In addition to our earlier announcement about the Avengers Campus Opening Date, we also have some SUPER news to share about the menu items at Pym Test Kitchen. Some of these dishes are really unique and we hope they turn out as good as they look in these preview photos! Here’s all the scoop, originally posted on Marvel.com
Avengers Campus brings together Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for the common good, and they’re calling all recruits to join the action: Team up with the Avengers and their allies; sling webs with Spider-Man and become part of a bigger universe. Kids and guests of all ages will find their powers as they unite with family and friends to take an active role alongside some of their favorite heroes, with a chance to live out their own heroic story. So at some point, you’re going to want to refuel. Thankfully, you won’t have to go far after your latest mission because Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort includes multiple spots to stop and grab some delicious food, drinks, and even something sweet before it’s time to assemble again.
The brand new land, opening on July 18, 2020, features one new quick-service restaurant for you and your family of heroes to taste-test inventive food and drinks, a tasting lab with alcoholic beverages, a shawarma cart
(yes, you read that right), and a new treats stand located by Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission — BREAKOUT!
We recently got to try some of the brand new food and beverage offerings coming to Avengers Campus, and it all looks good enough to eat — and share on social media. So after helping Spider-Man catch those pesky Spider-Bots and in between heroic encounters with the Avengers and their allies, here’s where you need to go to fuel up:
PYM TEST KITCHEN
“Super Heroes don’t normally open restaurants,” Jillian Pagan, Staff Writer, Walt Disney Imagineering explained during an early media day for Avengers Campus. But, that’s exactly what the Pyms have done.
“They would use their technology to help the world, right?” Pagan continued. “So that’s the story of our Pym Test Kitchen. In our story they are using their shrinking and growing technology to create new innovations in food science because, of course, you can feed many more people if you can run, say a normal-sized pretzel through this quantum tunnel machine, hit it with some Pym Particles, and make it grow to a giant size.”
“We’re here at Pym Test Kitchen, where we are shrinking problems and growing solutions,” John State, Culinary Director at the Disneyland Resort, explains. “Just imagine the guests walking through, pulling the handle of that door, walking into a laboratory, becoming part of the experience of Pym Technology.”
It’s one thing to talk about the Quantum tunnel, and it’s another thing to actually see it in action — The Pym Test Kitchen features one that will shrink and grow food right in front of your eyes!
There will be plenty of options for everyone, including plant-based options along with kid-sized items and taste for kids. Here’s a sampling of what you’ll be able to find inside, and mobile order will be available via the Disneyland app.
Experiment No. IP42: Quantum Pretzel
Feast your eyes on a giant pretzel that has been enlarged by the quantum tunnel and comes with a mustard sauce and a beer cheese dipping sauce (featuring California IPA, sharp cheddar, mozzarella, a hint of mustard).
Experiment No. EE10: PYM-ini
Looking to indulge in a giant panini? You can with the appropriately titled PYM-ini. The full sandwich is two feet long, and 9 inches wide after it comes out of the Quantum tunnel — and while it can be ordered family style, it can also be done in individual slices, too.
The PYM-ini features toasted focaccia with salami, rosemary ham, provolone, sun-dried tomato mayonnaise and arugula with marinara dipping sauce. There’s also a version for little Avengers, the Teeny Pym-ini, which is ham, provolone cheese, a touch of mayonnaise, and focaccia.
Experiment No. EE746: PB³ Superb Sandwich
The PB³ Superb Sandwich features peanut butter, banana, smoked bacon and strawberry jelly with a banana smoothie shot and vegetable dusted potato bites.
For kids, there’s a deconstructed version, which includes peanut butter (served in a Petri dish), strawberry jelly, a little paddle to spread it, and two slices of the Pym bread, fruit and a Dasani water or a Lowfat Milk.
Experiment No. EE90: Not So Little Chicken Sandwich
What happens when you shrink a bun but grow a chicken breast? That’s the Not So Little Chicken Sandwich, with a fried chicken breast topped with teriyaki and red chili sauces, pickled cabbage slaw and crispy vegetable dusted potato bites.
