On November 1st a brand new exhibit opened at Disneyland California featuring man-of-the-moment Thor. Being big fans THN were there on the opening day to check out the new experience and meet him in person in order to report back to our readers. You’re welcome all! Here’s what we knew from Disney prior to the exhibition opening:
“Astrophysicist Jane Foster, who established a special relationship with Thor, has been studying the Bifrost, a cosmic bridge that allows Thor to travel between the Nine Realms, including Earth. She has determined that the Bifrost is set to open again in Southern California and pinpointed the precise location as Innoventions at Disneyland park.
Inside Innoventions, Foster and her team are preparing for the opening of the Bifrost with the installation of Thor: Treasures of Asgard, a collection of objects brought to Earth straight from Asgard. After viewing the exhibit, you’ll be invited to enter a chamber where the Bifrost will transport you to Asgard for an audience with Thor himself!”
So, with that in mind, we happily stood in a queue inside the Innoventions building while others enjoyed the delights of Space Mountain and the Californian sunshine. To keep the queue amused there are several weapons and artifacts from Asgard you can peer at through a glass cabinet if you can elbow everyone else out of the way. Once it’s your turn you are ushered into a small room in a small group and told to look at some more Asgardian objects before the Bifrost opens and transports you to Thor.
Highlights in this room include Heimdall’s helment and weapons and Loki’s helmet, shackles and daggers.
Plunged into darkness, the voice of Odin appears and lets you know the Bifrost is about to open. Cue a flash of light and some dry ice; the door opens and you are greeted by Thor on his throne.
Now, as fans of the effects in the movies and the lovely rainbow Bifrost bridge, we were hoping for something a little more spectacular to transport us from Earth into Asgard than dry ice – not even a threshold to walk over! Our disappointment, however, was abated for the most part by our lovely chat with Thor.
Our regards to the casting team at Disney who have done a fine job! We spoke about our day and filled Thor in on the particulars of some of the rides on offer in the park. He seemed pretty excited when we told him Jack Sparrow was lurking around at the Pirates of the Caribbean Ride, perhaps Disney have another crossover up their sleeves.
The entire experience lasts about 10 minutes from start to finish and is a fun way for fans to get more involved with the films. There’s definitely a heap of room for improvement in regards to the Bifrost but perhaps Disney will improve this as the exhibit progresses. Interest in the experience can only grow as THOR: THE DARK WORLD is released in American cinemas on November 8th having already made $110 million in 3 days internationally.
Thor: Treasures of Asgard Experience is now open at the Disneyland park in California.
