We made it out to Anaheim for our first visit to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure last week. While most of our time was spent taking in the sights and sounds of the parks for the first time, we did capture some photos and video on our re-rides. Today we’ve got photos and a little bit of video from Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT.

Facade

The exterior of the ride has caused some passionate debate amongst fans of the Disney parks since it was revealed. I was in the camp of thinking that the facade didn’t look great. That is, until I saw it in person. While still very obviously shaped and laid out the same as Tower of Terror, it definitely grew on me over the 4 days we were there. There’s no doubt it’ll serve as a focal point for the upcoming Marvel land in Disney California Adventure.

Interior

The story is set the second you get a peek inside. You’ve entered The Collector’s Fortress and are about to go on a tour of his vast collection. Various artifacts and creatures are on display all around you as you enter the first room of the building.

I felt that this portion of the queue moved too quickly and would sometimes let other guests pass as we looked at the displays. One of the most popular of the displays is Cosmo, a Soviet Union test animal.

One of my favorite details was that The Collector had actually captured Epcot’s Figment. Oddly enough, Figment is a Marvel character now, with 5 comic books having been released.

The Collector’s private office is the next holding room that guests visit. It’s here that Rocket Raccoon first lays out the plans on how you’re going to help him release the remaining Guardians of the Galaxy from The Collector’s grasps.

Here’s our video of the impressive Rocket Raccoon animatronic.

Some fun nods in this room include a hidden Minnie Mouse, a Tower of Terror bellhop hat, and an invoice from XS-Tech.

A boiler room of sorts still exists, with some of the collected items strewn throughout.

Ride and Thoughts

As far as the ride system is concerned, it’s a fairly standard drop thrill. The only thing that is different from the Florida version (besides the forward motion through the building) is that the ride vehicle is nearly always moving. When you’re viewing a video sequence, the vehicle slightly bounces throughout. There are six different songs and multiple video sequences. I had initially thought that the music matched the video sequences, but we ended up getting the same video sequences with different songs.

Here are the songs that we got, and I’ve put them in order from our favorite to least favorite:

• “Free Ride” by The Edgar Winter Group (1973)
• “I Want You Back” by The Jackson 5 (1969)
• “Burning Love” by Elvis Presley (1972)
• “Give Up The Funk” by Parliament (1975)

And the two that we didn’t experience:

• “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” by Pat Benatar (1980)
• “Born To Be Wild” by Steppenwolf (1968)

So what were our thoughts on the ride as a whole? We loved it! As someone who enjoys the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, it was awesome to see the characters represented in a manner consistent with the fun, irreverent feel of the movies. We never rode the California version of Tower of Terror, but from what we’ve been told, Mission: BREAKOUT seems much better. I’d even go as far as saying that we enjoyed Mission: BREAKOUT more than Tower of Terror in Florida.

Monsters After Dark

Monsters After Dark is the nighttime version of the ride. It takes place immediately after the events of Mission: BREAKOUT and calls on you to once again help Rocket, this time saving Groot, who was left behind. The monsters are out of their cages and the whole entire building is thrown into disarray. This version of the attraction features a single song and video sequence.

While I liked the daytime version of the attraction more, it’s cool to see Walt Disney Imagineering continuing a story within the confines of a single attraction as the day goes on. I think that this isn’t going to be the last time we see Imagineering attempt this in an attraction.