By Charly SHELTON

The Guardians are trapped! The Collector has captured them and they are on display in his museum. Rocket Raccoon has escaped but he needs our help to get past the scanners and free the rest of his team by disabling the gravity generators on the museum ship. And, of course, being that it’s the “Guardians of the Galaxy,” they’re going to break out to the sweet tunes of the ’70s on a boss mixtape.

Disney has capitalized on the Marvel properties well, with a series of films that have taken the world by storm and launching an age of super heroes where comic books are mainstream. Who would have thought in 1997, just 20 years ago, that the “Guardians of the Galaxy” would have a theme park ride today? It’s a really weird turn of events for someone who has read Marvel comics for just over 20 years that comics are now cool. I’ve always known it, and it’s nice to see that the public agrees.

Properties like this have a lot of wiggle room for stories and applications, so to adapt the Guardians to the former Tower of Terror site at Disney California Adventure didn’t take much to create a really cool experience. It’s all the same layout, same elevator car, same everything, but with what is called a story overlay – basically the decorations have changed and new videos added. Instead of Rod Serling introducing the “Twilight Zone” episode you’re in, The Collector introduces the museum you’re in. The boiler room queue has hardly changed at all – just some new lighting and a bit of paint splashed around. The cool part is once you get in the gantry lift elevator car.

When Rocket blows the gravity generator, the gantry lift shoots up and down as the gravity changes all around the guests. The feeling of weightlessness that Tower of Terror brought for a few fleeting seconds has been extended to make it more like being in space. And with projection screens showing scenes involving the Guardians and with ’70s music blaring, the overall experience is really fun and makes guests want to ride it again right away. There are six songs with six different show scenes so repeat riders will get a kick out of riding over and over. This will be a favorite of mine for a long time to come.

Outside the new ride, DCA is hosting its Summer of Heroes featuring Marvel heroes from the Avengers. Spider-Man, Captain America, Groot, Star Lord, Gamora, Black Widow and Hawkeye greet guests through different shows and autograph locations, and Marvel merchandise abounds throughout the land. The food is amazing as well, taking a page from the Food and Wine Festival and housing a pop-up window service restaurant for the ravenous horde of fans, both young and old. Knowhere Eats features great Mexican food – tacos, margaritas, nachos – and the Studio Catering Co. has Mediterranean foods – falafel, Italian subs, etc. I suggest the Obviously Nachos from Knowhere Eats or the Bifrosties shaved ice at Schmoozies.

You’re welcome.

Be sure to stop by the Hero Action Center and see which characteristic of your personality is most heroic and how you can get involved in your community to make a difference. It’s more than just reading a comic book; it’s embodying the values the characters espouse. With great power, there must also come great responsibility.

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  Charly Shelton