Disney has unveiled a new model for Avengers Campus, which is doubling in size with the addition of two new rides, Stark Flight Lab and Avengers Infinity Defense. This shares detailed photos of the two attractions being built backstage at DCA, which are also the next two projects in the pipeline for Disneyland Resort.
Avengers Campus expansion has been in the pipeline for a while, with this being the second or third iteration of the E-Ticket attraction depending on how you count. Regardless, Disney pulled back the curtain on the headliner, Avengers Infinity Defense, at the 2024 D23 Expo while also announcing the addition of the supporting player, Stark Flight Lab.
Ground was broken on this Avengers Campus expansion towards the beginning of last year, and we’ve been closely watching the project’s construction progress since. First from the former Fun Wheel, and now from the ground (or more accurately, the elevated platform) in Avengers Campus as the show building and canopy continue growing in size.
Construction continues on these attractions being built backstage, with the massive Marvel expansion show building stretching all the way behind Cars Land. It’s tough to see progress from inside Avengers Campus, as the canopy appears complete, but the backstage show building itself is now being enclosed.
For the 2026 D23 Expo, Walt Disney Imagineering intentionally designed a pavilion that follows up on projects first announced two years ago at the Horizons Showcase or Parks Panel. Aptly named, the “Imagineering: Horizons” pavilion offers updates on all those shovel-ready projects that are now being built (plus Avatar, which isn’t).
This is the largest pavilion that WDI has ever done, and wow does it show. It’s basically model mania with something for everything currently under construction, highlighted by the massive Piston Peak National Park model. There’s also space for presentations and a whole lot more.
I’m live on the ground at the 2026 D23 Expo (if you see me, please say hello!) and I’ve spent about 75% of my time at the Imagineering: Horizons pavilion. Between poring over these models to spot new-to-me details and watching the presentations on the Tom Morrow-land Terrace Stage, most of my weekend is accounted for. Accordingly, this post and others like it are going to be photo-heavy and commentary-light.
With that in mind, let’s get down to brass tacks with a detailed look at the Avengers Campus model in the Imagineering booth on the show floor of the 2026 D23 Expo…
Avengers Campus is the weakest link among the models on the show floor. In talking to other fans, this isn’t even a remotely controversial opinion. I have a few friends who are still Marvel Cinematic Universe superfans, and even they agree that this looks pretty underwhelming.
The running joke is that this looks like Disneyland Resort is getting its first Costco. That’s absurd. Disney would never sell hot dogs for $1.50 and not increase the price for over 40 years. Can you even imagine that. Nevertheless, the jokes I’ve heard about Avengers Campus being a magical place where guests go to buy toilet paper in bulk are amusing.
At the same time, what did anyone honestly expect?! I hate to be a “defender” of Avengers Campus, but it’s not like the current land is anything special. Is a Costco-themed building really all that much worse than a Circuit City-inspired structure? Avengers Campus has all the charm of an Irvine office park, and we’ve been saying that for years.
To the extent that the Marvel land has any redeeming qualities, they’re the way the land is inhabited by super heroes. The way it’s just allowed to be a fun free-for-all where there are no strict timelines or story rules or whatever. The land itself is among the worst Imagineering has ever built, and it’s baffling that they’ve now built a trio of them. Disneyland’s is actually the best of the bunch (for now)!
Finally, the Costco-esque building in the model is entirely backstage, mostly behind Cars Land. To the extent guests are going to see anything, it’s the canopy that you can currently see. That and the courtyard out front are nothing special, but they’re not awful, either. (Disney definitely would’ve benefitted from setting this up like the Piston Peak model, which shows landmarks outside the area for context.)
Given that Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Force are the next attractions in the pipeline for Disneyland, the obvious question is when they’ll debut…
When Will Avengers Campus Expansion Open?
Of the two attractions, Avengers Infinity Defense is the much more complex and meaty attraction. It’s an unequivocal E-Ticket, whereas Stark Flight Lab is clearly a secondary and more basic attraction. It’s filler to round out the ride roster, and we don’t mean that in a disparaging way.
In the past, we’ve pointed out that Stark Flight Lab could open as soon as Late 2026 if Disneyland so desires. That is, assuming it can be built and open in a such a way that is conducive to construction continuing on Avengers Infinity Defense.
In watching construction closely, I’m now more skeptical that this is even possible. The two attractions seem very integrated, and even if it were possible to open Stark Flight Lab sooner (and I doubt it is), doing so could stifle the project site and slow down work on the E-Ticket. There’s also the question of whether Disney actually wants to open the two attractions separately.
We suspect the doubling of Avengers Campus will open all at once between Late 2027 and Spring 2028.
Right now, the pace of the project is about on par with Tropical Americas at Animal Kingdom, which Disney has already given a 2027 timeline. Our expectation is that Tropical Americas opens in phases (out of necessity), with the first half debuting in Summer 2027 and the second half sometime between October 1st at the earliest and Spring 2028 at the latest, with around December 4, 2027 being most likely.
Avengers Campus expansion and Tropical Americas started around the same time, and although the Marvel attractions went vertical first, Encanto wasn’t far behind. Maybe this will be like Pandora and Mission Breakout, which debuted on the same day!
Of course, this doesn’t account for differences between the two projects in scope, scale, or construction challenges (swamps vs. urban California). Setting aside all of that, which is admittedly a ton to set aside, it’s still our belief that Avengers Campus Phase 2 and Tropical Americas are fairly comparable.
