Guests exploring Disneyland’s New Orleans Square would barely realize that there is a private lounge hidden away in the land’s upper floors. Club 33 has been entertaining VIPs and Disney dignitaries with utmost exclusivity and elegance since 1967. Newer lounges have emerged throughout the Disney Parks universe, from Carthay Circle’s 1901 Lounge in California Adventure, to Shanghai, Tokyo, and recently Walt Disney World. DisneySky’s inclusion into this illustrious roster is Club 133.
Much like Club 33, DisneySky’s private club takes its name from its street address: 133-A Bleecker Street. The club’s secret private entrance door is hidden on the corner of Bleecker and 6th Avenue, in a Bayard-Condict Building facade. Membership cards are scanned for entry with reservation. The dress code is strictly black tie. Cast members are similarly festooned to maintain the proper high-end decorum.
Club 133 spans much of the second floor space throughout Avengers Airspace’s Goodman Park, including the area over Shawarma Palace and across the street above Murph’s Bodega. Connecting these two sections is a replica of Tribeca’s celebrated Staple Street Skybridge.
The entrance lobby on the ground floor channels the spirit of New York City’s turn-of-the-century private clubs. Dark hardwood floors are framed by tile boundaries. A genuine, functioning fireplace crackles, with a stately fine art oil painting of Mt. Helios upon its mantle. Check-in occurs at an extravagant, hand-carved mahogany desk. A similar hand-carved staircase leads to the second level, which is also accessed by a Tiffany glass elevator which is functionally modern but styled after early 19th-century models.
The Old World historic New York City vibe continues effortlessly into the Union Hall main dining room upstairs. This is themed to be the converted loft space of a former print factory, reflecting some of New York’s more recent gentrification. Among the faded brick walls and exposed rafters, new top-quality decor such as Oriental carpets and overstuffed oak chairs add the right degree of understated class. Generally the furnishings and Disney props seen here are an extension of those seen in Club 33. Tiffany lamps overhead provide soft lighting. A stage serves for a rotating roster of live musical performances, typically either blues or jazz.
Union Hall’s bar is made from a converted 19th-century wooden sailing ship, complete with bowsprit and pulpit. Bartenders prepare New York-style cocktails from an extensive liquor cabinet. The bar also features a carefully curated wine list. There is a nearby walk-in wine cellar where truly top-tier VIPs are permitted to house their preferred private labels.
Meals come included with the fixed cost of a Club 133 reservation, which naturally is paid in addition to the annual membership fees which come standard with these Disney Park lounges. The club’s chefs prepare at their discretion a rotating multi-course prix fixe tasting menu, presented in the classic New York culinary style.
Located across the skybridge on the other side of 6th Avenue, Excelsior Hall serves as Club 133’s secondary dining room. In contrast to the woodsy, masculine charm of Union Hall, Excelsior Hall provides a softer, more feminine dining setting. There are white-pink tablecloths, crystal chandeliers, and marble columns along the edges. DisneySea’s S.S. Columbia Dining Room is perhaps the publicly-accessible Disney space which is most similar in design.
Back on the other side and directly over the entry lobby, Club 133 houses the Hellfire Club cigar room. Between this and Excelsior Hall, there is a low-key and unobtrusive Marvel motif going on, which is never ever overbearing for guests. Hellfire Club continues Union Hall’s vintage New York club style, with a private den charm. A functional fireplace shares its chimney with the lobby below. There are vast bookcases housing real books (philosophical and literary classics spanning the Great Books of Western Civilization). A genuine antique wooden globe serves as the centerpiece.
Private restrooms adjacent to Union Hall persist with the New York club ambiance. The floors are finely tiled, the walls are sheathed in marble, and the sinks feature elaborate turn-of-the-century plumbing fixtures. Framed artwork consists of original Disney concept art, particularly DisneySky designs but with more pieces ranging from other theme parks to films.
Operated by the Club 133 staff, but technically a separate experience, is The Knickerbocker Suite, an in-park private apartment. This super-secret suite is located over a portion of the Super Soldier Superstore floor plan. It is accessed by a narrow staircase hallway along Waterfront Way. The apartment interior is decorated like a turn-of-the-century Robber Baron’s flat. Windows offer unobstructed views of Mt. Helios, Langley Lagoon, and the general commotion of DisneySky’s guests unawares below. The Knickerbocker Suite may be reserved on a nightly basis by Club 133 VIPs. Alternatively, when the suite is available it may be gifted to one lucky family at morning’s rope drop, much like Magic Kingdom’s Cinderella Castle Suite.
A superhero-themed family boutique for boys and girls
Starting now on the Liberty Isle side of Avengers Airspace and continuing northwards towards Goodman Park, let’s explore the land’s retail options...
Avengers Academy Boytique is the main anchor feature of Liberty Isle...for now at least, before park expansion. This is the superheroic answer to Disneyland’s Bippity Boppity Boutique. It too is a costume salon experience for younger guests, however one with a more boy-centric mission statement. Fewer princesses, more super soldiers! Though of course the so-called “Boytique” is gender-inclusive, offering child guests a full assortment of Marvel heroes & heroines to choose from regardless.
The Boytique’s facade resembles the Avenger’s curving, ultra-modern headquarters in Upstate New York...as seen beginning in Age of Ultron and onwards until (at least!) Avengers Endgame. A blue, circular Avengers logo features prominently. The DisneySky JetRail’s route meanders directly in front, which can create fantastically photogenic moments. The salon interior keeps that same high-tech, minimalist MCU aesthetic. Floors and ceilings made of opaque frosted plexiglass hide colorful arc reactor light shows.
Families with reservation appointments may wait while seated on modern Swedish furniture in various alcoves. Each alcove features a digital display wall where our guests may select their preferred costume. There are dozens of options to choose from, from MCU stalwarts like Captain America all the way up to select Marvel Comics characters who haven’t yet appeared on the big screen. This selection process is reminiscent of Tony Stark’s Iron Spider presentation to Peter Parker at the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming.