I may be vegan, but this gigantic chicken sandwich with a tiny bun is hysterical…
There’s also a shrunken chicken sandwich, the Subatomic Sandwich for kids. It doesn’t have any sauce on it, leaving kids to customize it their own way at the condiment station.
Experiment No. EE45: Impossible™ Spoonful
For those looking for a plant-based option, the Impossible Spoonful features large and micro plant-based Impossible™ meat-balls, served in a super-sized spoon with a tiny fork, and two different sizes of pasta. They’ll be an option for kids, too, where the sauce will be on the milder side.
PYM TASTING LAB
Adjacent to the Pym Test Kitchen, an oversized beer can overhead signals that grown-up beverages are available at Pym Tasting Lab. Guests may order a craft beer, ranging from a blood orange hefeweizen to an amber lager. These are poured from a reverse draft system where, thanks to the food scientists, the glass fills from the bottom up. Those thirsting for a beer cocktail will have four to choose from, along with bite-sized snacks.
If you’re looking to try everything on the menu, there will also be beer flights available, along with souvenir Pym beaker cups.
X-Periment, Molecular Meltdown, Honey Buzz and Particle Fizz
X-Periment: Patron Silver Tequila, Lime Juice, Habanero, and Mango Syrup, garnished with Mango flavored Popping Pearls. Molecular Meltdown: Garage Brewing Marshmallow Milk Stout with Vanilla Ice Cream and topped with Mini Marshmallows. Honey Buzz: Plymouth Gin, Lemon Juice, Honey Premium Syrup, Elysian Space Dust, IPA and a Honey edible Straw.
PARTICLE FIZZ: Endless Summer, Hard Seltzer with Cherry flavored Pearls.
The Regulator
Patron Silver Tequila, Lime Juice, Habanero, and Mango Syrup, Golden Road Mango Cart Wheat Ale, garnished with Mango flavored Popping Pearls.
Snack Molecules
To complement any beverage selection, guests can also nosh on these Snack Molecules featuring popped sorghum with mini pretzels and honey roasted peanuts.
Proton PB&J Punch and Pingo Doce
The kid-friendly Proton PB&J features Odwalla® lemonade with flavors of strawberry and peanut butter, while Pingo Doce, the distinctly green beverage from Avengers lore, is a park-exclusive beverage featuring the flavors of lime, vanilla, and maybe some Gamma radiation.
SHAWARMA PALACE
After the Battle of New York, the Avengers fell in love with shawarma. So, it only makes sense for there to be a shawarma cart at Avengers Campus.
The cart will feature two items. New York’s Tastiest, which is a classic shawarma spiced chicken, with garlic sauce, a warm wrap and a dipping sauce featuring tahini, lemon, garlic, and a pickled vegetable.
There’s also the Impossible™ Victory Falafel. Falafel, Kalamata olives, mint, garlic sauce, hummus, crispy cauliflower, and a tofu dipping sauce. [We’re very excited for this along with the impossible meatball!]
TERRAN TREATS
Taneleer Tivan — also known as The Collector — is always looking for ways to lure more guests towards his towering building of collections. So what are guests constantly searching out? Sweet treats. Located over by Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission — BREAKOUT! here’s what you’ll find Taneleer serving, but everything might not be what it seems.
Sweet Spiral Ration
Why just have a churro when you can have a churro from The Collector? The Sweet Spiral Ration Churros will include unique, rotating flavors (and colors).
Cosmic Cream Orb
For a hand-held snack on the go, try the Cosmic Cream Orb. A crispy cream puff with whipped raspberry cheesecake mousse — and while you see it in a purple hue here, it might not always be that color.
We’re beyond excited to see these in person soon and test them out ourselves! The new Avengers Campus sounds like it’ll be quite the immersive area with all of these new additions including the new Web-Slingers: A Spiderman Adventure attraction. What are you most exited to experience at Avengers Campus? Stay tuned here for more news to come!
During a shareholders meeting this morning, Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced new details for the upcoming spider-man themed ride at the Avengers Campus, opening this summer.
