Disney’s new ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ ride creates entertaining experience

Photo by Elaine Toh

Sophomore Elaine Toh and her sisters conquer the new Guardians of the Galaxy ride at Disneyland.

“Now show me those hands, people!” yelled Rocket Racoon, a character from the popular “Guardians of the Galaxy” series. Accompanied with classic rock music, the gantry lift zoomed upward, then suddenly dropped and opened to a screen of the cast, replacing my initial screams with hysterical laughing.

Disneyland’s long-anticipated California Adventure ride, Mission: BREAKOUT!, based on the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies, opened on May 17, bringing forth hundreds of Disney fanatics. Many of the fans were eager to test out the new ride, wondering how it would compare to its popular predecessor, “The Twilight Zone” Tower of Terror, which closed in January.

Though the drop tower aspect remains, the renovated tower’s appearance and preshow have received some drastic changes. Compared to Twilight Tower Of Terror’s eerie hotel exterior and haunting storytelling, the new ride illustrates a sci-fi adventure with its bright exterior and humorous script.

Eager to experience it for ourselves, my two older sisters (Allison, class of 2012, and Eileen, class of 2017) and I went on a trip to Anaheim in early August.

On our previous trips to Disneyland, I avoided any spine-chilling rides with sudden drops. Instead, I spent most of my time lazily riding the tranquil Fantasyland rides and “It’s a Small World,” abstaining from my crying sequences as 4-year-olds judged me.

But in order to get over my fear of roller coasters, I allowed my sisters to drag me to every attraction they pleased this time. I was most anxious about the renovated drop tower, one of the many rides I had never been on before. The memory of my sisters being afraid of our hotel’s elevator after riding Tower of Terror haunted me as we waited in line.

While my heart was beating crazily, my sisters took Snapchat videos or “insta-worthy” photos of the ride’s vibrant red, orange and blue exterior and its fictional plants and artifacts, including a dog dressed in astronaut attire.

Once we finally boarded, I was relieved to see that we were being seated in the last row of chairs. Based on which rock song plays at the beginning, the ride can be one of six different versions, each with its own set of goofy scenes of the cast. I probably screamed my lungs out as the lift raced upwards, but ironically, as the ride dropped 130 feet, my body felt calm and weightless.

When we got off, my sisters expressed their disappointment, saying that the ride “wasn’t as scary as before” and that it “didn’t shake as much” as the Tower of Terror, but they still wanted to ride it again.

I, on the other hand, was glad to have overcome my fear of thrill rides. While the new ride may not have compared to the Tower of Terror and still has frustrating hour-long waits, it managed to provide an exhilarating experience without making me bawl my eyes out.

If you are a first-time rider or are usually afraid of thrill rides like me, Mission: BREAKOUT! could be the start of your wild roller coaster journey.