When the thrilling moment comes, S.H.I.E.L.D.-clad cast members usher their young guests to private stalls behind curtains for the costuming process. The Bippity Boppity Boutique format is duplicated rather slavishly here. A simple immersive show makes the event special. Seated guests face a metal bay door ahead, which opens to reveal a floor-to-ceiling mirror. Using Stark Tech imaging, the mirror reveals to our child guests how they would appear dressed as a superhero. This is actually a simple one-way mirror effect, like Haunted Mansion’s Hitchhiking Ghosts, done with a turntable of mounted Marvel costumes on the other side. With the preamble out of the way, the costuming begins!
Heroically-clad guests exploring DisneySky will be treated with great enthusiasm by cast members. This goes double in Avengers Airspace, where cast members engage in playful “live action role playing” dialogue as though guests are real superheroes. This will truly complete guests’ Marvel experience!
Helicarrier Munitions Wagon cart
Wagon offering hairbands, sun protectors, and light-up items
The lower decks of Helicarrier no. 64 are a potentially sparse setting. Livening up this spartan space is Helicarrier Munitions, an outdoors merchandise wagon erected circling an F-35 Lightning II - a real world fighter jet which featured prominently in the original Avengers. This jet comes equipped with Stark A.I.; Tony’s automated voice occasionally blares from speakers to entice passersby.
Ammo cans and airplane staircases serve as shelving for merchandise, arranged under the jet’s wings and fuselage. Helicarrier Munitions is a very simple shop, specializing in impulse items meant to complement nearby lagoon shows.
Damage Control Storehouse Post-ride shop
Merchandise and apparel themed to the Avengers
The post-ride exits for Avengers: Infinity Gauntlet lead guests to the Helicarrier’s cargo warehouse, which is now under the command of Damage Control. The storehouse is accessible from the Helicarrier’s upper decks as well, located beneath the command tower.
Marvel Comics fans will know Damage Control as a construction company which responds to destructive superhero incidents. In the MCU, they appear as the D.O.D.C. This smallish shop is their response to the ride’s destructive events. Debris sits swept behind “temporary” chain link fences. A massive, damaged turbine in the center - wedged at an angle through the ceiling - releases sparks and steam. Wrecked vehicles are stacked around it. Guests can hear unseen Damage Control workers fixing the grounded Helicarrier’s damage, welding and hammering.
Cleanup shelves feature confiscated goods for sale, mostly a reduced assortment of the same goods we will see in Super Soldier Superstore. Checkout occurs at sleek metal counters which look like shrunken down versions of the Helicarrier.
Odin’s Vault Post-ride shop
Asgardian apparel and more
A similar post-ride shop awaits riders exiting Thor: Beyond the Bifrost. Passage from the Museum of Norse History deposits them into Odin’s Vault. Seen from outside, it occupies a street corner to the right of the Museum’s grand staircase. The outer structure resembles New York’s Lenox Library, a Gilded Age 1870 design which predates the Main Branch which inspires the main museum facade. A window display featured a scale model of the MCU’s Asgard, with its fiber-optic blinking minarets and animated outer space waterfalls.
Seen from inside, the shop is a drastically scaled-down replica of New York Public Library Main Branch’s famous reading room. Viking details add originality. The bookshelves along the exterior exclusively feature dusty old Norse Edda tomes. Arched stained glass windows depict the Norse gods of Asgard; these artistic designs are actually copies of vintage “Thor” comic covers. A ceiling mural depicts the Bifrost and Rainbow Bridge. A scaled-down version of Odin’s throne in the far corner serves as a photo-op location...sometimes the walkaround Thor character will even show up! Checkout counters on an inner wall are set before a gold leaf mural of Odin and Frigga benevolently ruling Asgard.
This is not a very major shop - it’s no larger than Disneyland’s Pieces of Eight, for example - so this scant collection of details will feel sufficient. Thor-themed merchandise appears prominently, ranging from Asgardian apparel to plastic toy Mjolnirs. A penny press machine transforms your pocket change into golden Asgardian gilders.
Super Soldier Superstore is the largest store in Avengers Airspace, occupying much of Goodman Park’s main city block. It is the best place in DisneySky for finding the widest assortment of Marvel-themed items, from simple clothing to hard-to-find collectibles. The expansive footprint is extremely explorable, with its many corridors revealing new wrinkles to the Avengers’ mythos...from the offices of street level crimefighters, to hidden supercomputers, to secret super soldier labs.
There are three entrances, each resembling a common New York City storefront. But these entrances are anything but unassuming, thanks to the large neon blue-glowing “Super Soldier Superstore” marquees over each doorway, each one bearing a different mural of heroes. All three entries serve as uniquely-themed pre-store vestibules…
The 6th Avenue entry vestibule resembles a Greenwich Village hipster thrift store. The wallpaper is made of yellowed, recycled Marvel comic books. A neon sign proclaims “Merc Merch!” The decor seemingly honors every sort of American hero except superheroes, with vintage toys of spies, spacemen and cowboys.
Entering from Goodman Plaza leads guests through the noir detective offices of “Heroes for Hire,” the HQ for freelance do-gooders Luke Cage and Iron Fist. References to the Defenders are kept to a minimum, since their status in the MCU is nebulous at the moment, with framed newspaper articles and doorway stencils providing most of the placemaking.
The Waterfront Way entrance is an antique watch repair storefront similar to one seen in Captain America: The First Avenger. That store, you may recall, was merely a front. All of these are!
In the back of each entry vestibule is a secret passageway, hidden behind bookshelves and hideaway beds. Each passageway is permanently wide open, leading guests into the real shop space…
The Strategic Scientific Reserve’s Manhattan Facility!
This is an offshoot of the Brooklyn laboratory where Steve Rogers was injected with Super Soldier Serum and transformed into Captain America. This and other hidden labs were created throughout New York City (& beyond) awaiting the mass-implementation of a Super Soldier Program which never developed. Having sat hidden away for decades, this relic of bygone superscience is opened once again as a massive Avengers-themed superstore!
