After delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic, tomorrow is when guests will finally be able to experience Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, the new, innovative rollercoaster at Walt Disney World. The attraction has currently been in previews for Cast Members, D23 Members, Annual Passholders, and other select groups.
It has already been announced that the attraction will have a virtual queue and a paid individual Lightning Lane option, but no standby queue – at least for the immediate future.
In addition, this first-of-its-kind coaster for Disney features a reverse launch and 360-degree rotating vehicles called Starjumpers. Disney Imagineers refer to the coaster as an Omnicoaster – a re-conceived version of the Omnivehicles first used in The Haunted Mansion.
“After kicking off with a reverse launch, the coaster will rocket riders through the cosmos with the Guardians,” writes Imagineer Zach Johnson told D23. “Each individual cab in the attraction’s Omnicoaster ride system will direct your eyes to the story as it’s happening around you. Instead of whizzing by the action, the system will fully immerse you in the story from the moment you take off.”
Treasures of Xandar Gift Shop
Disney has stated that when the attraction opens tomorrow, the Treasures of Xandar Gift Shop will not immediately open. Instead, any merchandise – including dated souvenirs – will be available at the recently opened Creations Shop, adjacent to the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind attraction. Disney has also set a limit of two items per guest for all attraction-related merchandise.
How to ride Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will be available for the Extended Evening Theme Park Hours perk, however only a virtual queue will be available. Standby will not be an option. Each Guest can enter the virtual queue no more than once per day during regular park hours. The virtual queue has been used in the past for new attractions including Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.
Guests must have valid admission and a theme park reservation to join the virtual queue. There will be two daily opportunities to request to join the virtual queue for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind:
- 7:00 AM (Guests do not need to be in the park when they join, but must have a theme park reservation for EPCOT)
- 1:00 PM (Guests must be in EPCOT to join the virtual queue at this time)
Extended Evening Theme Park Hours
An additional opportunity to request to join the virtual queue will be available at 6:00 PM on select dates during extended evening theme park hours, a benefit for registered Guests staying at a Disney Deluxe Resort, Disney Deluxe Villa Resort, or other select hotels. Guests with this benefit do not need to be in EPCOT to request to join at that time.
These Guests will need valid admission and a theme park reservation for the same park on the same day to experience extended evening hours—or, they may experience extended evening hours if they have a ticket or Annual Pass with the Park Hopper option and first, enter the park for which they made their reservation.
Another option to experience the attraction will be through the individual Lightning Lane. It has been recently revealed that, depending on the day, the attraction will be priced from $14 – 17 (plus tax) per guest. According to reporter Scott Gustin, “From May 27-30 it will be priced at $17. On May 31, the price drops to $14.”
Concept idea before Guardians
In an interview with D23, Walt Disney Imagineer Wyatt Winter said that they were already planning to put a coaster in the Universe of Energy building. Winter said they already were planning on creating an attraction around the Big Bang. Additionally, the innovative, rotating Omnicoaster was already in development long before they were asked to create a Guardians-themed attraction.
We had the idea for … we didn’t even call it the Omnicoaster the … but a coaster that we could turn and rotate you into the show,” said Winter. “So that idea, along with an idea for a coaster that was about the Big Bang, singularity, kind of going through the cosmos, those were two ideas that were out there. Then, we got the assignment and thought of how do we put Guardians of the Galaxy here at EPCOT. We kind of mashed all those ideas together.”