Titled ‘Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure,’ the ride will give guests their own web-slinging powers as they team with Spider-Man to take on an army of spider-bots on the loose.
Walt Disney Imagineering creative executive director Brent Strong reveals,
At WEB, young inventors like Peter Parker have been brought together by Tony Stark to help create technologies that allow everyday people like us to have powers just like the Avengers. When we get inside, we find out that they’re not quite as well funded as Stark Enterprises. They’re not quite as militaristic as SHIELD. In fact, they’re not all that organized at all. These are some kids that have some amazing power, right? Vibranium from Wakanda, Pym Particles from Ant-Man. They have arc reactors from Tony Stark. In fact, they probably have a little bit more power than they have responsibility.
In a ride similar to this, Toy Story Midway Mania, guests use a blaster triggered by pulling a cord to hit targets. Superpowers don’t work like this though, and the folks at WDI had to figure out a more natural and immersive way to perform tasks on this new attraction.
What you won’t see is people holding onto a blaster, people holding onto an interface. Believe it or not, with nothing in your hands, you get to reach out and you will sling webs on this ride. In order to do that we invented a brand new interface.
This is the first time we’ve ever shown this outside [of Imagineering]. This is a gesture recognition system that we have built into every slinger vehicle and sixty times a second, we are able to determine where a guest’s head is, their shoulders, their elbows, and even their wrists. We’re able to track the motion of your body so that when you reach out and sling a web, since we know where your eyes are, and we know where your hands are, we can render a virtual web coming right out of the palm of your hand, right out of your virtual web-shooters and into a virtual world.
Strong also said that there are no age or height requirements for the ride, making it more accessible to all families.
This is something where guests of all ages get to live out that epic action, which is wonderful.
The ride will feature Spider-Man himself, as voiced by Tom Holland, who will explain the situation before loading guests into the new ride vehicles, called ‘slinger vehicles.’
During a shareholders meeting this morning, Disney CEO Bob Chapek has announced that guests will be able to meet some of their favorite adventures beginning July 18th, 2020!
The Avengers Campus is the brand-new Marvel themed area expansion to Disney California Adventure, which replaces the former a bug’s land area. In this new land of the park, guests will be recruited by the Avengers to become the next generation of super heroes.
July 18th is the scheduled date for Phase One of the area’s completion. This includes the brand new Spider-Man experience, which is the first Disney-built ride-through attraction to feature the web-slinger himself. Guests can also enjoy the currently open Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT! attraction, as a part of the land’s adventures.
Phase Two of the land, which will include the new Avengers-themed E-ticket attraction is still yet to come.
Avengers Campus will also feature the Pym Test Kitchen, an Ant-Man and The Wasp themed dining location specializing in growing and shrinking every-day food with Pym Technology.
Stay tuned here for all the latest updates on the Avengers Campus, and all over Disney parks and resorts.
Disney California Adventure has had quite the history in its short 19 years of existence. February 8th saw DCA’s 19th birthday, so to celebrate we thought we’d venture Up the Waterfalland discuss all the crazy changes this young park has experienced over the years. It’s definitely had some…growing pains. Special thanks to Yesterland.com for all the incredible photos from California Adventure‘s opening days.
Personally, I did not get to enjoy Disney’s California Adventure in its original or even secondary “glory.” This was due to the fact that around the time it was built I was not only dealing with two kids under two, but I was still in California-is-a-foreign-country-I-may-never-get-to mode regarding Disneyland. (But once I did get to experience the Disneyland Difference, I fell head-over-heels in love!)
As a result of not visiting California Adventure for years, I missed a lot of the things we discuss in the beginning of the episode. Sure, I knew about Super Star Limo and the pun-filled Paradise Pier area, but that was sort of it. So this episode was really fun for me to discover some of these things for the first time too.
In this episode, we start out with the history of a second park on the west coast; where and what could have been. Next we chronicle how Disney’s California Adventure first came to be. We cover all of the strange design and attraction choices that existed at park opening in 2001. Followed by the little changes and the major changes that followed.
ARE Egg Rolls the fastest?