Vintage reel-to-reel 1940s computers line the walls. Spools actively spin. Everywhere, there are dials and blinking lights. A sunken central area includes as its centerpiece a serum-injection pod upon a gantry, illuminated by a large arched window bay. A maze of vents and piping crisscrosses the ceiling.
One large side chamber is actually the interior of a massive 1960s supercomputer, like the Zola mainframe from The Winter Soldier, only this one was meant for Howard Stark and never brought online. Discarded boxes labeled “H. Stark” hold stacks of punch cards. Here and there are brand logos like Vita-Ray or the ‘40s-era World Exposition of Tomorrow.
In another side chamber is a Smithsonian-style exhibit on Steve Rogers’ WWII heroics. This too is derived from The Winter Soldier. Costumed mannequins portray Captain America and his Howling Commandos.
Lining store shelves all throughout is a bountiful rotation of Avengers-themed items! Everything a Marvel fan could ask for is here. Some merchandise is as simple as themed clothing and costumes. There are collectible Funko figures, Marvel trading pins, and plush superhero toys. Large plexiglass cases near the supercomputer display elaborate, one-of-a-kind superhero action figures which sell for hundreds of dollars apiece. Computer workstations serve as checkout counters, mounted before a large video screen projecting “TV news footage” of the Marvel heroes in action...really repurposed MCU clips.
Kirby Newsstand Wagon cart
Wagon offering comic books, caps and more
Much like the Super Dogs food cart, Kirby Newsstand is the sort of little thing which isn’t spectacular at all on its own, but it really helps to sell the urban setting. This is a small merchandise wagon themed after a classic New York City newsstand, complete with green metal and faux beaux arts details. The wagon is plastered in Broadway musical posters (all Disney productions) and in Avengers-themed graffiti.
What really distinguishes Kirby Newsstand (named for Marvel’s Jack Kirby, incidentally) is the merchandise! First there are the functional coin-op newspaper cases nearby, which sell genuine copies of the Daily Bugle...with new editions printed monthly, these are sure to become collector items. The newsstand itself sells genuine, honest-to-Odin Marvel Comics...the ones with content deemed acceptable for inside a Disney theme park, at least. Disney synergy at its finest! In-universe within Avengers Airspace, these comics are presented as the fictional tales of the land’s real superheroes, as slices of underground fan fiction.
Ditko’s Caricature cart
Wagon offering caricatures and portraits
Paying tribute to Marvel artist Steve Ditko, Ditko’s is a caricature wagon across from the Sanctum Sanctorum. Talented cast member artists draw guest caricatured as their choice of Marvel superhero. A nearby construction wall is plastered with completed caricatures. New Orleans Square in Disneyland features similarly skilled caricature artists.
Like Kirby Newsstand, this is the sort of minor offering which greatly fleshes out the land. Even some of the surrounding details add color. A shoeshine stand serves as a photo-op platform. There is also an interactive public pay phone. Guests who pick up the receiver will get to enjoy vintage pop rock tracks from Guardians of the Galaxy’s Awesome Mix, Volume One and Two!
This concludes Avengers Airspace as well as our extensive walkthrough tour of DisneySky.
But we're not through yet! Stick around as we look into DisneySky's expansion potentials, before climaxing this project with DisneySky's parkwide spectaculars.
But we're not through yet! Stick around as we look into DisneySky's expansion potentials, before climaxing this project with DisneySky's parkwide spectaculars.
as much as i've enjoyed avengers airspace, i wonder how evergreen the mcu tie-ins will be. i suppose these things could be fixed by renovations and the mcu probably won't be going away anytime soon, but i question if over time you'd see a slow shift towards a more general marvel theme (i.e. how the sequel trilogy themed galaxy's edge is rumored to be changing towards just star wars in general).
Before we conclude our very thorough tour of DisneySky with a showing of the parkwide spectaculars, let us take a moment to discuss DisneySky’s expansion possibilities. Ideally, what has been presented here would more or less be DisneySky’s opening day lineup...with a few headliners and other components more likely to be part of DisneySky’s initial five-year-plan. Following the lackluster premier of the half-finished California Adventure, Disneyland Resort would benefit from its third gate opening in a much more completed form.
More realistically, however, this proposal better reflects DisneySky 10 years after first opening its gates. The park boasts a lineup of roughly 20 rides and 14 additional attractions. For contrast, Shanghai Disneyland a few years after opening enjoys 17 rides and roughly 18 additional attractions. Nineteen-year-old Tokyo DisneySea features 21 rides and roughly 11 additional attractions. Altogether, DisneySky’s roster numbers are realistic and attainable, fully in-line with a one-day park’s needs.
Even so, it is worthwhile to think ahead concerning DisneySky’s expansion possibilities. We shall ignore the possibility of existing attractions being replaced. Rather, let us examine undeveloped areas across DisneySky’s acreage and see how those pads might be filled in the future...while keeping in mind that our boxed-in Anaheim acreage offers very little opportunity for easy expansion.
Northeastern Pad
A stretch of underdeveloped acreage sits in DisneySky’s northeastern corner in the transition space between Mythic Realms and Pioneer Fields.
This forested area is presently a miniature subland called Clockwork Canyon, and its only feature is the Da Vinci Treats snack stand. The initial park brainstorm had pegged this space as a potential massive land expansion. Clockwork Canyon, as the hypothetical land would have been called, would have focused on Renaissance-era fantasies of flight, with a heavy emphasis on Da Vinci’s flying inventions and on an overall clockpunk aesthetic. This would have been a land of windmills, of aerial screw helicopters and leather gliders, of magnetically-powered flying continents like Bacon’s New Atlantis or Swift’s Laputa. Cultural elements on display would have fused influences from Renaissance Italy and Spain into a singular Mediterranean fantasy realm.
