Official: Marvel Land to come to DLR

[dina444444]

I really doubt whatever goes into the theater will appeal to the 3 and under crowd if it is Marvel, it will likely be scary. ITTBAB was borderline as it were but at least it was animated characters that were familiar.

I think they are going to raze the theater and it will be e-ticket attractions that are going in.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Is just the Bug's Land area closing later this summer? Or that entire area including Guardians of the Galaxy?

There's no reason for them to close GOTG...

 

[Skyegirl1999]

My daughter is turning 5 so we're at least moving past the height of the Bug's Land phase, but Heimlich's Chew Chew Train is like our family attraction; we almost always hit it (a tradition that started years before our daughter was born when my husband and I stumbled upon it and were highly amused by this ridiculous thing inside a Disney park). The splash pad has always been a big hit, too, and I'm sure we would have continued to visit that for at least few years.

I'm sad that they can't figure out a way to add the Marvel expansion without removing the most kid-friendly area of DCA. I agree that the area around Monster's Inc. seems like it could be completely gutted and used as something more useful.

 

[DizneyMommy]

Those buildings aren’t that big and it would disjoint the marvel area with monsters and Hyperion theatre in the middle. If Disney has been able to build their eastern gateway project then maybe marvel would have taken over the other part of Hollywood land since it could push out into what is currently part of the transit center, but this was the other area in the park that had been floating around for the expansion.

Yeah well I would have happily sacrificed one Monsters Inc for all of Bug’s Land! They could just throw an overlay on the front of Hyperion, they could make it work if they wanted to! That whole corner by Monsters is under used and wasted space except for when they have random things like the Tron bar bash lol

 

[Niltiac]

This is a shame. I like Marvel, but I had really hoped they would use the Hollywood backlot area on the other side of Guardians for Marvel Land and leave Bugs Land alone. We don't have kids so we never go on the rides in Bugs Land, but we always stop in there to use the restroom and enjoy the quiet, shady, well-themed area. This makes me wonder if they have other plans for the backlot area because to me it seems like wasted space.

 

[sherilaine]

I feel bad for little kids as I am sure it was a great place to go but we hated bugs land - all it was to us was a walk through from Carsland to GOTG (which is WAY better than ToT), so we are not upset about this at all!!

 

[tarheelalum]

I never cared for a bugs land so I can't say I will miss it other than a bugs land theater. I really enjoyed it and the occasionally movie preview they would have.

 

[agamble]

We have 3 young children and have spent many hours in Bugsland. It is sad to lose kid friendly rides, but I am hopeful Marvel land will not be all thrills. To the poster who said we were only losing 2 kids ride I want to point out the carousel is not a new attraction it is just getting remade, so that is still 3 rides plus the theater.

I believe Disney will demolish the theater. First there is no reason to close it 24+ months before the new area opens if it is going to stay a screen show, especially since the entrance is near Carsland rather than in Bugsland proper. And second because of rumors and a patent filing by Disney that essentially showed Disney could build an awesome swinging Spider-Man dark ride in that space. The announcement said Spiderman was coming.

I will say when the park opened it did not have Monster's Inc, Toy Story, the Little Mermaid, or Cars land, so overall taking out the land is not too big of a hit for the youngsters compared to the opening daybpark. I wish they were repurposing Lady bug Boogie too as that ride is a lot of fun. But I guess we have Mater and Luigi to spin us around.

Here's hoping the new attractions are amazing and that Disney doesn't cheap out. In my opinion replacing ITTBB with another movie would be a major cheap move.

 

[BrianL]

We have 3 young children and have spent many hours in Bugsland. It is sad to lose kid friendly rides, but I am hopeful Marvel land will not be all thrills. To the poster who said we were only losing 2 kids ride I want to point out the carousel is not a new attraction it is just getting remade, so that is still 3 rides plus the theater.

You are right. The carousel shouldn't count. I guess it's just been on refurb so long it felt new. Also, the Fun Wheel was not mentioned as one of the rides without a height requirement.

So, if they do re-use Flik's Flyers, then that's still three no height requirement rides being lost. The theater is a tossup, though I personally think they should keep it. Show type attractions are important because they are high-volume, and offer a nice break from hustling around the parks.

 

[agamble]

You are right. The carousel shouldn't count. I guess it's just been on refurb so long it felt new. Also, the Fun Wheel was not mentioned as one of the rides without a height requirement.

