The Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission BREAKOUT! project was a re-theming of the Disneyland Resort’s Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attraction located at California Adventure in Anaheim. While the infrastructure of the ‘drop elevator’ ride remains the same, the interior and exterior of the building were completely overhauled to mirror The Collector’s Fortress from Marvel Entertainment’s film series Guardians of the Galaxy.
Raymond’s Southern California region performed Themed Character Plaster on the thrill ride which opened on May 27th, 2017. Raymond performed and oversaw the installation of every themed element on the exterior of the building, from the satellite dishes, crenellations, pipes, FRP cladding, reflectors, medallions, antennas and spires, to the balcony railing covers.
Over 4,000 feet of Unistrut metal framing was installed on the exterior of the building to support 90% of the architectural and ornamental (A/O) parts. Raymond used a 280-pound rare earth magnet to locate studs through four inches of substrate, helping to reduce the amount of missed penetrations and prevent the building from leaking.
In order to fly larger sized A/O pieces to their locations on the building’s exterior, the project housed a 40 ton hydraulic crane onsite for 28 days. The crane was needed in two separate areas of the project which presented logistical challenges. Raymond established a Crane Pick Plan (schedule) to manage crane path and staging, as well as a critical lift checklist for each element being flown. Planning and careful coordination between Raymond, the General Contractor Clark Construction, Owner Walt Disney Imagineering, and the crane and rigging subcontractor, Bragg Companies, kept the project on schedule through its completion.
Raymond Senior Estimator and Project Manager on the project, Jeff Lacourciere, has noted that the entire Guardians team “excelled in every way imaginable, overcoming challenges and even using them to the project’s advantage.” Raymond concluded the project under budget in material, as well as in almost every labor cost code. Daily coordination meetings, frequent review and revisions of the project schedule, and Clark Construction’s support and leadership, all attributed to the overall success of the project.
Project Team:
Walt Disney Imagineering – Owner/Architect
Clark Construction Group – General Contractor
The Raymond Group – Themed Character Plaster
Bragg Companies – Crane and Rigging