All of this was initially conceived when Disney Animation was still developing the now-canceled film Gigantic, whose proposed Iberian retelling of Jack & the Beanstalk would seem tailor-made for DisneySky. But without that intellectual property to anchor a hypothetical land, and without the acreage to begin with, a fully fleshed-out Clockwork Canyon shall forever remain a head-in-the-clouds pipe dream.
Nonetheless, here is a brief rundown of some Clockwork Canyon concepts which were briefly entertained:
A polercoaster (a vertically-oriented roller coaster) to be themed around Gigantic and called Jack’s Gigantic Journey. Coaster tracks would have resembled the towering beanstalk, while the ride’s storyline would have concerned an adventure to the cloudy sky city of the Storm Giants.
A Spanish windmill Ferris wheel ride
A C-ticket suspended family ride based on Da Vinci’s aerial screw helicopter, likely using the same ride system as Peter Pan’s Flight at Shanghai Disneyland. No specific storyline or theme had been identified, though design notes suggest that Cloudcuckooland, the floating island from Aristophanes’ The Birds, had been considered.
A walkthrough Spanish galleon. This and similar elements would have taken a fair amount of design inspiration from Tokyo DisneySea’s Mediterranean Harbor, in particular Fortress Explorations and Soaring Fantastic Flight (home to S.E.A.’s aviation expert Camelia Falco).
Live falconry streetmosphere displays.
A “Dragon Volante” glider ride, possibly a kinetic outdoors B-ticket.
But all this is irrelevant now. With the small space available, the likeliest expansion option is to simply add a new ride to Pioneer Fields.
Our future plan at present is to create Coco’s Fiesta de los Muertos. This planned attraction is to be a smaller-scale dark ride, something on par with Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters in terms of size and ticket. Like that ride, Coco’s Fiesta de los Muertos would use a high-capacity, space-saving omnimover ride system, which is a ride type not yet featured in DisneySky.
The preexisting Cabildo facade in Pioneer Plaza would serve as the ride’s facade - with appropriate modifications. The ride building would cover the entirety of what is now Clockwork Canyon. The guest walkway which cuts through Clockwork Canyon is to be transformed into a dry city canal like those of Mexico’s Guanajuato, with the ride building on both sides and overhead sky bridges crossing the walkways secretly extending the ride’s square footage.
As for the ride itself, guests would board large omnimover Dia de los Muertos sugar skulls. They would go on a musical journey through the Land of the Dead as seen in Pixar’s Coco, with the queue likely covering the passage from the waking world of Pioneer Fields and across the marigold bridge into the afterlife.
Since Pioneer Fields is period set circa 1928, this ride would be a prequel to Coco. Set shortly after Hector’s passing in 1921, the ride’s story would concern Hector’s early, happy-go-lucky days in the Land of the Dead. Guests would follow Hector as he crosses the threshold between worlds, seeking to visit his 10-year-old daughter Coco. This secret reunion between daughter and her deceased father is sure to carry Pixar’s trademark warmth & emotion. There would be plenty of musical fun as well, as guests’ journey through the Land of the Dead would expose them to a great cavalcade of musical Dia de los Muertos celebrations. To make the ride more unique and more interactive, guests’ sugar skull vehicles would include interactive keyboards, which could be used to play along with the skeletal mariachis and the dancing alebrijes.
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Of course this proposed ride concept is still quite underdeveloped. This is simply a proposal for future additions.
Avengers Airspace Pads
There are several possible expansion pads in Avengers Airspace. Happily, the MCU is ever-evolving, so there is no shortage of potential ideas.
The southwestern corner of DisneySky in particular is in great need of an anchor attraction. This is the section of Avengers Airspace which includes Liberty Isle, the Avengers Academy Boytique, and the lagoon shows’ backstage harbor. The potential attraction space is presently owned by a third party - a motel complex awkwardly wedged into the corner of the Disney-owned “Strawberry Fields” parking lot. Any future development in this corner assumes that Disney eventually acquires this plot.
The motel complex is large enough for a D- or C-ticket family dark ride. That is the sort of wide-appeal attraction which would provide nice balance in this corner of Avengers Airspace. Comparing the attraction roster throughout Disneyland Resort, versus Disney’s worldwide ride resume, the best option here is a shooter dark ride using the same ride system (and layout) as Shanghai Disneyland’s Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue. This is an extremely modified evolution on the Astro Blasters model, one which if rethemed can feel like an all-new ride.
The likeliest Marvel theme is Ant-Man and the Wasp. In fact, Hong Kong Disneyland’s Buzz Lightyear shooter ride has already been rethemed to Ant-Man. The results, sadly, appear to be one of Imagineering’s more underwhelming recent efforts, so DisneySky’s proposed Ant-Man ride would need to be designed from the ground up. Rejecting Hong Kong’s Hydra & Zola premise, the DisneySky ride would favor exploration over action, with the ride storyline concerning a voyage into the Quantum Realm, and the interactive shooter elements concerning the collection of escaped Pym Particles. Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, scheduled for 2022, would be a likely source of inspiration.
An additional expansion pad exists in the space behind the Superhero Tryouts facade. This is an awkwardly-shaped expansion pad, one which is narrow and long, spanning the roadway frontage behind the Avengers: Infinity Gauntlet show building and the DisneySky JetRail route.
There are a few ways to activate this space. It is a good location for a future Marvel E-ticket, most likely a roller coaster (or similar thrill ride). The long straightaway shape lends itself well to a launch track. The rotating car system which Imagineering has developed for Epcot’s Cosmic Rewind would work well here, as would the motorcycles of TRON: LightCycle Power Run. Since the square footage is so limited, ride designers would need to get creative with their use of vertical space. (Doubling up and using the corner “Ant-Man” pad could help with spatial needs.)