So, if they do re-use Flik's Flyers, then that's still three no height requirement rides being lost. The theater is a tossup, though I personally think they should keep it. Show type attractions are important because they are high-volume, and offer a nice break from hustling around the parks.

The Bugs theater takes up a huge chunk of real estate in the center of the park. HOWEVER, the old Muppet Theater should definitely get something done with it. It's wasted potential. But I feel that Disney like having places they can show off upcoming movies. The Frozen show was temporary, but it did really pull crowds in for a while. I am looking forward to the Pixar Shorts coming to the theater as it will be a nice place to take our younger two when they are feeling tired/cranky later in the day and big sister just wants to ride rides. It'd be nice if they could at least keep something new and fresh in that theater to pull crowds in while alternating it with movie previews.

 

[Pacolovestacos]

I love the Marvel and Star Wars movies but this just sounds like Disney is turning into Universal. Nothing wrong with US but it has a different "feel", more grown up. If it was their own park it would be great, but stuffing SW into DL and now this, IDK.
Sorry, not feeling well and can't articulate very well what I mean

Disagree 100%. 1) We don't even know if all the new attractions will be rollercoasters, I really doubt it. Maybe a couple grown up rides and a couple kiddie rides. Even if they are focused on teens and up, so what? Those people deserve attractions as well. Lately Disney has been focused on the toddlers and the grandmas with all their boat rides.

 

[StarGirl11]

I was never a fan of Bugs Land. Partly because I got back into Disney at an age it wouldn't appeal to me and I don't have kids. For me it was a shortcut between Hollywood Land and Carsland. Also we're assuming that the area isn't going to be kid-friendly. What's to say it won't be? We know nothing about the themed area at this point. We're jumping to conclusions. Honestly I think that they will still have little kid friendly rides but that's my opinion

Also Mission Breakout and the M&G line for Black Panther should be enough to tell you how popular it is. Black Panther's line was going over an hour when I was there in February depending on when you got in line. Most of the Marvel characters were garnering pretty decent lines now that I think about it. The only other characters who I think garner that line currently on a regular basis are Anna and Elsa.

I've never seen Bugs Land lines top an hour when I've looked. Like it or not Bug's Land is a bit dated and isn't a classic like some of the other Disney films. So the average park goer with young kids might not have seen Bug's Life at all. It makes sense.

 

[DizneyMommy]

You are right. The carousel shouldn't count. I guess it's just been on refurb so long it felt new. Also, the Fun Wheel was not mentioned as one of the rides without a height requirement.

So, if they do re-use Flik's Flyers, then that's still three no height requirement rides being lost. The theater is a tossup, though I personally think they should keep it. Show type attractions are important because they are high-volume, and offer a nice break from hustling around the parks.

When I said no height requirement, I should have said Toddler friendly instead. The fun wheel isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, I know plenty of adults who won’t even ride it, and TSMM is dark and loud and whips around fast. I would equate the Bug’s Land rides more on par with IASW, Dumbo, Casey Jr, Storybook, etc. really tame easy and non-scary stuff perfect for the under 3 crowd. Along those lines at DCA we will have the carousel (eventually) Little Mermaid, Monster’s Inc, TSMM for some kids, and what? That’s it.

Looking at it in terms of value, I don’t think it is worth paying for a 3 year old who is on the shorter side to go to DCA anymore. We would spend an hour or more in Bug’s Land, it’s not just about how many rides there are but quick on and off, little to no wait, riding over and over, playing in the splash pad, we spent a lot of time there! Now what, she spends an extra hour in her stroller while the big kids ride other rides instead? Gets to ride 3, maybe 4 things, one of which has a huge wait that she may or may not make it through, and run around in the wilderness area? That really stinks for the under 32” crowd, that’s all.

 

[BrianL]

The Bugs theater takes up a huge chunk of real estate in the center of the park. HOWEVER, the old Muppet Theater should definitely get something done with it. It's wasted potential. But I feel that Disney like having places they can show off upcoming movies. The Frozen show was temporary, but it did really pull crowds in for a while. I am looking forward to the Pixar Shorts coming to the theater as it will be a nice place to take our younger two when they are feeling tired/cranky later in the day and big sister just wants to ride rides. It'd be nice if they could at least keep something new and fresh in that theater to pull crowds in while alternating it with movie previews.

