Guardians of the Galaxy- Monsters After Dark
Yesterday Halloween Time kicked off at Disneyland and I took off work and made my way to the parks with one goal in mind: Guardians of the Galaxy's Halloween makeover, Monsters After Dark. I love thrill rides and Guardians is my favorite ride at any park hands down. Fun music and free falls are right up my ally and for whatever reason, I missed it the previous years. This year I was determined to ride the ride that kicks off at 5pm daily. I ditched world early, picked up Martha and arrived at the park around 3pm and of course, the first stop was to Golden Horseshoe for chicken nuggets and fries, the lunch of champions. Our plan was to hover around the entrance starting around 4pm and then line up when we were allowed, however once we arrived, we were able to line up right away although the line was closed. The weather was hot with a breeze, so we took a seat in the line queue and waited the 45minuets until the 5pm ride time. Over the loud speaker we can hear announcements that some creatures were on the loose and once they were back in their cages, we would be let inside. This only added to the excitement. The announcements kept the line crowd entertained with funny antidotes about watching our backs for strays, no petting the monsters, and not to look them in the eyes.
Before Guardians of the Galaxy staked claim as the premier E-Ticket ride in California Adventure, its predecessor was the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, which had same flair for thrills, but with a different feel. With narration by Rod Sterling and set on a dark and rainy night, Tower of Terror LOOKED scary. Cobwebs covered the walls and with every step, you felt you were coming closer to your doom which was awesome! Guardians of the Galaxy's theme is bright, colorful and museum like as The Collector (Taneleer Tivan) puts all of his trinkets on display- which includes the captured Guardians, in trendy custom display cases, with the exception of Rocket because he escaped. Where the Tower of Terror ride is dark, gloomy and haunted, Guardians Mission Breakout has an amazing soundtrack (thanks to Star-Lord's walkman, and in between drop sequences, doors open and you can see various Guardians in different acts of escape once they are freed. It is almost like watching a movie during the ride.
For Halloween before its closure Tower of Terror had "Late Check Out" where you can experience the ride in complete darkness. I was one of those people that rode this ride twice a visit mandatory, to the point where I knew the drop sequences by heart. How bad could it be? Let me answer that question for you- it was terrifying and amazing because since it was pitch black, we didn’t know which way was up. When it comes to drops and thrills, Guardians is far superior, so I was excited to see what this Halloween makeover had in store.
Once the line got open we were quickly ushered into the preshow room which explains the mission: immediately after the original ride, the Guardians escape but accidentally leave Groot! Our job is to distract the monsters on the loose while Rocket finds and rescues Groot. The ride of course exceeded expectations in the first 5 seconds when as soon as the ride starts, we were shot straight up to free fall right back down. THAT'S WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT! I live for moments like that! If during a thrill ride I am not contemplating my life's choices, it was a waste of my time and as always Guardians delivered right on time.
Guardian’s Mission After Dark is running nightly starting at 5pm until closing until October 31st.