While oh so many Marvel concepts lend themselves to this ride type - from Epcot’s Guardians of the Galaxy, to Black Widow, to Black Panther, to Captain Marvel - DisneySky’s design team has always felt Fantastic Four to be the best fit for the park’s themes. Reed Richards and his family are scientific explorers, which perfectly follows DisneySky’s story of technological exploration into new horizons. Heck, the illustrated park map already includes Fantastic Four details here! And since Marvel just recently made a future Fantastic Four feature film official, we hold out hope for an eventual adventure into the Negative Zone!
Alternatively, this pad could also serve as an in-park hotel - something which DisneySky lacks. This too would carry a Marvel theme, done with the same exclusivity and immersion as Walt Disney World’s Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. Admittedly, this remains a vague idea. And while a hotel might appeal to Disney’s moneymen, it does nothing to provide an attraction anchor for a section of the park which desperately needs one.
Northwestern Pad (New Land)
Lastly, the largest remaining expansion pad in DisneySky is an area in the northwestern corner between Avengers Airspace and Runway One.
On opening day, this is backstage space. The DisneySky JetRail passes through; much like Universal Studios’ Hogwarts Express, on-ride screens keep riders from seeing backstage facilities. The nearby corner of Katella Ave. and Harbor Blvd. remains, at present, a complex of third party properties such as a Walgreens, a strip mall, and a Hyatt House. If Disney is unable to purchase this adjacent land, then this final expansion pad can simply be space for one more Avengers Airspace attraction. However, if Disney can obtain the acreage, then there is room enough here (just barely) for DisneySky’s eighth and final complete land!
Several Disney intellectual properties could potentially anchor this new land, as they are futuristic (fitting the park’s chronological organization) and they strongly feature flight. Some of these properties include:
Additional Marvel material (likely either Black Panther’s Wakanda or something concerning X-Men)
Star Wars
Avatar
However, for various reasons (redundancy, repetition), we are more interested in developing an original concept for this space...one which, to satisfy corporate Disney mandates, is capable of limited IP infusion, but isn’t dependent upon it.
Solar City is DisneySky’s tentative planned eight destination (or land). It envisions a far flung future, so far that no definite date is known. The world of Solar City is one where mankind’s technologies have gracefully merged with nature. This is a sustainable, eco-friendly utopian future. The city buildings are awash in stupendous greenery, even while unimaginable new innovations allow travel to further & further horizons, ranging from the distant cosmos to the world of dreams.
DisneySky has followed a “punk” framework through most of its lands, from the bamboopunk of Mythic Realms, to the steampunk of Discovery Glacier, to the dieselpunk and atompunk of Diesel Bay and Cosmic Crater. With Solar City, we reach solarpunk - an emergent new sci-fi subgenre which steers away from the tech-driven nihilism of cyberpunk (and its variants) and imagines a wholly optimistic version of tomorrow. This is a very new style - one which, honestly, might not ever take hold as a true subgenre, but one which is quite intriguing nonetheless. The style allows Imagineers to fuse old-fashioned aesthetics such as Art Nouveau with newer styles like Afrofuturism. Storytelling-wise, several of Disney’s animated features actually serve as the foundation for the solarpunk style, among them Treasure Planet, Zootopia, the final scenes of WALL*E, and even the Disney-adjacent works of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki.
DisneySky needs a future-set land, and Solar City fits the bill. It is a calming counterpoint to the tech-driven world of Avengers Airspace - which, incidentally, better resembles the actual predicted future of aviation, with its SpaceX-style aesthetic. The proposed neo-futuristic Solar City could bring DisneySky full circle, bringing the natural environment back into a park which has grown increasingly technological throughout our journey. (And if the Solar City concept should be rejected for whatever reason, then a Wakanda based on Black Panther could bring in similar thematic elements with a different IP infusion.)
Of course, all current plans for Solar City (or any other possible land to go in DisneySky’s northwestern corner) are still in early development. This is not a fully fleshed-out land like we’ve seen before. Still, it is interesting to peer into what else could be done with this theme!
The Blue Planet II soundtrack is a good candidate for Solar City’s land music
Much of Solar City’s potential development depends on which IPs (if any) are represented from the listing above...since some can overlap better than others, and some are hugely profitable while others remain cult items. Much of the land’s exterior can follow the basic “solarpunk” aesthetic regardless...even if Solar City is replaced with Wakanda. Renewable energy technologies would appear throughout, from kinetic wind turbines to stained glass solar panels, to true functional solar panels on the rooftops. Building facades would include vertical farms, with lush, soothing greenery incorporated organically into the land’s architecture. Materials throughout would be sustainable and welcoming, from recycled cargo container structures to winding pathways of cobblestone and decomposed granite.
Since WALL*E is likely to be a featured Disney IP, subtle details throughout can suggest that this is Earth long after mankind repopulated the planet. The Axiom ship - a potential massive show building - can appear as it did in WALL*E’s end credits, landed across from a lake and covered in generations of ferns and forest growth. A mighty central oak tree can appear to be growing out from WALL*E’s boot. Impressionistic tile murals lining the land’s walls can themselves reference the WALL*E end credits.
While it is entirely possible to cobble together a land walkthrough similar to past DisneySky lands - complete with the typical details such as restrooms & churro carts - that feels beyond the scope of this “Expansion” section. Rather, let this bullet list of land inspirations & details serve to paint an impressionistic image of what Solar City could potentially be:
Cornwall’s Eden Project biospheres
New York City’s Highline, green spaces made from repurposed metro tracks
Wayfarer Chapel, which integrates glass enclosures with tree root architecture
Singapore’s Cloud Forest
Gaudi’s Art Nouveau apartments in Barcelona
Chinese tiered hill farms
Galileo’s thermometer
A cosmolabe
Stacked rock cairns: “rock balancing” art in arches, stacks and freestyle
A plaza shaped like an oversized, functional sundial
Landscaping involving “tree grafting” like the Tree Circus at Gilroy Gardens
Long-abandoned relics of the former earth, like vine-covered gas pumps or the rusted Pizza Planet truck
A musical water fountain which fuses elements of Shanghai Disneyland’s Tomorrowland with homages to California Adventure’s original Sunshine Plaza icon
Sunflower landscaping
Hedge vines grown into the shape of people, inspired by Annihilation
“Supertrees” inspired by Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay
Art Nouveau Tiffany glass
Attractions
The final land’s attraction roster depends upon DisneySky’s reception. Will the park need more thrill rides, or more family-friendly rides?
