The newest attraction to open up at EPCOT finally has an opening date! May 27th 2022! Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (GOTGCW) for short is a one-of-a-kind coaster coming to EPCOT. From Disney’s official site: “Rock out on an intergalactic chase. This family-thrill attraction features the first ever reverse-launch on a Disney coaster and is one of the longest enclosed coasters in the world! A new innovation from Walt Disney Imagineering—this coaster rotates 360 degrees so you can focus on the action!”
Click here for update from 4/27
More from Disney’s official site Disney Parks Blog.
What do we already know about this awesome new family-thrill coaster attraction at Walt Disney World Resort? Well, we know people from the planet Xandar are coming to Earth and creating the first “other-world” showcase at EPCOT – the Wonders of Xandar pavilion. We know we’ll learn more about their technology and culture as we move through the pavilion, and discover how our two worlds are similar in so many ways.
But what actually happens? I’ve got an idea – or 12% of an idea, at least – based on the new commercial spot we’re debuting right here on the blog. Check it out below, and then let’s break it down!
OK so … what exactly did we just see?
- Someone shouts, “This is an SOS from Nova Corps … Our outpost on Earth’s EPCOT is in danger!” The Nova Corps is Xandar’s peacekeeping team serving as protectors of their planet and the broader Andromeda Galaxy, which is where Xandar is located. This must be a Nova Corps officer alerting us to an urgent situation.
- Clearly the Xandarians have come to EPCOT to oversee the Wonders of Xandar pavilion. I can tell because Spaceship Earth is visible outside the window, gleaming in all its glory. Oh, and because it says “EPCOT – Walt Disney World Resort” right there on the screen (nothing gets by me, I tell ya). But something is amiss because …
- Someone who appears to be a Nova Corps soldier shouts out, “Everything is disappearing!” And, yep, we see things – people, clouds, you name it – literally zipping backward out of existence. Rewinding, perhaps? Hmm …
- The officer is holding up a viewscreen communicator, and then we flash to the other end of that line … to the familiar confines of an M-Ship cockpit, where Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star-Lord, and a few of our other favorite Guardians of the Galaxy are relaxing between missions.
- Rocket is absorbed in apparently trying to “fix” Quill’s Awesome Mix tape. Thankfully, Groot is at least paying some passing attention to what’s happening on the screen in front of them and unmutes the volume – just in time to hear a distress call …
- “Help the galaxy – before it’s too late!” the officer urges – and then she, too, disappears … along with Spaceship Earth! Now we have Rocket’s attention, too, even if Star-Lord is peacefully snoozing away. (He’s been asleep this whole time? Typical.)
- Always considering himself the captain of the ship anyway, Rocket promptly takes the controls and decides to blast off for EPCOT. Because, as he says, “It’s save the galaxy time – again.”
- This is where we’ll come in, I think. As Rocket fires up the ship, we see other people zooming around the screen in Starjumpers, a type of Xandarian spacecraft. And just as the clip ends, Rocket takes the M-Ship into a jump point – the technology that allows Xandarians to travel vast distances of space in mere moments. And that’s it! “
We have been watching this massive building take shape in EPCOT since 2017 and have anxiously been waiting for it to open. Guardians of the Galaxy is going into the front of future world. The building itself is helping shape the skyline of EPCOT. I won’t say it is the best looking building in all of Disney World but it makes you excited for the attraction inside. Below is a picture of the building as we ran along side it during our run yesterday. Yes it is huge!
Other than the show building being a bit of an eye sore I am positive that this experience will be out of this world. At this time there is no information on how to ride this attraction. Meaning will it open with a standby queue and utilize Lightning Lane (LL), or will they go back to the often unfair virtual queueing system. Also we will be on the lookout for Annual Passholder (APs) previews or Disney Vacation Club (DVC) previews. We will be sure to let you all know as we find out. Stay tuned to us for our insights and first trips through the experience.
Updated April 27th 2022
Disney Parks blog gave us a teaser video for the new Guardians of the Galaxy coaster! Take a look below! Warning this contains minor spoilers Our commentary below
So we watched this as we aren’t too worried about spoilers for this attraction. It appears to have a backwards section of the attraction which should be interesting. Overall it is just a teaser, so not too much of the attraction was shown in this clip, however they make sure you see the cars are rotating.
For those who do not know these vehicles rotate 360 degrees, we believe this will make for a very unique experience. We will be trying out this attraction on May 9th for annual pass previews, so stay tuned!