When I finally got to visit DCA in 2011, it was full of construction walls and not much else. Really, just Paradise Pier and World of Color were the highlights for me. Certainly, when I returned in 2012, it was a whole new world. Cars Land, Buena Vista Street brought with it a new design standard. All the additions that came with those areas really improved the whole park, making it a must-see destination.
Rounding out the discussion, we share where we think the park will go in the future with the upcoming Avengers Campus. Above all, we ponder what will become of Disney California Adventure in the years to come. What do you think will happen?
We hope you enjoy this week’s episode of Up the Waterfall!
How to Listen to Up the Waterfall
You can listen anywhere you download and listen to podcasts, including:
(If there’s a podcast service where you can’t find our show, let us know and we’ll get it added there!)
How to Watch Up the Waterfall
Head to our Up the Waterfall YouTube Playlist– where you can see our opening sequence and some unique images of the Disney California Adventure over the years. Here’s the latest episode:
Feel free to comment below with your memories of Disney California Adventure, any questions or info you’d like to add, or if it’s easier, head to the Zannaland Facebook page and join the discussion there with fellow DCA fans!
How Can I Learn More About This Episode?
Here are some of the books we referenced for this episode (the links will go to the item on amazon.com and are affiliate links – meaning no extra cost for you but a small portion goes back to zannaland if you make a purchase – thank you for supporting our site!):
Zannaland and Up the Waterfall Community – Let’s Connect!
FOLLOW THE ZANNALAND FAMILY ON SOCIAL MEDIA, WATCH OUR VIDEOS, VLOGS AND PODCAST TOO:
Well if nothing else, the D23 Expo always keeps us on our toes…or Disney in general does. Even though the 2019 D23 Expo doesn’t begin until today (Friday 8/23), and the Disney Parks & Resorts session isn’t happening until Sunday, Disney sent us a surprise update last night on twitter and the Disney Parks Blog with some Parks announcements. We will share them all below, and update this post throughout the Expo. So bookmark this or keep it up in a tab, and keep checking back for details as we get them – and add your comments, predictions and opinions below too!
DISNEY PARKS & RESORTS:
Disney Parks Pavilion at D23 Expo 2019
Disney Parks Pavilion at D23 Expo 2019
STAR WARS HOTEL –
Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser (Star Wars Hotel)
We now have a name for the new “Star Wars Hotel” we heard about at the last Expo: “Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser will be a new, first-of-its-kind vacation experience where guests will check in for a two-night adventure aboard a glamorous starship. Once onboard, guests will interact with characters and become active participants in stories that unfold around them on their galactic journey.” – Disney Parks Blog
This is a very interesting twist, and the rumored price-points of this unique experience were also shared on twitter earlier last week…coming in at a whopping $3300 for the required 2-night stay with a cabin for 5 running $7200 (pricing as seen on WDWNT.com fansite). Again, these prices are just rumors and may (and probably will) change when they are officially announced. The pricing is all-inclusive, but we aren’t sure what exactly that means at this point.
We’ll have more on this as our Zannaland correspondent gets a view at this display within the Expo show floor and after the Parks & Resorts presentation on Sunday!
EPCOT
Boy oh boy, EPCOT is such a valuable and precious place to so many (myself included), and the rumors and plans and conjecture on what will be changing are keeping all of us die-hard fans on the edge of our seat and probably creating a bit of an ulcer in some cases. The bottom line is, Disney could, at any moment, just change everything. Get rid of Imagination and Figment, change it all to IP attractions, all beer, all merch, all festivals all the time…We are of course hoping that that does NOT happen, and the promise 2 years ago of attention and refresh of EPCOT to some form of its former glory, gave us all hope. We have now been given some updates that keep that hope alive. The fact that we are now reverting to spelling it EPCOT makes my tiny 80’s heart sing!
EPCOT 2019 Concept Art Updated
EPCOT ATTRACTIONS POSTERS –
Some folks were granted access early to the D23 Expo show floor, and one Disney Twitter fan captured photos of all the new EPCOT attractions posters – there will be a couple revealed on Sunday but have a look now:
AMAZING, right? Which is your favorite?
