Disney is careful to design theme park attractions and common spaces strategically, thinking one step ahead of guests' needs and accommodating safety and entertainment preferences using intentional architecture with optimal layouts. Sometimes, though, theme park visitors take the reins in ways Disney doesn't anticipate. We've covered this topic with increasing frequency lately, as situations such as pin trading, door decorating, and “pixie dusting” have become issues Disney struggles to control. This principle is also at play with a roller coaster protocol.
Walt Disney World is testing more changes to a popular ride to prevent a safety issue caused by guest behavior. This is an ongoing problem, and the procedure described below is the latest in Disney's attempts to maintain control over guests. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including 13 new experiences at Disney World and operational changes affecting Disney World guests right now. See details on a new Disneyland ride closure.
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Disney's Latest Crowd Flow Test to Prevent Guest Behavior
We recently shared how Disney's operations teams have been experimenting with different protocols for crowd flow management during a particularly chaotic portion of the pre-show and queue experience of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind roller coaster at EPCOT.
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We visited the park to see firsthand how Disney is attempting to manage this issue, and we have some new developments to share. First, some context.
Before riders board the roller coaster train in Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, they shuffle through two preshows, or storytelling moments that happen before the ride itself.
In the second of these preshows, guests watch as a story moment unfolds between the Guardians of the Galaxy and a large figure known as a Celestial, the ride's villain. At this point in the queue, there is no single-file line, and guests can choose where they stand within the room.
Within the layout of the large room, the exit doors are on the far right. These doors lead into a narrow hallway, one of the final parts of the line before guests board the ride vehicles.
As the preshow happens, many guests hover near the exit doors on the right. When the doors open, this creates a crowding issue as everyone files into the hallway and vies to be first.
Disney has conducted multiple tests to rectify the problem since 2025, which we chronicled in our previous coverage.
During a visit to EPCOT in June 2026, we wanted to see for ourselves how Disney is currently attempting to manage this problem.
The final preshow room has three sets of doors that open to lead into the hallway once the preshow is finished. Previously, all three sets of doors opened at the same time, and guests were left to their own devices to funnel into the hallway and eventually place themselves back into an orderly line. The past two times we've ridden Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Disney didn't use the middle set of doors leading from the pre-show room into the queue hallway. Instead, only the far left and far right sets of doors opened. In the photo above, you can see the middle doors roped off.
From there, Disney had placed stanchions immediately after the doorways, keeping guests in two lanes as they made their way from the preshow room into the hallway. However, these stanchions' lanes only lasted a few feet, after which guests still had to merge into the same tight hallway. During our visit, a cast member stood among the crowd with a light wand to point guests in the proper direction, but the cast member's role was more of a passive courtesy. There was still no real control over the transition and merge.
Your mileage may vary for what you experience. @CoasterK24 on X documented a cast member with a light wand at this point in the queue, leading guests through the hallway directly and not letting anyone pass them, like how a teacher would lead young students through a school.
It seems Disney is still testing various methods of managing this situation and hasn't landed on a definitive solution. In the meantime, we have tips for how to alleviate stress from this experience when you're visiting.
Our Recommendation for a More Enjoyable Experience
The crowd flow issues with the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind preshow are unfortunate. At best, guests become frustrated by being thrown into an unexpectedly chaotic moment. At worst, their safety may be at risk if the transition through the doorways becomes unruly. This is an issue Disney can't ignore, and one that needs a permanent solution.
While it's great to see Disney's operations teams testing different temporary fixes, it may be time to admit that the layout of this portion of the queue is flawed and needs to be reevaluated from a long-term, architectural perspective.
We recommend standing on the left side of the preshow room, away from the guests crowding the doors on the right. Once the doors open, linger at the back of the crowd and proceed forward, with most of the chaos hopefully far ahead of you.
This approach has three benefits. First, you'll actually enjoy the impressive preshow more than the other guests, as most of the action in this room happens on the left side. Second, you'll personally be less stressed during the transition moment. Lastly, you will help cast members.
The only downside is, yes, you will eventually board the roller coaster after the rest of the people in the preshow room. However, this difference is unlikely to be more than a few minutes.
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Guest Behavior Issues in Disney Theme Parks
It's unfair to place the blame entirely on guests in the case of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind preshow. The way Disney designed the queue experience leaves room for guests to make those choices that cause issues, and now Disney is struggling to implement new rules to take back control.
On a macro level, controlling guest behavior and reevaluating parameters have recently been recurring challenges across Disney theme parks. Elsewhere, Disney has faced guests staying overnight in parking garages waiting for new pin releases the following morning, elaborately decorating their rooms on cruise ships, and “pixie dusting,” a term referring to guests leaving hidden items in the parks for others to find.
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This past week the people at the right doors were let in first, while the left was held back.
Disney needs to make lines inside the queue room that guest must stand in single file. Then after the pre-show only open 1 door at a time to allow each line to file out single file. Once 1 line is empty open next door. Yes it will take a few mins longer but no disorderly visitors. Plus staff a cast member. People become disorderly then march them out. It’s that simple.
I agree that creating queue lines in the show room would help. Maybe not necessarily single file, but it would narrow the flow of people and create a naturally moving line towards the ride.
Great information here! Just a quick question, does anyone else hanging onto the ten day non expiring tickets that used to be sold? Ours came through the MWR office years ago and we have three days on one and four on another ticket
I would fix this issue by adding Easter eggs to the end of the pre-show to get more guests to linger instead of crowding the doors and entertain them while doing it. More things to look at around the room could also help, like the ToT preshow room. You’ll still get the guests who go straight to the exit doors, but it would help spread them out.
“Pixie dusting” is an issue Disney has always had to address; before 9/11 one of the ways was with geocaches that guests had hidden in public spaces within Disney World without their permission (geocaching is similar to “treasure hunting”, finding hidden caches in public spaces with the aid of a GPS receiver and then signing a log book and/or exchanging items in/out of the cache). Not long after 9/11 and when Disney started redeveloping Downtown Disney into Disney Springs, they reached out to geocaching.com (the _de facto_ central database for the activity) asking them to reach out to cache owners and have their caches removed as they were now considered a security and safety risk.
They need to solve the cutting in Guardians Que as well, entire groups of people, usually younger kids teens, just walking up the entire line , excuse me, excuse me,,, like ummmm NO , party can wait for you in the queue where they are you don’t get to cut up to them!!!
Disney has the tech to track us all. Use the video/tech to charge the skippers fast pass plus prices added on to their days tickets/card on file.
Couldn’t they use something similar to the tram lines…..multiple lanes created with barriers. Since there are 3 doors, create 3 large lanes to funnel people to each door, also open the doors within 10 seconds of each other. But I’m sure there’s a flaw.
I figured out pretty quickly to just always stay to the left in that last pre-show room and wait for the crowd to bum rush the door. I couldn’t tell you how many times Ive ridden it, but I still enjoy actually watching the pre-show. It cracks me up every time!
We bought fast passes and waited longer than the people who didn’t have them, or told we couldn’t use them.
Waste of money
We bought fast passes and waited longer than the people who didn’t have them, or told we couldn’t use them.
Waste of money
Human beings are the real animals…. The worse of the worse.
I wish Disney would do away with the large room crowds and always offer single file lines. I don’t like the crush that always happens. Like in haunted mansion and guardians, I always get shoved into some corner and held up there while people push, shove and run to be first.
It’s the same way as Haunted Mansion. Doors open and you have to funnel yourselves into the tiny line against the wall.
I guess I don’t get it. THM has the same experience for years.