By Scot Drake, Creative Executive, Marvel Global Portfolio
Last night, the next phase of the Avengers initiative began with the arrival of the Avengers’ signature aircraft, the Quinjet, to Disneyland Paris. We are now one step closer to the opening of our new Avengers Campus here at Disneyland Paris.
Our WDI and Marvel teams have already successfully brought to life The Avengers Campus in California as well as the Stark Expo at Hong Kong Disneyland and we are thrilled to be the next step in Tony Stark’s vision for training more heroes for the future! It’s been just a few hours since the Quinjet has safely landed, and we couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come with the opening of Avengers Campus this summer!
Just like in Hong Kong and California, Disneyland Paris guests will be able to meet and interact with Super Heroes in newly immersive ways, as the Avengers and their allies recruit new heroes to join them.
And with the Quinjet now sitting atop the Campus’ central hub, thisnew heroic location is closer than ever to becoming real.
As Creative Executive for Walt Disney Imagineering’s Global Marvel Portfolio, I wanted to share an exclusive glimpse of this landmark development – so check out the video we captured during this epic landing:
En chargeant cette vidéo, vous acceptez la politique de confidentialité de YouTube.
En savoir plus
I also wanted to take the opportunity to celebrate the great diversity of talents that allowed this unique aircraft to spread its wings and fly above Avengers Campus in Disney California Adventures and at Disneyland Paris: our Imagineers, Marvel Studios and Entertainment partners, as well as the European team at UK Loco that has been instrumental in bringing our creative vision to life.
When we started imagining Avengers Campus, we immediately thought of creating a powerful centerpiece that would draw Guests into the heart of the action, thus encouraging them to bring out their inner superhero. We also looked for a symbol of the global interconnection between the campuses, and the idea of the Quinjet quickly emerged as the most iconic piece of Avengers tech that would rally superheroes around the world.
First imagined as an advanced aircraft transport used by Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, there have been several different Quinjet designs throughout Marvel comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, for our own Avengers Campus version, we wanted to show an aspirational forward-looking aesthetic. So we came up with this all new WDI design. But to build a full-size jet, we needed to bring in additional engineering expertise which we did by partnering with British company UK Loco, a long-term, trusted partner of WDI Paris who had already provided unrivalled technical input into immersive experiences such as Toy Story Playland, Crush’s Coaster and Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy.
When we came to meet UK Loco at their workshops in Evesham, England after many Zoom meetings and transatlantic exchanges on the Quinjet’s 3D model, we were immediately convinced by the team’s technical expertise, their eye for details and above all, the capacity to think out of the box and find innovative solutions. Qualities that have proved critical in order to deliver our creative vision, i.e. a Quinjet shining as a beacon of inspiration, in the midst of the pandemic. Seeing the Quinjet come to life from an idea in a brainstorm, to a sketch on the wall, then a virtual design model, and finally to the iconic centerpiece it is today, is an incredibly moving experience, and it inspires us all to continue delivering our best.
With this new Quinjet, we wanted to take the Avengers into a new era, where we are welcomed in to step up and become part of something bigger alongside Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. I can’t wait until we welcome our first recruits to assemble at this beautiful new Avengers Campus later this year!