MOANA WATER PAVILION –
Announced last night on the Parks Blog – “The reinvention of Epcot will include Journey of Water, Inspired by “Moana.” This first-ever attraction based on the Walt Disney Animation Studios hit film, “Moana,” will let guests interact with magical, living water in a beautiful and inspiring setting.” If it’s one thing we love here at Zannaland, it’s Disney and water features, so this is very exciting and promising. We will share more as we learn it!
Journey of Water, Inspired by “Moana” at Epcot – Concept Art
I’m also excited that we will get a new preview center at the Odyssey Pavilion (formerly the Odyssey restaurant and festival event space) so we can check on EPCOT’s coming soon projects and “…discover engaging and interactive exhibits that allow you to step inside the relentless innovation, energy and excitement and see some never-before-revealed details driving the future of Epcot all throughout this unprecedented period of transformation.” I do love a good model, so can’t wait to see this in person! Read all the EPCOT updates here.
Walt Disney Imagineering presents the Epcot Experience at the Odyssey Pavilion
AVENGERS CAMPUS – DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE –
The Disney Parks Blog shared, “When guests visit Avengers Campus, they will become part of an interconnected, global story that spans from California to Paris to Hong Kong with the Avengers recruiting new extraordinary people to join them.” We’ll have more on this as we get updates!
Avengers Campus Concept Art
DISNEY+:
Last night at D23 Expo, Ricky Strauss, president, Content & Marketing for Disney+ and Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts announced One Day at Disney, a spectacular collaboration between Disney Publishing Worldwide and Disney’s new streaming service. The new, 224-page coffee table book and the documentary series will both arrive on December 3, highlighting the talented men and women who bring life to some of Disney’s most beloved stories.
On February 21 of this year, 76 unique photo shoots took place around the world, as Disney dispatched photographers to capture images of the employees and cast members who drive creativity and innovation at The Walt Disney Company. From Shanghai Disneyland and ESPN to Pixar and the set of Modern Family, these spectacular photographs—and the stories behind them—will be featured in the hardbound, collectible book, written by Bruce Steele, which is now available for pre-order.
On December 3, the same day the book arrives in stores, Disney+ will debut its new, 52-episode short-form series One Day at Disney, launching with a feature-length documentary. This exciting new series takes an in-depth look at the unique and surprising roles these men and women call their daily jobs. The series and documentary are from Endeavor Content’s Non-Scripted Division and executive produced by Michael Antinoro and David Chamberlin and produced by Victoria Chamlee.
Following the debut of the special, which features such talent as Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts and legendary animator Eric Goldberg, more than 50 One Day at Disney shorts, ranging in length between 4 to 7 minutes long and each profiling a single remarkable person and their fascinating job, will debut each week.
Disney+ Programming Line-up –
Lucasfilm’s Untitled Obi-Wan Kenobi Series Starring Ewan McGregor
New Marvel Studios Series “Ms. Marvel,” “Moon Knight,” and “She-Hulk,”
New “Lizzie McGuire” Series Starring Hilary Duff,
“The Muppets” Short-form Series
The above series join the lineup of originals from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic that have been previously announced. We’re really excited for some of these and will have more updates and photos soon!
World Premiere Trailers Released for Launch Titles:
“The Mandalorian” – this looks very promising. I’m excited. see the trailer!
“Lady and the Tramp” – I seriously teared up just at the TRAILER, I can’t wait for this full movie!!
“Noelle”- um, this is ADORABLE and I can’t wait to watch it with my daughter (and the whole family)- see the trailer!
“High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” – I will admit to having little to no interest in this but I was too old for the original and the new one is not for my age bracket anyway lol – see the trailer!
“The World According to Jeff Goldblum” – this needs NO explanation – see the trailer!
“Encore!” a reality series where high school theatre kids are now adults and re-create their musical performances. I swear I saw a show that did this same thing but can’t remember what it was now. Anyway, this is very much in my wheelhouse! – see the trailer!
Disney+ releases November 12, 2019 and you can learn more at DisneyPlus.com.