As the Jack-o-Lanterns turn to Christmas wreaths, the Disney rumor mill keeps on turning.  Disney Parks are in the midst of more expansion projects worldwide than ever before and that doesn’t appear to be slowing down at all in the next five years.  Typically the domestic rumors have centered around Disney World, with Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios all set to make additions over the next few years.  Over the last few weeks though, Disneyland rumors have been at the forefront of the news.

Today we’ll address the two biggest rumors involving Marvel Superhero Land in California Adventure and Toontown in Disneyland.  Of course, these are simply rumors and should be taken as such until officially announced by Disney.  WDW News Today (wdwnt.com) has been the source of both of these rumors.

We’ll start in Disneyland where it appears that Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway will be added to Mickey’s Toontown.  This attraction is slated to open at Hollywood Studios in 2019 and then would be added to Disneyland in the coming years.  The source of the rumor says that the attraction would be added to the back of Toontown, hardly replacing any of the existing facades.

This rumor certainly passes the smell test.  Adding an attraction based on Mickey Mouse to the first Disney Park is a no-brainer.  Frankly, it is shocking that this has never happened before.  Having the ride in Toontown would also make sense as the attraction will be based on the classic Mickey short cartoons.  Along with the characters houses, an attraction based on (some of) those characters fits thematically and would help spread crowds out to different areas in the park.

There are only two trepidations I have with this rumor and they don’t actually have to do with the physical ride.  The first is that Toontown closes early each night to accommodate fireworks.  Would that still be the case?  If so, it would cause a logistical headache for at least the first year of Runaway Railway’s existence.  Lines would be cut off very early and capacity would be limited because of it.  This is by no means a deal breaker but is an issue Disney execs will have to figure out.  There isn’t an E-ticket attraction in Toontown (sorry Roger Rabbit fans) so this would be breaking new ground for the park.

My only other issue with this is that I was simply hoping for Toontown to go away.  Long time readers (do you actually exist?) know that I’m not a fan of Mickey’s Toontown and wish it would be replaced.  An extended Fantasyland or a different replacement would make better use of the space both in terms of quality and capacity.  Along with that, Toontown is an eyesore for an otherwise historic park.  Even with some sprucing up of Toontown that would come with adding a new ride, the concept and goofiness of the land just doesn’t fit well within the grand scope of Disneyland.  Unfortunately, Disney is moving closer to a strange array of lands by adding Galaxy’s Edge rather than keeping a somewhat cohesive park.  While Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway could exist in a different land, adding it will keep Toontown safe for quite a while.

Minor qualms aside, adding a marquee attraction to Disneyland shortly after a gigantic expansion is great and will give the park momentum.  I’ll be curious to see if Disneyland has anything else to follow-up Galaxy’s Edge next year.

Moving across the esplanade to California Adventure, rumors of Marvel Superhero Land’s attraction lineup have recently come out.  Disney has already confirmed that the land will come in phases.  Most expect the first phase to be completed sometime in 2020.

The first attraction that will likely come to Marvel Land (if the rumors hold up) is a Spider-Man family attraction where riders will shoot their webs at whatever evil comes their way.  The attraction appears to be in the same vein as Toy Story Mania and will inhabit the building that used to hold It’s Tough to be a Bug.  Other additions that will accompany phase one of this project are Dr. Strange show and a counter-service restaurant themed to Ant-Man.  I’m not going to comment on phase 2 because that will be down the road.

The Dr. Strange show and restaurants are fine rumors but not that interesting to me.  I’m not extremely excited about either of them but both could be fun.  The Spider-Man attraction is far more interesting to me.

I’ll get a few caveats out-of-the-way.  I don’t love screen based attractions and think attractions like Toy Story Mania are simply fun but not great.  That doesn’t mean that there can’t be a great attraction that is like it, instead I’m just slightly skeptical.  Having said that, this idea makes sense and would be a good addition for two reasons – it would likely be family-friendly and is being built relatively quickly.

Having an attraction available for kids in Marvel Land is a big deal.  I think superhero movies appeal to kids just as much as adults and, Spider-Man specifically, crossover from generation to generation.  The famous webslinger is the perfect pick for a family attraction.  Along with that, California Adventure is really lacking in attractions that kids can enjoy.  Hopefully, the ride won’t be too similar to Toy Story Mania.  As Melissa noted in our latest podcast, having those two in close proximity to each other could be problematic.

As for the attraction being built relatively quickly, I’m simply excited that Disneyland Resort is trying to keep up.  Walt Disney World has a new expansion or attraction coming every year for the next 5 or 6 at least.  Disneyland can often be put on the back burner during that.  Now, it looks like the resort will have something brand new in 2019 and 2020.  Add in the Runaway Railway and phase 2 of Marvel Land and it could easily be at least a couple of new attractions every year for the next half decade.  I’m happy to see new attraction keep getting rolled out.

While neither rumor has been officially announced, they both make too much sense for there not to be something behind it.  Time will tell but I think both rumors would benefit Disneyland Resort.

What do you think of these Disneyland Resort rumors?  Let us know in the comments.  Planning a trip to Disneyland?  Check out our planning guide!  We hope you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney.  You can subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email on the right side of this page.  Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!