The new attraction Guardian of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout opens at Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort this weekend, and there’s a lot of excitement about it… mixed with some trepidation.
That trepidation is fueled by love for The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, the rightfully beloved attraction it replaced and, essentially took over, given Mission Breakout is in a reworked version of the same building, using a reconfigured version of the same ride system – an elevator, that hurls guests up and down.
However, having gotten the chance to ride Mission: Breakout, I have to say I’m now 100% sold on it and enforce it as a thrilling, incredibly fun attraction in its own right. It’s a crowd-pleaser and I think the vast majority who go on it will leave with a big grin on their face. Here’s why.
As noted in an earlier preview, Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout has a really cool queue that is packed with Easter eggs for Marvel fans and helps make the wait much more tolerable. MCU viewers will recognize many of the artifacts and objects on display, from an Ultron drone from Avengers: Age of Ultron to a Nova corp uniform from the first Guardians film to Terrigen crystals from Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD. Cosmo the dog, an animatronic figure, is adorable (he cocks his head, wags his tail and there are paw prints on the glass!) and there are tantalizing inclusions of items never before seen in the MCU before.
On top of that are Easter eggs related to Disney parks, including one very notable creature from a classic ride – with the inference being that hey, The Collector is going to pick up a lot of stuff along the way.
Like many Disney attractions, there is a specific story being told as you travel through Mission: Breakout – one hinted at in the title. You’re visiting Tavin’s collection, where he’s touting his newest acquisition, the Guardians of the Galaxy. Rocket at one point directly appears in front of you via animatronics, having escaped his cell, and now planning to break out his buddies as well. It all sets up what happens when you get on the ride and Rocket blows the generator powering all of Tavin’s cells, causing everyone to break out – and resulting in chaos. It’s all a clear story that is understandable even if you’re not familiar with these characters at all -- hey, not everyone has seen these movies, as huge as they are -- thanks to their depiction here. You get that Tivan is a narcissistic guy who's holding these beings captive (the gold Tivan statue as you enter the building is perfect!), you get that a break out is underway, and you understand how it's going to happen.
Music is of course a key component in the Guardians films, thanks to Star-Lord’s cassette tapes. That being the case, music also figures strongly on the ride and is used tremendously well. There are six variations on the ride experience, all offering a different pattern, different visuals and a different song. I rode four of the variations, and the music was perfectly incorporated – the second Elvis Presley’s “Burning Love” kicked in as the ride gets going, the experience became that much more entertaining. I also rode the variations that play The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back,” Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” and Parliament’s “Give Up the Funk,” all of which worked great as well.
While the music is one important part of Guardians of the Galaxy, it’s not the only one, and what is very impressive about Mission: Breakout is how it captures James Gunn's irreverent tone for the film series so well. The vignettes you see throughout the ride, as the elevator hurls up and down -- it definitely feels more intense than Tower at times, with some of the variations -- and periodically opens up, revealing the Guardians dealing with the other escaped aliens, are wonderfully done. In just a few seconds, they manage to include a ton of action and humor, with some expertly-timed bits for both Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and Drax (Dave Bautista), in particular. Rocket’s voice (Bradley Cooper) also is heard many times, and there’s a great moment, for instance, when the doors open, looking out on the theme park, and you hear him exclaim, “Is that Disneyland!? That’s so cool!” Another standout Rocket line? “I can’t hear over all your screaming!”
Obviously any ride with six variations is begging for you to return to it, and Mission: Breakout stands out for really benefiting from repeat visits. It should be noted that the six variations aren’t completely different -- they all begin and end the same way, and even some of the comedic bits in the middle are mixed and matched so you will see them with more than one song (I do wish they could have done a bit less of this, in fact). But whether you’re seeing repeat moments or not, this is a ride that begs you to go on it again, both for the innate fun and for the details you can discover hidden in both the queue experience and the ride itself. The end of the ride involves the Guardians speaking to you in filmed footage, and I found myself looking in the background on repeat visits for some clever little comic moments involving other aliens.
Even beyond the different songs and visuals, Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout is a highly entertaining experience that actually feels more satisfying overall than Tower of Terror was. Hear me out, fellow Disneyland fanatics: Tower was a great creepy/atmospheric attraction (based on one of my favorite TV series ever), and the elevator itself always offered some excellent jolts, but Guardians offers the jolts and mixes in laughs and excitement in a way that is really inviting. The way they’ve changed up how the ride system is used not only makes it a longer ride, but one that feels like it does more with the elevator, offering even more sudden plummets, rises, and starts and stops, all incorporating a group of highly lovable characters. I’m very glad Tower of Terror still exists at Walt Disney World in Orlando to visit, but it’s also hard to deny that Mission: Breakout is suddenly a must for any visiting the Disneyland Resort.
Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout opens this weekend at Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort.
Eric Goldman is Executive Editor of IGN TV. You can follow him on Twitter at @TheEricGoldman, IGN at ericgoldman-ign and Facebook at http://ift.tt/LQFqjj.
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