One potential headlining attraction could be WALL*E’s Robot Rescue. The ride’s initial concept - devised over a year ago - planned for it to be a trackless dark ride using the same technology as Tokyo Disneyland’s Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast, with an on-ride story about exploring aboard the Axiom as the villainous AUTO A.I. revives and attempts returning to outer space under Directive A-113. Of course all of this was conceived before Rise of the Resistance proved to be a similar trackless dark ride aboard a spaceship, so the ride idea is now in limbo.
So it’s work considering other possible attractions. For a possible thrill ride, something like Dream Mountain is intriguing. (This is an idea I co-developed with teammates yearrs ago.) Such a concept - an intense adventure into the surreal world of the subconscious - could work with any number of roller coaster styles, be it a spinning coaster like Space Fantasy at Universal Studios Japan, or an “omni-coaster” like Epcot’s Cosmic Rewind.
Other possible attraction in this nebulous land include:
A revamped, 21st-century Journey into Imagination.
Solar Sails, a flat ride upon a raised platform using the classic Flying Scooters ride model first developed in the 1930s.
The Sanctuary of Lights, an enclosed psychedelic walkthrough featuring LED fibre-optic light displays.
Streetmosphere performances in a so-called Wing Tunnel, a wind tunnel where cast members appear in wingsuits
Some sort of Unnamed Treasure Planet Attraction.
Dining
Dining concepts for Solar City remain fairly tentative at present; they mostly play into the general “solarpunk” vibe, and so far have no backstory or IP element. Land-wide, there would be a focus on sustainable, healthy food, with an emphasis on vegan and vegetarian options.
Eclipse would be a snack stand incorporated into the architecture of surrounding attractions. (With limited acreage, we would need to get creative with vertical space.) This outdoor eatery, set under a half-dome, would take design influence from Arizona’s Arcosanti commune, an experimental arcology prototype which neatly embodies the land’s concepts. The Sun Spot would be the land’s primary indoors restaurant, set in a naturalistic and chapel-like woodsy space which incorporates plant-themed stained glass window dividers, hanging planters, and meandering architecture in the style of Antonio Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia.
Retail
Retain concepts for Solar City are still quite vague, as shopping establishments would be used to fill out other designed spaces. Tentative shop names include Day Traders and Sundries, in addition to a WALL*E post-ride shop called SELL*E (in a repurposed BnL Transporter). Expect to find merchandise displays with the same sort of Art Nouveau artistry seen throughout the land, with elements such as cairns of stacked books.
Clearly, the plans for DisneySky’s eighth land remain in a nascent stage. The other DisneySky lands grew out of briefs just like this one, so it is entirely conceivable to grow a sturdier world from these foundations. But for now, let’s leave Solar City in its larval state as a testament to DisneySky’s future potential.
There is one more thing to discuss before we bid farewell to DisneySky. Thankfully that topic is park spectaculars, which are a fitting climax both for a theme park presentation and for a day at the park!
No Disney Park is complete without major parkwide spectaculars. From parades to fireworks displays, these crowd-pleasing extravaganzas fill the parks with exceptional life. They add energy to the day, and they provide an explosive finale as the evening draws to a close.
DisneySky is proud to add two new amazing shows to Disney’s portfolio. In the daytime, The DisneySky Kite Festival fills the skies with colors and characters and song. After sundown, the show-stopping nighttime spectacular Skies of Fantasy uses drones, lasers and other elements, combined with Gustav Holst’s “Planets,” to tell Earth’s epic history.
DisneySky has no parade route, as parades tend to impede guest flow and require extensive backstage. Instead, DisneySky’s daytime and nighttime spectaculars both take place on the waters of Langley Lagoon. By doubling up on the show space, and by sharing water-borne float storage space (located under backstage offices behind the Avengers Academy Boytique), precious square footage is conserved for other uses. Like with Tokyo DisneySea’s lagoon shows, DisneySky’s air & water spectaculars are designed for 360 degree enjoyment, with viewing available along the water’s edge in Diesel Bay, Cosmic Crater and Avengers Airspace. Even so, shows are primarily meant to be enjoyed with Mt. Helios as the backdrop. The mountain’s slope is an ideal projection mapping surface, and it includes hidden stages and pyrotechnic spots.
Avengers Airspace hosts the best views for both shows. Unobstructed viewing spots line the entirety of Langley Lagoon’s western shores, thus spreading out crowds. Guests may find these spots starting on Lee Bridge and in Goodman Park. Lee Bridge marks the entrance to our backstage marina, so viewers along here enjoy front row float viewing.
Viewing spots continue all along Helicarrier 64. The helicarrier’s forward leeward wing (connecting to the Cosmic Crater bridge viewing spots) includes tiered grandstand seating in place of a turbine. These grandstands are designed to not heat up in the sun, thanks to cushioned seating and retractable tarp shades.
FastPass distribution is available for the turbine grandstand seats. Ticketing machines are found directly alongside those used for the nearby Avengers: Infinity Gauntlet E-ticket. These FastPasses are on their own distinct system, separate from ride FastPasses. Dining packages are available at the Quarks table service restaurant, which also provides waterside viewing on the lagoon’s east side.
The DisneySky Kite Festival D-ticket live daytime spectacular
Disney friends invite you to a musical pageant of dazzling, colorful kites
Kite festivals are like parades in the sky! Imagine it: stylized, color-filled designs sailing in the clouds. At DisneySky, such a spectacle is a joyous daily event. Our festival is a cavalcade of Disney characters - beloved figures from every era of Disney animation - ensuring that DisneySky never lacks for that character-driven “Disney” touch which so many guests adore.
