A first-of-its-kind Quinjet E-ticket attraction announced with much fanfare for the second phase of Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure has been put on hold due to pandemic-related financial constraints, according to Disney officials.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek said during an annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, March 9 that the Quinjet E-ticket attraction planned for DCA is in a “holding pattern” and will “hopefully” get built once the company’s post-pandemic cash-flow situation improves.
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Chapek commented on the Avengers Campus project when asked during the shareholders meeting about the status of a Mary Poppins attraction at Epcot in Florida and the Quinjet E-ticket ride at DCA.
“Certainly, the Poppins project, which I was very excited about, has had to be put on hold for a while, as has the Quinjet,” Chapek said during the shareholders meeting. “Those are projects that we’ve got in a holding pattern right now. As our cash situation becomes a bit more robust and a little bit back to normal, in terms of our liquidity, we look forward to hopefully refunding those projects in the future.”
Both projects were announced during the D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center in 2019, but have not been mentioned very often since then — leading industry observers to wonder if the ballyhooed attractions had been canceled amid pandemic-related budget cuts.
DCA’s Avengers Campus debuted in June after a yearlong pandemic delay with the Web Slingers interactive dark ride, Doctor Strange magic show and an Ant-Man and the Wasp restaurant.
The custom-designed, full-sized Quinjet that serves as the centerpiece of the Marvel-themed land sits atop an Avengers Headquarters building that is intended to eventually double as the entrance for the planned E-ticket attraction. Disney uses the balconies on the building facade as a stage for Marvel super hero stunt shows.
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Riders on the planned Quinjet E-ticket attraction will embark on a mission to the Black Panther world of Wakanda to battle menacing winged aliens alongside the team of superheroes, according to Walt Disney Imagineering.
Concept art for the Avengers attraction featuring an all-new ride system shows riders hovering in jetpack seats. The sweeping scene depicts Captain Marvel firing an energy beam, Iron Man unleashing a repulsor blast and Thor wielding his hammer while surrounded by the flying extraterrestrials. On the ground, Hulk pummels the winged creatures, Black Panther engages in hand-to-hand combat and the Dora Milaje throw warrior spears as a supersized Ant Man towers above the action.
Additional concept art shows a walk-through pre-show area with Avengers aircraft on a docking bay — suggesting an active superhero hangar. An interior view of the attraction shows two rows of jetpack seats aligned in front of a glowing heads-up tactical display. Overhead, a massive glass ceiling-like screen provides views of the ship’s command deck and the outside world.
Concept art is just that — conceptual illustrations created to give a sense of possibilities and design intentions. Imagineering often refines and modifies attraction plans as the creative arm of the company moves forward with a project.