We did IT! We spent the day at Disney California Adventure without the kiddos and spent the first 6 hours in Avengers Campus. I feel like we really got the lay of the land while we were there and I got answers to you that I couldn’t find anywhere when I was trying to plan for our trip. Between last week when we went and now they have already begun to make changes so I’ve made sure to include them here!

Getting Into Avengers Campus

 

Here’s the deal you can now get into the campus without a WEB Slingers boarding pass, meaning that the anyone can walk through the campus at any time. If you don’t get a boarding pass for WEB SLINGERS, there currently is still currently NO standby line for the ride, meaning you will be able to enter the campus but will miss out on the new attraction. There is still plenty to do while you’re in the campus though, more on that below.

 

Tips for Getting a Boarding Pass

 

These are the same tips that I swore by for always getting us into the virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance, and they didn’t let me down for WEB SLINGERS either!  The queue opens to everyone on the Disneyland app (download it the day before and create an account if you don’t have one yet, you’ll have to link your tickets as well!) Also, just be prepared especially if you are someone who got a boarding group in the 12pm round, there is always a chance your group may not get called. Depending on how things move throughout the day, the groups call times may get pushed back and I have heard of some people not actually getting called.

• Set an alarm to be on your phone at 6:50am (for the 12pm opening do this at 11:50am)
• Close all of your apps
• Turn off WIFI so that you are on your 5G network if possible. If you happen to be somewhere that either has really great WIFI and/or really terrible cell service then you may have to adjust this step
• Open up the Disneyland app and make sure you’re logged in and your tickets are loaded for everyone in your party
• On the main page click “Join Boarding Group” and on the top of the screen toggle over to Disney California Adventure Park
• Now that you’re here it should be pretty close to the 7am (or 12pm) mark, keep your eye on the clock and try not to let the nerves and excitement get to you too much, or is that just me? haha
• Right when the clock changes to 7:00 (or 12:00) pull down the screen to refresh your page and you will see the option to join a a boarding group for WEB Slingers CLICK IT!
• The technique that happens next is affectionally called “mashing” where you basically just tap the screen over and over until you get the confirmation message. The screen in between just shows which people in your party are being added to the boarding group. Anyone in the app who has a valid ticket should automatically be checked so as long as you made sure you had everyone loaded properly you’ll be fine
• Take a screenshot of your confirmation just in case
• The app will show you when your group has been called and at that point you have an hour to return. You will see a sign at the entrance of the campus for virtual queue return and we were able to get in within a few minutes

WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure

 

We got super lucky to get into boarding group 13 which technically got called in before 9am when the park “technically” opened. Luckily they give you that 1 hour buffer, so we got in just fine. We got into the park and went straight to the Virtual Queue return right at the entrance of Avengers Campus across from the big Grizzly River waterfall. There’s a sign for the Virtual Queue return, you can’t miss it. It only took a few minutes to get through that line and then we were in! We took a bit of time completely freaking out at the first little bit of the campus, but the first bug thing you encounter is the ride before entering the main “square”. There is an outdoor queue for the actual ride which lasted maybe 5 minutes, but was packed with really fun WEB details so you’ll want to walk as slowly as you can to take it all in. After that you get brought into a little holding area (above) with way more fun details, and then into the story room where you see a little show of sorts that sets up the premise of the ride (below). After that there is a short indoor queue, with lots of fun little details, including tips on how to sling your webs on the ride (both can be seen below).

The ride requires you to wear 3D glasses. When you get loaded in to your vehicle it begins to track your movements which you can see on a small screen in front of you. It’s pretty wild. Think, Toy Story Mania but way cooler! It’s definitely something that will be great to get to go on more times in the future now that we kind of got the feel for the movements and actions. Plus, you can purchase web slinger attachments that will actually enhance and change your capabilities to do different actions on the ride. So cool! I’ve heard mixed reviews but it seems like most of the “top scorers” on the leader boards showed that they used one of the attachments, so it definitely helps. Plus, if you have kiddos who love super heroes they will be so fun to play with at home! You can find them in a few places in the park, more on that below.

Live Entertainment

 

If you’re reading this, consider yourself lucky, because when we went 3 days after opening, show times were not on the Disneyland app. In fact when we asked Cast Members after shows they would give us a really vague, super in character answer like “I saw Spider-Man testing out his new suit technology on top of WEB Headquarters earlier so if you want to see that I’d hang out over there”. Nobody gave a straight answer on times or locations which was kind of fun but also tricky if you’re trying to make most of your time in the campus. I’m super glad they decided to app it to the app now!