Accordingly, I’m also going to go with a Late 2027 opening for this. Disneyland likes the sweet spot between Halloween and Thanksgiving, right around the time Christmas season starts. That would put the opening date for Avengers Campus Phase 2 around November 12, 2027.
Even so, it’s going to be a challenge to debut the new area by late 2027 given the current pace of work. Either way, late 2027 to mid-2028 is probably the most realistic window for Avengers Campus Phase 2. But if Tropical Americas can debut before the end of 2027, so too can this.
No matter when the Avengers Campus expansion debuts, these are the next new attractions to opening as part of Disneyland’s upcoming development cycle. With ground clearing now underway for Coco, my best guess is that’s the 2028 opening; I would expect that to debut less than a full year after Marvel expansion.
If you’re unfamiliar with Stark Flight Lab or Avengers Infinity Defense, here’s more info…
Stark Flight Lab
In Stark Flight Lab, guests will sit in “gyro-kinetic pods” and roll along a track before stopping in front of a giant robot arm. This robot arm will hoist you into the air where you’ll make several high-speed maneuvers inspired by Iron Man and some other Avengers.
A familiar face will join you at the Stark Flight Lab, as Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as Tony Stark for the attractions in the land. Stark Flight Lab seems sweet and simple, and should be a fun supporting player; DCA could use more of that to boost the ride roster.
It reminds me a lot of Sum of All Thrills at EPCOT, but as an open air attraction. That extinct attractions in the former Innoventions used KUKA Arm technology. Sum of All Thrills was pretty cool, and ahead of its time. It was also woefully inefficient, with atrocious hourly throughput. Turning this into an actual ‘ride’ with a track and multiple robotic arm stations should address that issue.
You can read more about this attraction in our Stark Flight Lab: Everything We Know So Far post.
Avengers Infinity Defense
Avengers Infinity Defense will occur in a version of the Multiverse where Thanos won. When joining battle with the Avengers, you never know what foes you’ll face from anywhere and everywhen. Avengers Infinity Defense is a family-friendly attraction giving guests the opportunity to team up with the Avengers and their allies from across the Multiverse to battle against enemies, led by King Thanos.
The conceit of Avengers Infinity Defense is that technology that allowing the Marvel heroes to jump between worlds has gone missing, and King Thanos is using it to wreak havoc everywhere. Recruits will travel to iconic locations like Asgard, Wakanda, and New York City alongside the likes of the super heroes.
Based on what Imagineering has shown so far of Avengers Infinity Defense, it’ll be a screen-centric attraction that also moves through physical sets with show scenes and built environments. When it comes to domestic attractions, the best comparison is probably (ironically) the Spider-Man and Harry Potter attractions at Universal.
The ride vehicle for Avengers Infinity Defense was on display at the last D23 Expo, and it’s the same as the one utilized by Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure. You can read our review, which describes that as Avatar Flight of Passage meets Universal’s Spider-Man, for somewhat of a “sneak peek” at what to expect from this Marvel E-Ticket. This is the best comparison of all, as it’s our strong suspicion that Avengers Infinity Defense will be a lot like that, except in the Marvel Multiverse instead of Never Land.
I love Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure. Unfortunately, it makes Sarah nauseated. I would expect the ride profiles to be fairly similar, with Avengers Infinity Defense being a bit more intense while still fitting the family-friendly label. (I don’t know how you do a completely family-friendly Marvel ride with a battle against King Thanos, but the Peter Pan ride does the same with Captain Hook–so who knows.)
The bottom line is that Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure is excellent–a long and meaty E-Ticket that leaves guests (well, except those who get sick on it) feeling satisfied. I will be really happy if Avengers Infinity Defense is a clone of that ride system, profile, and track layout, and just swaps out Peter Pan and pals for Marvel.
Read more in Avengers Infinity Defense: Everything We Know So Far.
Ultimately, we’re looking forward to Avengers Campus expansion, even though it is (admittedly) not one of my favorite lands at DCA. I’m very bullish on Avengers Infinity Defense, which will hopefully be a meaty E-Ticket. I’m not even concerned that the show building looks like a Costco, especially since it’s concealed behind Cars Land.
I’ve seen a lot of disappointment from Disneyland diehards about what Avengers Infinity Defense isn’t, but it being the equivalent of Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure is a great thing. And as sick as I am of no-stakes multiverse nonsense in the Marvel films, I think that idea actually lends itself to a theme park attraction.
It’s an excellent way of playing the ‘greatest hits’ of the voluminous Marvel Cinematic Universe, and offering a little something to everyone since it’s not possible to do rides for every single super hero or villain. I’m not the biggest MCU fan anymore, but I’m really looking forward to Avengers Infinity Defense. Don’t make the mistake of underestimating it–like so many of us did with Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout!
Obviously, Avengers Infinity Defense is the more exciting addition, but Stark Flight Lab is like icing on the cake since it was not previously part of the plans. I’ll certainly take another attraction in Avengers Campus, even if it is a fairly basic. Filler isn’t bad. DCA needs more filler, as does pretty much every park that isn’t Disneyland.
This reminds us of the secondary attractions in Cars Land, which are pretty much perfect from a ‘payoff’ perspective and really round out the land. Avengers Campus will never be as good as Cars Land, but this should go a long way in improving it. With Avengers Infinity Defense, the DCA version of this land should maintain its crown as the #1 version of Avengers Campus. Not exactly high praise, but a win’s a win.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What is your reaction to the model for the second phase of Avengers Campus? Excited for Stark Flight Lab and Avengers Infinity Defense? Have you seen progress in person? Optimistic that Avengers Campus Phase 2 opens on November 12, 2027? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
