Photo Courtesy of Disney (Paul Hiffmeyer/Disneyland Resort)

This is one of those too crazy to believe rumors, but it has been running rampant for months now. We first reported it in our Rumor Round Up in March. Now everyone is quoting MouseChat and saying that the rumor is confirmed… I’m not sold on that quite yet, but here’s the talk around town:

“We can tell you that the Guardians of the Galaxy rumor is true, and TDA’s (Team Disney Anaheim) executive suite was furious when the rumor leaked out from Glendale-based sources. The plan is for the original Twilight Zone backstory to be removed entirely, and replaced with an all new show based around the Collector character from the Guardians movie franchise. WDI (Walt Disney Imagineers) had been testing and experimenting with the new show in the elevators for months and the Tower of Terror hourly CM’s were all aware of what WDI had been cooking up since this winter. TDA’s Cast Communications team was instructed to send out vague and pointless “Talking Points” to the CM’s that instructed them to not believe everything they see online until it is confirmed by the Disney Parks Blog. Except many hourly CM’s who work the Tower of Terror attraction and its gift shop had known about this evolving plan for months prior to its online leak, as Imagineers and TDA executives spent plenty of early mornings and late nights inside the ride building testing out the new show proposals in the elevators and tinkering around the pre-show hallways and queue.” Direct from MouseChat

The supposed plan is that Twilight Zone Tower of Terror in Disney’s California Adventure will close this fall so Disney can completely redo the exterior and interior of the tower structure with the re-imagined Guardians of the Galaxy theme. The new attraction’s debut would coincide with “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” movie premiere.

(Scott Brinegar/Disneyland)

The big picture rumor then has a Marvel themed land taking over the back section of Disney’s California Adventure slowly over the next few years. This would include stage 12 which sits unused, stage 17 and the Monsters Inc attraction. The main focus point of the new Marvel Land would be a huge “mega-coaster” along with “The Collector’s Tower”.

Ok, so how does this all work and why is the rumor taking off? Well, CBS owns The Twilight Zone license, so Disney pays them to use it for Tower of Terror and that contract is coming to an end. So, Disney is left to decide do they continue to pay another company to use the rights or do they cash in by using something they already own? That is kind of a no brainer for most. Also, keep in mind this is ONLY for Disney’s California Adventure!

I will admit that the thought of Marvel Land does excite me. I feel that Marvel is VERY under represented in the California theme parks where there is no Universal Studios contract to hold Disney back. And now with the closure of Super Hero HQ in Disneyland Park the only Marvel entertainment to be found is the Spider-Man and Captain America meet & Greets in California Adventure. I don’t think that Disney is capitalizing on one of their biggest fan base, so I am not against the idea… I’m also not against re-theming Tower of Terror as I think the one in Walt Disney World is 100 times better…

So what are your thoughts on all this?

And remember as with any rumor it is still a rumor until Disney confirms… Apparently through Disney Parks Blog! Haha

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