We’ve been talking about it for months. That’s it: the Avengers Campus, the new area dedicated to Marvel at Disneyland Paris, will open its doors. Located to the left of Hollywood Studios, not far from the Tower of Terror, where hitherto reigned the Armageddon attraction and especially the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, based on Aerosmith, it is the great novelty forward to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Parisian park. This weekend of July 8, 9 and 10, barely ten days before the opening to the general public, Disney allowed journalists to visit this place that fans have been waiting for, and to test the attractions in preview. We clearly did not hesitate. That’s what we saw and learned there.An impressive environmentAlready, it must be said: the Avengers Campus is impressive. Impressive in its size, realism and sense of detail. The basic idea is simple: Tony Stark found this former SHIELD base in Paris built by his father, and made it the Avengers HQ (hence the presence of the impressive Quinjet next to the Flight attraction Strength). So some of the structures are brick, aging, from the time of Papa Stark. Others are ultra-modern. Still others combine both. Which gives a coherent environment, and which makes it possible to disseminate everywhere winks to Peggy Carter, Stark and more. The Avengers Campus is also the place where the “heroes of tomorrow” are designed. In concrete terms, there are two attractions, two restaurants, a store, a meeting area, a Training Center and food trucks. You come across heroes, which is “normal” since that’s where they hang out when they’re not saving the world. Between two attractions, we come across The Wasp, Thor and Loki or even Doctor Strange, when we are not facing shows where Black Widow confronts the Taskmaster on the roof of a building or with the Dora Milaje, Black’s soldiers Panther. The buildings are beautiful and well made. The Pym Kitchen, one of the two restaurants, is the former base of Hank Pym, who was trying to tame world hunger by making food bigger or smaller – resulting in unusual menus. The Stark Factory, the other canteen, is the pride of the park. It is located in the Avengers workshop, where the heroes repair their equipment (the Hulkbuster sits in the middle of the room), and we eat “on the go” in this particularly well-made setting. In general, this Campus is impressive just for its surroundings. The sets, the light, the music: everything immerses you inside this world of the Avengers. It’s damn well done, and it’s by far the most immersive land of the two parks. Fly through space alongside Iron Man and Captain Marvel The heart of the campus remains the star attraction, the Avengers Assemble: Flight Force. Keeping the path of the old Aerosmith attraction – understand that the route is the same – everything has been razed and rebuilt around it. The way to queue, the exterior structure: everything is new. Starting with Friday, the famous AI designed by Tony Stark, which welcomes us. The messages and the visual identity (based only on blue and white lights on the front of the Avengers HQ, where the attraction takes place) are unique , constructed as a 24-hour “loop”. Understand that you will never hear Friday say or do the same thing twice in a day. A first for the park. In the queue, you are faced with a screen that allows you to pass the time and tells what is going to happen – a bit like in Star Tours. We see Iron Man asking Avengers to help him on a mission. Only Captain Marvel responds to eliminate these Kree missiles targeting Earth. It’s Ali Baba’s cave of easter eggs – the files name, Wade Wilson (Deadpool), calls for certain heroes like Ant-Man, who seems stuck in Hong Kong in reference to an attraction in the Asian park… There is only that. Once the briefing given by Iron Man (in an astoundingly realistic animatronic), we understand that we must fly in a Flight Force, the vehicle designed by Tony Stark, to create a diversion. We embark in these wagons, all the same more pleasant than the old ones. And here we go for the thrills. The start, signature of the attraction, is still just as strong, and even coherent since it is about take-off – hence this breathtaking acceleration where we go from 0 to 96 km/h in three seconds. Then follow loops, bends and free fall. The action taking place in space, the attraction is plunged into darkness. We sometimes see the Earth, our heroes or Krees. Always with audio in the ears (it’s no longer music like in the days of Aerosmith, but communications between Iron Man and Captain Marvel). The result is amazing. As much as, at the time of Aerosmith, one could feel what was going to happen, as much, here, everything is in surprise. You won’t know – other than when the heroes tell you to drift left – where you’re going and what awaits you. Even the smartest will be very annoyed trying to find the sensations of the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster as the dressing changes the experience. A future flagship and cult attraction for the park, there is no doubt. Playing Spider-Man, the great success of the Campus Our biggest surprise is not on the side of this roller coaster. Where you could visit fake film sets of Armageddon are now the premises of the WEB, the organization that allows young talents to have access to all the material they want to innovate and do research. . The godfather of this team is none other than the young Peter Parker, a little genius who came straight from Queens. With the help of four other toddlers, the latter has developed several creations. Starting with a vehicle, the Web-Slinger, which allows people inside the machine to project webs. That’s good, since one of Spider-Parker’s creations, the Spider-Bot, is self-replicating and invading the campus. Direction the canvas car to stop them. It could have been ugly, badly done, badly done, in short, failed. But it’s our favourite. It’s the perfect interactive attraction, along with those of Ratatouille (where you wear 3D glasses) and Buzz Lightyear (a game where you have to aim well to get maximum points). Sitting in the Web-Slinger, four per compartment, you find yourself facing screens where you have to aim faster than your shadow. Four game sequences where an army of robotic spiders rushes at you if you don’t stop it in time. Not only is it fun and funny, but, in addition, when you leave, you want to go back to improve your score. Which is the ultimate proof of a success. The Avengers Campus will open its doors on July 20 at Hollywood Studios.
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