We had the chance to ride Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind as part of the annual passholder preview. This article will cover what we thought of the experience. We won’t detail out the plot of the attraction, but we will show pictures of the queue. Also in order to experience this attraction you will need to join a virtual queue. We outline that for you in this article, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind to use Virtual Queue & Individual Lightning Lane!
But first, we will go over what Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is. As described in our post Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind gets an opening date, we covered the basics but what Guardians is, it is EPCOT’s newest attraction and only roller coaster! Also, Guardians puts a new spin (haha!) on coasters which Walt Disney Imagineering is calling an “Omnicoaster”. This term of course plays in on the term “Omnimovers”.
Let’s talk some history. When you think of “Omnimovers”, think of The Haunted Mansion, or for those in the know, Adventures Through Inner Space. The ride vehicle for story telling reasons points you in the direction that the designers intend for you to look. According to Wikipedia, the term was coined by legendary Imagineer Bob Gurr. If you have time read up on his awesome career, and he is super nice in real life!
Now back to Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. The attraction is getting ready to debut on May 27th as part of the World’s Most Magical Celebration. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is located in EPCOT towards the front of the park in the new “World Discovery” neighborhood, and here is our inside look!
The Queue
The queue for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is hosted in the old “Universe of Energy” building in EPCOT. When entering, you are greeted with a Xandarian A.I. voice named “World Mind”, which for comic book fans know as part of Nova Corp on Xandar. It is made up of experiences of deceased Xandarians. Here at EPCOT, it plays more of a host for the queue, and introduction to the concept of the attraction.
As you wind through the queue building, you will be treated to the backstory as to why the Xandarians are here. Xandarians have come to Earth, and more specifically to EPCOT, to share their world with us. While traversing the Xandarian galleries, you will be treated to some EPCOT easter eggs. The most obvious one being a tribute to the original concept of EPCOT in the name of “Prototype Community”, how clever!!
Once you get through the galleries, you will meet up with the Lightning Lane queue members, and get ready for the next couple of rooms that setup the story.
The Roller Coaster Experience
All of the rooms you have gone through were prepping you for the main part of the attraction. As mentioned above, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is using a brand new coaster technology called Omnicoaster.
We like to call this roller coaster a mix of Space Mountain in California meets the Haunted Mansion. When you first get in the vehicle, there is a lot of room which is nice. The restraint is just a lap bar, this means there are no inversions. When the train leaves the station or Star Jumper as they call it, it is mostly a normal coaster experience until one section where all of a sudden your vehicle seat turns around backwards!
Emma and I were seated 10 which is the last row that meant all of a sudden we were in the front of the train, but that is not true either, as this coaster launches you backwards to start it off. This may scare off some of you from riding, however I offer you this. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is mostly mellow. After the initial launch you are put into the massive show building. The rotation of the Star Jumper vehicles is so smooth and flawless it feels like you are floating, and for the most part it is unnoticeable that it is even rotating.
For a comparison attraction I will say this is on par with Space Mountain, and for those of you who have been on Hyperspace Mountain in California with the screens, this should all feel familiar to you as well. This attraction takes that experience to a new level of enjoyment, and it is very smooth as well. If you can handle Space Mountain from California, it is safe to say you can handle this one, but your miles may vary.
Conclusion
Our final thoughts on Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind are that it is a welcome addition to EPCOT. This will bring a lot of people back to the front of the park which was desperately needed. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is a major addition to the resort as well. We absolutely loved it, and encourage everyone to try it out. Remember to experience this attraction you, will need to use the virtual queue, or Individual Lightning Lane.
The story is very light hearted and familiar, but the star of this show is the roller coaster, and how it presents you with the story. We aren’t ready to crown this as our favorite attraction at Disney World, but it will fight it out for top spot in a future article. Star Wars Rise of the Resistance, and Avatar Flight of Passage might have something to say about that top spot, stay tuned!
Will you be trying out Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind on your next visit? Let us know n the comments.