The Worst Roller Coaster at Disney Needs To Be Replaced ASAP

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Guests ride Avengers Assemble: Flight Force next as Captain Marvel flies alongside their ride vehicle

Credit: Disney

Somebody needs to say it, so we will: Disney needs to replace Avengers Flight Force.

While roller coasters may not be the main focus of Disney’s theme parks, the ones that are built tend to be fan favorites. Space Mountain, for instance, has remained a beloved classic for decades. More recent additions, like Guardians of the Galaxy – Cosmic Rewind, have pushed the envelope by integrating advanced technology, creating an immersive experience that brings guests into the heart of their favorite films.

Guests ride Avengers Assemble: Flight Force while Captain Marvel and Iron Man fly alongside them
Credit: Disney

However, not all of its efforts have hit the mark. Avengers Assemble: Flight Force debuted at Walt Disney Studios Park with the rest of Avengers Campus in 2022, taking the place of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.

While the concept of the ride – which sees riders recruited to help Captain Marvel and Iron Man fight against a powerful threat, soaring through the skies in a futuristic jet to save the day – sounds cool enough, the reality is nothing short of, well, boring.

The Harsh Reality of Avengers Assemble: Flight Force

What promised to be a high-speed, adrenaline-pumping adventure quickly fell flat, as parkgoers labeled Avengers Assemble: Flight Force “rough,” “disappointing,” and even “painful.” Many noted that it lacked the immersive storytelling and attention to detail that Disney attractions are known for, leaving fans underwhelmed.

While the queue impresses with a sleek design and a cutting-edge Iron Man animatronic, the ride itself has been criticized for its lack of standout features, feeling more like a generic indoor roller coaster in the dark.

Guest and Iron Man outside Avengers Assemble: Flight Force
Credit: Disney

Reports even suggested that Walt Disney Company executives, including former CEO Bob Chapek, were dissatisfied with the attraction and entertained the idea of a retheme to meet Disney’s high standards. Rumors of a full refurbishment circulated but have yet to materialize. Although minor effects have been added since its opening, guest reception remains lukewarm.

Comparisons to Hyperspace Mountain at neighboring Disneyland Park are frequent, with fans lamenting that Flight Force fails to offer a unique or memorable experience.

This lack of enthusiasm is reflected in the numbers—while most new Disney rides draw multi-hour wait times for months or years after debuting, Flight Force’s average wait is a mere 24 minutes. During visits in late 2023, waits were as short as 15 minutes, further highlighting the ride’s struggle to captivate audiences.

The most common criticisms are that while its queue is impressive (especially the Iron Man animatronic), the ride itself features few effects to help it stand out from any other indoor roller coaster in the dark. Rumors swiftly spread that even Walt Disney Company executives (including then CEO Bob Chapek) were less than impressed with the final result and hoped to retheme it to Disney standards.

Guests ride Avengers Assemble: Flight Force next as Captain Marvel flies alongside their ride vehicle
Credit: Disney

This isn’t just our biased opinion. While new Disney attractions typically boast multi-hour wait times for months – if not years – after they first open, Avengers Assemble: Flight Force has an average wait time of 24 minutes. On visits in October and December 2023, this writer waited for a maximum of 15 minutes.

Will Disney Replace Avengers Assemble: Flight Force?

Ultimately, it wouldn’t take much to even slightly improve Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. As one Reddit user pointed out, it could easily become more exciting by utilizing an AC/DC soundtrack (inspired by the favorite music of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) in the Iron Man movies) or another rock soundtrack featured in the MCU such as “Immigrant Song,” as featured in Thor: Ragnarok (2017).

But sadly, we feel like the odds of Disney actually introducing a replacement for its Avengers ride seem pretty slim—especially right now.

Walt Disney Studios Park entrance
Credit: Perry Tak, Flickr

Walt Disney Studios Park is currently undergoing a multi-year refurbishment, which involves demolishing an entire land and overhauling over 90% of the park. By the time the work is complete, Walt Disney Studios Park will have its own version of World of Frozen, a land inspired by The Lion King (1994), a Tangled (2010) attraction, a lake, a new restaurant, and – most importantly – a new name.

The park will eventually be known as Disney Adventure World.

With that in mind, upgrading a land it only recently finished is unlikely to be high on Disney’s list of priorities. However, with Disney California Adventure Park’s version of Avengers Campus (which only opened a year earlier) already slated to add two new attractions in the near future, we wouldn’t say it was impossible.

What are your thoughts on Avengers Assemble: Flight Force?

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