(Daily showtimes are typically at 11:30 and 3:30, with each show lasting approximately 24 minutes. Times are subject to change.)
Before the festival even begins, a central floating stage sits in the center of Langley Lagoon. (Show elements such as this and other floats appear both here and in the nightly Skies of Fantasy.) An announcer warmly welcomes young and old alike to the festivities:
“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we’re proud to have you join our colorful celebration. And now let your imaginations soar as we present...The DisneySky Kite Festival.”
Let’s Go Fly a Kite (Mary Poppins) 1:55
Speakers hidden throughout Langley Lagoon start to play. The introductory song on our agenda is entirely expected, and entirely appropriate. It is “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” from Mary Poppins.
The performance begins in a relatively low-key way. Two live performers appear on a temporary “stage” on the grandstand turbine, very much like DisneySea’s Lido Isle performers. They portray Bert and Mr. Banks, each waving “kites” on sticks as they dance to the music.
As the chorus rises a little over a minute in, the central float stage telescopes upwards into a tiered conical shape - it resembles nothing less than a miniaturized Mt. Helios. A fountain show begins on this stage, and continues throughout the show. Like a Busby Berkeley musical, live performers dance on the tiered levels amidst the water sprays. For now they appear as colorful Victorian Mary Poppins extras, all of them flying additional colorful traditional “kites” on sticks.
Simultaneously, eight floats sail out from underneath Lee Bridge. These floats begin to circle the central island. They all resemble waterfowl - a duck, swan, pelican, flamingo, seagull, loon, piper and grebe - all of them designed with stylized, graphic colors reflective of kites.
Imagination Takes Flight (Mickey & Pals) 2:10
The Mary Poppins song starts to get remixed into a more contemporary pop style. It marks the beginning of an all-new song, “Imagination Takes Flight,” composed exclusively for the DisneySky Kite Festival. For an idea of what this song (and the rest of the Festival) might sound like, consider the soundtrack from Hong Kong Disneyland’s Flights of Fantasy parade:
As this song begins, each of the waterfowl floats suddenly unveils real, massive kites sailing directly overhead! (These kites are held aloft by wind machine fans hidden in the giant birds’ heads.) Each boat flies one kite, and each kite carries a storybook Mary Blair-style representation of a Disney character: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale. Once all 8 kites are unfurled, elements of “The Mickey Mouse Club March” are incorporated into the music, before the tune transitions to our next segment...
The Unbirthday Song (Alice in Wonderland) 0:53
“Imagination Takes Flight” musically segues into “The Unbirthday Song” from Alice in Wonderland. This and every song to follow is remixed and filtered through the poppy style of “Imagination Takes Flight.”
New kites emerge: classic butterfly kites which flutter about. (Floats alternate kites.) Soon the butterflies turn inside-out, transforming into the Caterpillar. With the music going wild, a chaotic panoply of Alice-themed kites rises up: Playing cards, dancing teacups, the Cheshire Cat’s grinning teeth. The dancers on the isle continue apace.
Winnie the Pooh Theme (Winnie the Pooh) 2:10
The upbeat singing grows slightly more gentle, more melodic...
As the pace slows, the island dancers vanish into interior dressing rooms. The island’s fountains shoot off in a playful rhythm.
The Alice kites glide down, as new kites gently rise up from 4 floats depicting buzzing bees. Soon, the other 4 floats unveil larger character kites: Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger.
Pooh’s gentle melody turns into downright romantic fairytale lullaby.
The island’s water sprays now depict a tasteful baroque fountain. Performers reemerge on the island platforms in gorgeous European ballroom suits and gowns. They waltz in circles opposite the spinning fountains.
New kites emerge to herald the assorted Disney Princesses. Large spinning kites depict Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora and Belle, each dancing with her appropriate Prince. Smaller kites rise from the 4 alternate floats, these kites depicting the Princesses’ flying bird companions.
Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Finding Nemo) 3:12
The music remains calm, but now with the jazzy 1940s sound of Frank Sinatra.
The platform dancers turn their outfits inside-out, transforming them into 20th-century fancy dress. They perform a swing dance, while the island’s fountains release giant bubbles. Bubble machines along the helicarrier “mainland” join in, creating a vibrant undersea atmosphere.
New fish-themed kites join in, bobbing up and down in a watery way. Larger character kites appear and then descend one after another, depicting Nemo, Marlin, Dory, Squirt, Crush, even Bruce and his shark pals.
I Wanna Be Like You (The Jungle Book) 3:50
The jazzy musical rhythms remain, now flowing into an uptempo Louis Prima dance number.
New dancers emerge upon the island in hula skirts, spinning colored streamers around in a Carnaval fiesta mode. The fountain matches the dancers’ pace and tone.
Kites fit the new tune too. Giant character kites rise - Baloo, King Louie, plus a few of his ape underlings. Smaller kites resemble jungle flowers and leaves. All the kites, characters and elements both, dance wildly!
I Just Can’t Wait to Be King (The Lion King) 2:51
Elton John’s 1990s pop number is a great evolution of Prima's sounds.
We segue simply into a Lion King sequence. Character kites now arise to depict Young Simba and Timon and Pumba. Smaller kites are pure abstracted shapes like those from the film’s “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” musical sequence.
Jungle dancers and fountains continue on the island. Down in the lagoon, four jet skis rush out from Lee Bridge! They trail colored flags. The jet skis circle the central island counterclockwise, opposite the floats’ direction.
You Can Fly (Peter Pan) 2:24
Following several party-flavored dance numbers, the music becomes more classically “Disney” as the Kite Festival reaches its oh-so-appropriate penultimate song.
With this song change, the jet skis start to weave amidst each other in a balletic manner. The island’s dancers retire temporarily. Instead, guests focus on new character kites flying together in a row: Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, Wendy and her brothers, plus the various Lost Boys.