1.  The Amazing Spider-Man!: Spider-Man does some fun stunts, including showing off flying through the air in his new suit from Mr. Stark. IT is super funny and is spot on with the Spider-Man humor we’ve all come to love. Plus the technology they perfected for the flying Spider-Man anamatronic is amazing!!

2. Warriors of Wakanda: The Disciplines of the Dora Milaje: This was so so cool! The Dora literally march through the main street area and end at a small cement bench/stage looking area in the main courtyard area. If you see them coming don’t be tempted to stop where they are doing their march, wait by the cement bench/stage area and you’ll get a front row view. I heard in a Disneyland interview that this interactive show will never be exactly the same twice which is so fun.

3. Doctor Strange: Mysteries of the Mystic Arts: Think magic show meets the Avengers. If you’re familiar with Doctor Strange you’ll really appreciate all of the details and nods to elements from the film. But even if you’ve never seen it, you will walk away amazed. Plus our show had a special appearance from my personal favorite Avenger! The first showtime isn’t until 2pm currently so make sure you prepare for that. We waited an hour before the show in line and ended up in the second row of standing room, aka up close and personal with Stephen Strange!

4. Avengers Assemble!: This show happens about every hour. When we were there it was Black Widow & Taskmaker and also featured Black Panther. I’m sure at some point they’ll add in new shows as well but this one was epic!

5. Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Dance Off!: This show is hilarious and interactive. Star Lord and Gamora come out and literally have dance off with the crowd.

Food

 

There are only a handful of places to find food or drinks inside the Campus but there were all pretty amazing! Mobile Ordering on the Disneyland app is your best friend if you want to anything from either Pym locations, there are standby options but they can get pretty long. The other locations are standby only which means that if you want it, you’ll have to wait for as long as it takes. When you make a mobile order, the app prompts you that your order is NOT a ticket into the campus, so if you are doing an order it’s best to already be inside. It is possible to cancel order but if for some reason you forget you more than likely will be charged. When we went breakfast was pretty slow at Pym Test Kitchen and at around 10:45 people started lining up for the standby line for lunch. I attempted to join the line for our lunch menu items, but they had closed it down. People began crowing around and honestly it was a bit chaotic, but as the restaurant began actually taking lunch orders at 11am, the line moved super quick, it had just jammed but in the in between window, so don’t be alarmed if you see this. They also let me know that because of the chaos of mobile order, they began to release more times every hour, on the hour. So if you are looking to make one of the app, wait until the clock hits an hour mark!

Pym Test Kitchen: The only real restaurant in the campus. They have breakfast, lunch/dinner, and fun drinks & snacks. We got some breakfast items (tater tots are a must), the Quantum Pretzel (it’s giant, see picture below) the Chocosmash Candy bar (I’m still dreaming about this, it was a 10/10) and the Not So Little Chicken Sandwich (super yummy!).

Pym Tasting Lab: This is the place you want to go for fun mixed drinks or the Snack Molecules which is like popcorn, pretzels, and other yummy tidbits.

Shawarma Palace: This cart in itself is a fun Easter Egg into the MCU. This schwarma cart is featured in one of the Avengers Movies and it’s said that the Avengers loved it so much that they invited the owner to open a location at their campus. We didn’t eat one because we stuffed out faces at Pym’s but the line was always pretty long! Standby only.

Terrain Treats: This is right at the exit of Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout! It has two treats it known for currently, the terran pineapple spiral churro, and the terran cream puff filled with whipped raspberry cheesecake. Again, we ate too much larger than life food at Pym’s to enjoy these, maybe next time!

Plus, there was also an Ice Cream Etc Cart Outside of the Guardians ride with your more traditional Disney treats and drinks.

Character Sightings

 

That me start off by saying that I fully geeked out when it came to meeting characters. Like, way more than I expected. The way my kids freak out over a character I know is obviously not “real” like Mickey Mouse, that was me with Captain America or Loki. You would have thought the real  God of Mischief walked up by the way I squealed and quickly left my husband behind to go get a picture. At Disney in general for now they do not advertise who will be out at any given time as far as character sightings (remember they still are not technically “meet & greets” although you can chat with them from a distance and take a picture) and this is true in Avengers Campus as well.

