Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

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Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
Rewind.jpg
A promotional poster for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
Epcot
Land Wonders of Xandar
Opening date May 27, 2022
Vehicle type Starjumper
Ride duration 3 minutes
Disney Genie + No (Lighting Lane Exclusive)

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is an attraction in the Wonders of Xandar pavilion at Epcot.

History

A Guardians of the Galaxy themed attraction was originally announced on July 1t, 2017 as a replacement for Epcot's Universe of Energy pavilion [1]. At the time, Disney stated that the new ride would be an E-ticket attraction based on the "rockin’ and action-packed world of Guardians of the Galaxy", that would open in time for Walt Disney World's 50th anniversary in 2021 [1].

On August 13, 2017, the Universe of Energy pavilion was closed and subsequently walled off from guests [2]. Although Disney decided to build a completely new show building for the new Guardians attraction, much of the original Universe of Energy building was saved, and reused as the new attraction's queue and preshow area [2].

Over the next two years, work continued on the Guardians of the Galaxy attraction. During this time, Disney announced that the attraction would be one of the world's largest indoor roller coasters, and that it would feature a unique ride system that allowed Imagineers to have each individual ride vehicle turn on demand. This allowed Imagineering to focus guests attention on specific scenes, and improved their storytelling ability. When commenting on the new ride vehicles, Walt Disney CEO Bob Chapek explained:

"On most coasters, the vehicles point straight ahead throughout the ride,” Bob explained. “But on this attraction, each individual cab will be programmed to direct your eye to the story happening around you.


That means instead of whizzing by the action, you’ll be fully immersed in the story from the minute you launch." [3]

On August 25, 2019, Disney announced that the name of the attraction would be Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. At this time, Disney gave a basic outline of the attraction stating, "The adventure starts in the “Galaxarium,” a planetarium-like exhibition that explores the similarities and mysteries of the formation of Earth’s galaxy and Xandar. Guests will be invited to learn more about the treasures Xandar has to share – until the moment when the Guardians of the Galaxy arrive, and adventures across the cosmos ensue."

Although Disney had originally planned on Cosmic Rewind being ready for Walt Disney World's 50th Anniversary, as 2021 approached, it began to become clear that the attraction would not open on time. Perhaps due to the 2020 COVID pandemic and subsequent budget adjustments, construction on the ride needed to continue throughout 2021 [4]. Finally, on September 30, Disney announced that the attraction would finally make its debut in the Spring of 2022 [5], with the official date eventually being announced as May 27, 2022 [6].

On May 27, 2022, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind officially opened to guests, along with the rest of the the Wonders of Xandar pavilion [7]. Since opening, the attraction has not seen any major changes, although Disney has announced that the attraction will receive a holiday soundtrack, likely beginning November 11, 2022 [8].

Attraction Plot

Queue

Galaxarium

Upon entering the Wonders of Xandar pavilion, guests find themselves in the Galaxarium— a planetarium-like exhibition showcasing the similarities and differences between Xandar and Terra (Earth's) galaxies. Hosted by Worldmind, a Xandarian super computer, who explains that the Xandarians have come to EPCOT to learn about the people of Terra. The goal of the Xandarians is to learn from the Terrans and promote understanding. In the Galaxarium, guests also learn a series of similarities and differences between Xandar and Terra. These include:

  • How the planets were initially formed. While Terra travels around the Sun, Xandar actually orbits three stars. The two galaxies are moving closer to each other, and in four million years, the galaxies will merge.
  • The Big Bang is what created the Andromeda galaxy and the Milky Way. Because of this, there is a similarity between the stars of the two galaxies.
  • On Xandar, for much of the year, the planet's suns are seen close together. This creates a day and night pattern, albeit with three sunsets and sunrises. As the planet continues along its orbit, the suns grow farther apart until they reach a point where it is daylight all the time.
  • Xandar is famous for its Universal neural teleportation network, which generates artificial wormholes in the space-time continuum. Xandarians call these "jump points" and they allow for fast travel throughout space.
  • Xandar is known as a peaceful paradise in the stars, which is dominates by water. From space, one can see Maelstroms, which the Xandarians use for power, and the coral reefs they use for sustainable farming. Like Terra, Xandar has an atmosphere that sustains life.
  • Xandarians have explored many planets and seen their life forms. In the past, Terrans have referred to Xandarian ships as UFOs. Worldmind also gives a history of Terra's space voyagers. Which not only send back data, but also have greetings recorded for other species they may bump into.

Fun Facts and Trivia

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2017/07/guardians-of-the-galaxy-ratatouille-attractions-coming-to-epcot/
  2. 2.0 2.1 https://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/guardians-of-the-galaxy/news/06oct2017-photo---walls-go-up-around-universe-of-energy.htm
  3. https://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/guardians-of-the-galaxy/news/15nov2018-photo---guardians-of-the-galaxy-coaster-ride-vehicle-concept-art.htm
  4. wdwmagic.com/attractions/guardians-of-the-galaxy/news/20apr2021-filmmaker-james-gunn-comments-on-guardians-of-the-galaxy-cosmic-rewind.htm
  5. https://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/guardians-of-the-galaxy/news/30sep2021-disney-announces-that-epcots-guardians-of-the-galaxy-cosmic-rewind-will-open-in-2022.htm
  6. https://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/guardians-of-the-galaxy/news/04apr2022-disney-officially-announces-the-opening-date-for-epcots-guardians-of-the-galaxy-cosmic-rewind-rollercoaster.htm
  7. https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2022/05/guardians-of-the-galaxy-cosmic-rewind-opens-at-epcot/
  8. https://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/guardians-of-the-galaxy/news/23jun2022-holiday-overlay-coming-to-guardians-of-the-galaxy-cosmic-rewind.htm