When Mark Diwas climbs aboard Finding Nemo’s Submarine Voyage, pays a visit to Casa Della Tires’ on Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters or embarks on daring missions on Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run in Batuu, he can spot his fingerprints on each attraction.
Over the past 24 years, Mark has helped open these fan-favorite experiences as a member of several Disneyland Resort test & adjust teams, a select group of skilled cast members who work alongside Walt Disney Imagineers and have the privilege of testing out the attractions long before official opening.
A New Mission
With two new attractions, Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab, coming to Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure park, planning and construction are well underway. It’s no surprise that Mark will play a pivotal role in bringing these one-of-kind attractions to life. But what makes this chapter particularly different for Mark is that he is no longer joining the test & adjust team. This time, he’s helping build it.
Mark joined the Avengers Campus expansion team in 2024 as a program development project manager following nearly two decades of experience with opening new attractions. Since then, he has worked with Walt Disney Imagineers to represent Disneyland Resort operations teams throughout the early stages of the Avengers Campus design and construction process.
“My previous experience as an attractions cast member and various test & adjust opportunities helped prepare me for this role,” shares Mark. “It’s where I learned more about how attractions are designed and built, and all the teams that are involved in the process.”
A big and especially meaningful part of Mark’s role as a program development project manager is that he also helps select and lead the cast members who make up the test & adjust team, all of whom will apply their own attractions knowledge to help prepare Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab for guests. For Mark, the idea of new cast members embarking on their own test & adjust journeys is a feeling like no other.
“Knowing what test & adjust teams have done for me, I am so excited for this team and what they can do with their journey,” exclaims Mark. “For a lot of them, this will be their first test & adjust experience.”
That excitement was on full display when the newly selected Avengers Campus Test & Adjust team was surprised with the news during a special reveal at Animation Academy, marking the start of their own behind-the-scenes journey.
Test & Adjust Assemble
With the Avengers Test & Adjust team officially selected, Mark has dedicated a significant amount of time explaining to new recruits the critical role test & adjust team members play. From determining the best ways to configure line queues to finding safe, efficient ways to load guests in and out of ride vehicles, these cast members are essential to the success of the attraction. Together, they’re building protocols and teams from the ground up.
“We all use our knowledge collectively to figure out what’s going to work best,” shares Mark. “It’s fun to see what opportunities you can make together as you start something new.”
Before Opening Day
Mark, alongside the Avengers Campus Test & Adjust team, will spend the coming months assisting Walt Disney Imagineers with on-site testing, bringing both attractions together piece-by-piece. And speaking from experience, Mark knows that this time will fly by. “One of my favorite moments during the test & adjust process is when it’s quiet on site and I can just walk around by myself and take it all in,” Mark reminisces. “And just looking at these new lands or attractions that we’ve built, I think, ‘Wow, I was part of this.’”
For Mark, those quiet moments are a reminder of just how far his Disney journey has come: from a cast member joining his first test & adjust team to helping guide the next generation of test & adjust cast members as the resort continues to expand. And as those cast members begin their own journeys at Avengers Campus, Mark is excited to see where the experience takes them, knowing firsthand how transformative it can be and confident that the future of Disney storytelling is in good hands.
“You have no idea what this experience is going to do for you, how big this is for you, or where you’re going to go.”