Yeah, the dreaded movie previews are such nonsense. I know in DLR they took It's Tough to be a Bug offline for that all the time. They never do that in Animal Kingdom. They should knock that off and put something permanent in the Sunset Showcase, or, you know, bring back Muppets! Either way.

 

[DizneyMommy]

Disagree 100%. 1) We don't even know if all the new attractions will be rollercoasters, I really doubt it. Maybe a couple grown up rides and a couple kiddie rides. Even if they are focused on teens and up, so what? Those people deserve attractions as well. Lately Disney has been focused on the toddlers and the grandmas with all their boat rides.

Lol, the boat rides are some of the oldest rides in DL. Did I miss a new boat ride? My toddler would love to ride it!

 

[BrianL]

Also we're assuming that the area isn't going to be kid-friendly. What's to say it won't be? We know nothing about the themed area at this point. We're jumping to conclusions. Honestly I think that they will still have little kid friendly rides but that's my opinion.

This is a good point and why I think they should keep the theater. It would have no height requirement, and they could make it reasonably friendly, and less scary than It's Tough to be a Bug (actually, wouldn't almost anything be less scary than that? Spiders!). The theater offers a built-in all-ages attraction.

 

[o&smom]

Eventhough I figured the rumors would come true, it is difficult to imagine DCA without A Bug's Land. One of the reasons we went after Christmas and over New Year's this year was to enjoy our time there one last time. As much as we love Cars Land and our 7 year old DD loves the rollercoaster that is getting rethemed, we all still looked forward to the magic of that area. I feel the same way about Toon Town in DL and fear the day they remove it like at WDW. Both areas offer an area of escape from the rest of the parks. Obviously they played an important role when our kids were younger because of height restrictions on other rides, but it still brings such excitement to them at 7 and 14. I brought my DD to tears when I told her that Toys r Us is closing so I am not excited to give her more bad news. Hopefully the fact that I told the kids that it was going away during our visit will help lessen the blow. A Bug's Land will live in our hearts forever.

 

[DizneyMommy]

I was never a fan of Bugs Land. Partly because I got back into Disney at an age it wouldn't appeal to me and I don't have kids. For me it was a shortcut between Hollywood Land and Carsland. Also we're assuming that the area isn't going to be kid-friendly. What's to say it won't be? We know nothing about the themed area at this point. We're jumping to conclusions. Honestly I think that they will still have little kid friendly rides but that's my opinion

Also Mission Breakout and the M&G line for Black Panther should be enough to tell you how popular it is. Black Panther's line was going over an hour when I was there in February depending on when you got in line. Most of the Marvel characters were garnering pretty decent lines now that I think about it. The only other characters who I think garner that line currently on a regular basis are Anna and Elsa.

I've never seen Bugs Land lines top an hour when I've looked. Like it or not Bug's Land is a bit dated and isn't a classic like some of the other Disney films. So the average park goer with young kids might not have seen Bug's Life at all. It makes sense.

Because toddlers aren’t Marvel’s target audience, Marvel movies (and some of the characters) are scary for a 2 year old, and it wouldn’t really make sense to do such a tame ride when the movie franchise is geared toward tween-adult age range? That was my thought in assuming that there won’t be any rides that are geared specifically towards a 2 year old, like Bug’s Land was.

A lot of the Marvel fans would be screaming if all they get is a slow ride with no crazy effects that would scare a toddler.

 

[smartlabelprint]

It does look like Flik's Flyers is being re-purposed as an Inside Out ride for Pixar Pier. The concept art looks just like it. That's at least one ride for the younger set.

After reading through the article again I think they should bring that Ant-Man and the Wasp ride for Hong Kong over and at least have a thematic tie to A Bug's Land.

That’s good. This is a great kid ride. One of 3 we went on today. Lol. We’re napping.

 

[Niltiac]

The Bugs theater takes up a huge chunk of real estate in the center of the park.

I agree, I fully expect the theater to go. Bugs Land is so small. If you look at it on google maps, GotG alone is almost as big as all of Bugs Land (sans theater). If they plan on having any popular rides in the new space they're going to need room for bigger queues. Unless they plan on taking over the backstage area behind Bugs Land, I can't imagine they can spare the theater.