Here is the current list of Avengers characters you may encounter in the campus:

• Iron Man
• Black Panther
• Captain Marvel
• Black Widow
• Thor
• Doctor Strange
• Ant-Man
• The Wasp
• The Guardians of the Galaxy
• Loki (may also be in his TVA outfit now!)

From what we experienced, Doctor Strange, The Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel, and Black Widow were only out as a part of live entertainment, but this may not always be the case. There are 4 locations that we saw characters in the campus.

1. Spider-Man can be seen on top of some roped off yellow crates in front of the graffiti wall on outside of WEB Headquarters when you first enter Avengers Campus (as seen above)
2. This little cement bench/stage area is not only where the Dora Milaje perform but also where characters can be seen, like Ant-Man in the picture below
3. The black truck parked outside of Avengers Headquarters is another place characters will be, like Loki in the photo below.
4. In front of Avengers Headquarters there is a chained off area where characters will come out, like Iron Man and Captain America in the photos below.

Can’t Miss Photo Opps

 

 

I mean, let’s be honest, the whole place is pretty photo worthy. They really did not leave one tiny inch of the place without an incredible detail or backstory. However, these are 5 places I think are the most fun! I will say that PhotoPass photographers were still not taking photos with guests devices when we were there. We basically just traded off taking photos for the person if front of us or behind us and it worked out pretty great (except for my Loki photo I had a stranger take, I’m still mourning the weird crop/angle the girl got haha)

Ancient Sanctum Optical Illusion Floor: This is probably the coolest photo opp in my opinion, it still trips me out that the floor is completely FLAT. Whoever came up with this idea is brilliant! You may find a line for this one as it is pretty popular. You can see it in the photo above.

Mirrored Geometric Sculpture in the Ancient Sanctum: (seen in the first photo below) This is a cool way to get creative with angels to take a selfie!

Spiderman Graffiti Wall: The side of the WEB Headquarters when you enter the campus is covered with fun and colorful graffiti.

Avengers Seal in front of Headquarters: In the main courtyard of the campus there is big Avengers “A” in the ground. If you take a photo here, you’ll also be featuring the Avengers’ Headquarters with the Quinjet in view on the roof.

Avengers Campus Entrance: This can be seen in the first photo of this post, it’s basically an epic sign that Avengers Campus, there as typically at least a short line for a photo here. There was also a Photopass Photographer available. Right next to the sign is a giant arc reactor in the ground as a nod to Tony Stark, said to power the entire campus. It would also be a super cool photo opp, especially when it lights up at night.

 

Shopping

 

There are are a few places to shop inside Avengers Campus and a few places to get Avengers merch in other places in DCA.

WEB Suppliers: Right across from the WEB SLINGERS ride. It is basically home to all things WEB aka Spiderman. Super fun merch, clothing, Spider Bots, and more!

The Collector’s Warehouse: This it the shop that is where the exit of the Guardians ride lets out, but you can access it without going on the ride. All things Guardians are here, including the cutest oversized plush toys of Rocket & Groot!

Campus Supply Pod: This is a decent sized kiosk right outside of the bathrooms and between Pym and WEB. It has some smaller items.

Kiosks Right Outside the Avengers Campus: There are a few kiosks right before the entrance where you can buy some of the same merch as can be found in the campus. It even has some of the web slinger attachments so you can be prepared to kick some spider bot booty right when you enter the campus. This is great for people who may not be able to get into the campus and want to just grab something really quick.

Hollywood Backlot: Another great option for mech is at Stage 17 and the Studio store in the Hollywood Backlot, aka any guest in DCA can access them. This is a great place to do more heavy shopping.  A cast member told us that over there you can find everything from inside of the Avengers Campus and then some. Including a live size Iron Man for $7,999, because why not?

 

So, now that you’ve made it through all of that, I will have to say that I would give Avengers Campus a 9/10. The only reason I won’t give it a perfect 1o is because I selfishly want the Quinjet ride they’ve talked about, but who knows when/if it will happen. If you are an Avengers fan, you NEED to experience it. I would say it’s totally worth putting in a least a little bit of effort to try and get in. If superheroes aren’t your thing, you still need to see it, but maybe wait until things die down a bit. All I know is that Disney is amazing at adapting and improving. This whole opening a new land with Covid restrictions undoubtedly has had some rough moments but evens some of the issues I heard about the first day or two were already updated/ironed out by the time we got there on day 3. I honestly cant wait to go back this fall and see it all again!