of distant Mt. Helios, jokingly done to recall the famous New Yorker cover of the United States as seen from New York City. A second nearby easel shows a half-finished pencil sketch of Helicarrier 64 and the skyline.

enhance


Immediately to the right upon entry is a decommissioned 1920s power plant. This is home to The Core, a “black box” flex space designed for temporary attractions, particularly attractions which capitalize upon the ever-changing MCU. Just beyond that is Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum, home to a mind-bending Vekoma Mad House known as Doctor Strange in the Sanctum of Insanity.

The roadways split at the Sanctum’s corner: Waterfront Way continues along the lagoon edge while Bleecker Street heads right into the city. Bleecker Street deadends shortly in a gigantic Art Nouveau wooden gate (an eventual expansion pad entry point), with maple-lined 6th Avenue continuing to the left. A second floor Gothic skybridge spans the road. The crossroads area near Bleecker includes the Ditko’s caricature artist and the Super Dogs hotdog cart. A fading mural advertising the 2010 Stark Expo covers the brick wall across from 177A Bleecker. Langley Lagoon’s waters include a copy of Greenwich’s Washington Square Fountain, which will serve as a “weenie” when seen from the expansion pad gates.

enhance

Murph’s Bodega on the corner of 6th and Bleecker is a classic New York style delicatessen. Next door is Famous Beta Ray’s Original Pizza, which shares dining space with Murph’s in the form of a converted glass-covered alleyway. Across the street is Shawarma Palace, a Mediterranean takeout eatery made famous by the Avengers’ patronage. Shawarma Palace takes up the eastern half of this block, except for one corner which hides the secret entrance to Club 133, a private members only club located in the city’s upper levels. The block’s western half is dominated by the massive Super Soldier Superstore emporium, accessible from both 6th and Waterfront. The waterfront exterior features Kirby Newsstand, a kiosk carrying genuine and up-to-date Marvel Comics.

enhance


Details large and small bring life to the city along 6th Avenue. There is a parked Lucky Star Cab Co. taxicab, familiar from The First Avenger. On the far end of 6th Ave., a metro entrance leads below street level; occasionally nearby grates shake with the sounds of speeding subway trains below. Tenement walls feature murals, including one for Broadway’s Lion King. More ads appear on rooftop forced perspective billboards, celebrating Marvel companies like Roxxon Oil Corporation, Stark Industries, and Vistacorp. A rooftop water tower advertises Pingo Dolce, the green Brazilian guarana soda from The Incredible Hulk. Rooftops even include pigeon coops, populated with cooing noises. Metal fire escape ladders line the apartment facades; one is covered in Spider-Man’s web slinger residue. An upstairs window stencil advertises the Law Firm of Nelson & Murdock.

As with every town in DisneySky, false facades everywhere feature additional storefronts and details. On Bleecker street, a sleek golden plaque points out the Wakandan Embassy, which bears posters for King T’Challa’s Wakanda-Harlem Outreach Center. The Sokovian flag flaps from a nearby embassy. All along 6th Ave. and Waterfront Way are inaccesible shops such as a dentist, florist, bail bonds, a karate school (with Shang-Chi reference), a laundromat, a pharmacy, and the below grade “Comedy Realm” comedy club. A travel agency highlights familiar Marvel destinations: Wakanda, famed for its “textiles and agriculture,” “lovely” Sokovia, “mystic” Kathmandu, “orderly” Latvia. Like the Imagineer credits on Main Street, Greenwich’s high-toned stoop apartment mailboxes list names of famous Marvel Comics artists.

enhance


Both 6th Ave. and Waterfront Way end in Goodman Plaza, famed for its Museum of Norse History. The museum contains Thor: Beyond the Bifrost, a water dark ride E-ticket done on a mighty scale. Odin’s Vault is a post-ride gift shop selling Asgardian-themed goods. Midgard Grub is a snack window in a Grand Central Terminal building to the left. Like New York’s elevated trains, the DisneySky JetRail sails overhead and vanishes into a soot-stained tunnel. In front of the Norse museum, at the center of a smoking crater in the asphalt, lies Thor’s hammer Mjolnir. Like Exalibur in Disneyland’s Fantasyland, this cannot be lifted, though guests are invited to pass through the police barrier tape and attempt this feat.

At the front of Goodman Plaza, set off against the nearby Helicarrier, is a bronze statue fountain depicting the original six Avengers - Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye. They stand back-to-back in battle, like the famous moment in 2012’s The Avengers. A plaque dedicates this monument “to the victims of the Battle of New York.” Nearby graffiti features messages like “Thk U Avengers!” Indeed, the surrounding buildings all bear scars from this deadly alien invasion. Some damage is now under scaffolding being repaired, according to signage “courtesy of Damage Control.”




The journey through Avengers Airspace continues tomorrow as we board Helicarrier No. 64.

Fantastic take on a Marvel Land with a really fresh and dynamic feeling to it!
 

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