As the song crescendos, a stupendously large kite overtakes the rest. This is Captain Hook’s pirate ship, enchanted and flying with pixie dust. The ship circles around, pursuing the flying character kites. Just as the song is about to end, a new kite ascends behind the ship...it is Tic Toc Croc in perpetual pursuit.
Let’s Go Fly a Kite (Reprise) & Nowhere to Go But Up (All characters) 1:40
A final quick reprise of “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” starts up, only to musically transition into “Nowhere to Go But Up” from Mary Poppins Returns. This climactic medley brings our free-flying festival to a fantastic finale!
A final selection of kites arises, featuring a grand assortment of flying Disney characters! Dumbo! Evinrude! Mary Poppins with her umbrella! Mushu, depicted as a traditional Chinese dragon kite! Aladdin and Jasmine on their Magic Carpet! Flora, Fauna and Merryweather!
The island’s fountains all burst forth at once. Every single dancer joins in. Jet skis circle floats. Ultimately, two stuntmen rise up out of the lagoon on water jetpacks! They hover 50-feet above the surface on a continuous water burst! Low level fireworks explore from the island!
Curtain call.
“We hope you loved The DisneySky Kite Festival. Please enjoy the rest of your adventures here at DisneySky!”
Skies of Fantasy E-ticket live nighttime spectacular
Don’t miss this nighttime spectacular telling the history of Planet Earth with breathtaking Disney imagination
As night falls on DisneySky, the setting sun coats the western desert slopes of Mt. Helios in warm golden hues. The park gains renewed life at night, with myriad lights reflecting in the still waters of Langley Lagoon. The time is right for Skies of Fantasy, DisneySky’s signature nighttime spectacular!
Skies of Fantasy tells the chronological history of Planet Earth. It begins with creation, formation, and the ascension of life. Throughout there is a strong emphasis on flight and on the skies, progressing from the clouds to flying animals and onwards to mankind’s aeronautic inventions. For a subject with such a broad and epic scope, we need an appropriately monumental musical soundtrack. We choose Gustav Holst’s Planets Suite, rearranged and abridged. The piece is romantic, rousing, thematically appropriate, and altogether a perfect fit!
Naturally, Skies of Fantasy makes extensive use of Disney characters. As always with DisneySky, these characters are used when thematically appropriate and not simply for their popularity. Popular and obscure properties both appear throughout the 24-minute long extravaganza, always selected for maximum emotional resonance.
This amazing story comes to life using drones, searchlights, projection mapping, water floats, lasers, pyrotechnics, animatronics, and more. Several technical elements are recycled from the DisneySky Kite Festival, repurposed here in unexpectedly gorgeous new ways.
Mt. Helios serves as the show’s backdrop, its undulating slopes providing the perfect projection mapping surface. The Kite Festival water floats return bearing inflatable globes. Like with DisneySea’s former Fantasmic, these globes serve as spherical projection screens.
Skies of Fantasy is Disney’s first in-park spectacular to utilize choreographed drones. These aerial wonders present amazing creative possibilities (the ability to change colors and form 3D objects in midair), but also unique hazards. Drones require dedicated airspace to launch and fly without people below - hence Langley Lagoon, and hence a nighttime spectacular staged entirely without live performers. The drone fleet cannot take flight in strong wind conditions, so Skies of Fantasy is designed to function without them...but with them it becomes an astounding nighttime show without parallel!
As guests gather for pre-show seating, music already wafts across the lagoon to set the stage. “Saturn,” the most subtle of Holst’s movements, calms crowds down. The lights dim and the excitement builds, as DisneySky’s Skies of Fantasy is about to work its wonder!
(0:00 - 0:29)
“Uranus.” Darkness. The stage is set. Searchlights scan the skies. Colored lights bubble in the waters underneath Langley Lagoon. An initial fanfare builds tension.
(0:30 - 1:32)
The music becomes bouncier and more melodic. Water splashes chaotically in Langley Lagoon. Lighting reveals a central platform already in place, the same telescoping conical fountain used in the DisneySky Kite Festival. Black and unlit boat platforms surround the stage. From them, color-changing drones take off and fly chaotically into the skies above appearing as stars and asteroids.
Perched upon the stage’s rising peak and “conducting” the waves is the Spring Sprite from Fantasia 2000’s Firebird sequence, using her natural elemental powers to form the universe and command the drones. (The Sprite is basically a scaled-up animatronic puppet, like a variation on the Fantasmic dragon. With some minor lighting and costuming changes, she is able to transform with each sequence. For now she is a being of pure energy.)
(1:33 - 2:15)
The music takes shape and life. The slowly forming Earth starts to appear projected on the darkened base of Mt. Helios. Similar earthly forms grow projected onto the base of the Sprite’s float as she conducts. Flames shoot up from the float similarly to IllumiNations’ earth formation. Lava flows down Mt. Helios. The drones sail down and “crash” into their boats (controlled landings), leaving fiery glowing LED craters.
(2:16 - 3:50)
The music calms before then building to a drum-heavy crescendo. The Sprite glows in crystal blue, becoming a water elemental. Waters and life begin to form. Lights glide through Langley Lagoon. Water spouts shoot upwards.
On both Mt. Helios and on the float, new projections appear - the whales from Fantasia 2000’s Pines of Rome. They begin swimming underwater, but as the music builds the whales rise up from the ocean’s surface and fly high into the clouds! Lights reveal the boats floating in Langley Lagoon, lit up to resemble yet more whales circling the Sprite’s stage.
(3:51 - 4:26)
Holst’s composition grows to a wild climax. The Sprite becomes a plant elemental as she orchestrates vines and greenery growing all over Mt. Helios and over her stage. Trees rise up! Projected footage from Fantasia appears, with the pterosaurs from Rite of Spring replacing the whales from Pines of Rome. True flight has been achieved, and Act I draws to a close!
GAHHHHHHHH NOOOOO
Ah okay
