Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Ride Review 2023

How to Ride Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is available via the Disney Genie+ Individual Attraction selection. This means that this ride is not included in the general cost per day for Genie+ but is available at a separate cost.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Individual Lightning Lane typicall costs around $14-$17 per person which is roughly in line with pricing for Rise of the Resistance.

If you’re staying on-site at a Walt Disney World hotel then you can purchase your access to the ride beginning at 7AM which gives you an advantage of other guests as those staying off-site will have to wait until they enter the park to purchase Lightning Lane access. These reservations can sell out so don’t wait to book yours!

How To Use Virtual Queue for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

There is no standby line for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind but there is a virtual queue that guests can access via the My Experience App.

• Starting at 7AM, guests with an EPCOT park reservation can access a boarding group via the My Disney Experience App. Guests can access this virtual queue from their hotel room.
• Starting at 1PM, there will be another opportunity to join the virtual queue for those that didn’t get a chance to access the boarding group at 7AM. Guests must be inside EPCOT to access the 1PM virtual queue.
• Guests will only be able to access Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind once per day.

Virtual queue during extended evening hours

Guests staying at a Disney Deluxe Resort, Disney Deluxe Villa Resort or other select hotels will have an additional opportunity to join the virtual queue at 6PM on select dates during extended evening theme park hours. Guests do not need to be in EPCOT to access the virtual queue for this time slot but will need theme park admission with a park pass reservation to EPCOT or a park hopper ticket.

How to Get a Boarding Group to Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

• First, make sure you have the My Disney Experience app. Double check that all your tickets are linked to your app and that you have a valid Park Pass Reservation for EPCOT.
• A few minutes before the official time (7AM or 1PM) log into THE app and click on the ‘join’ button for “Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Virtual Queue”- I would do this a few times going back and forth, I found this helped my phone load the page quicker when the time came when we used this trick for Rise of the Resistance. This is also a good time to ensure you are logged in so I would make sure you log out and log back in, just to be safe.
• Wait until exactly when the clock hits 7AM, click on ‘join’- this brings you to the main screen where you will click ‘join’ again and then a screen will show your party- no need to stop to select them, they will be preselected, and then hit join again.
• This process should literally take 1-2 seconds- groups go fast, be ready to push those buttons quickly!
• Make sure push notifications are turned on for My Disney Experience so you will be alerted if your group is called to return. You’ll have up to an hour from the time of the alert to go to the entrance of attraction
• Please note that joining the virtual queue does not guarantee the ability to experience Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.

For more on how to experience Epcot in the best way, check out our Epcot morning strategy for touring tips.

Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind First Look and Review

I just got off Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and am sitting in Epcot writing this first review.  Before I dive into any details and review of the attraction – know this, the attraction is INCREDIBLE and one of the best that Disney has built in the last ten years. I love the complexity and story of Rise of the Resistance at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, but this new attraction tops the immersive Star Wars adventure for me largely due to the optimistic fun nature of the attraction. There is a high off the fun soundtrack (six different song choices that play randomly) combined with the joy of the Marvel storytelling in Walt Disney World for the first time.

Will Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind give you motion sickness?

PSA – I have had a lot of questions about if you will feel motion sick from the experience. When we first heard about a rollercoaster that spins featuring screens I shared this concern. My concerns were proven to be unnecessary. This was not a Universal Studios type jerky experience where you are in the screen the entire time. The entire coaster felt smooth and was not something I would worry about if you are comfortable riding Slinky Dog Dash. Space Mountain (in Walt Disney World) is far jerkier than this coaster.

Think of the attraction as Space Mountain built with the latest technology with the level of fun of the Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! experience from Disney California Adventure. Some might also add in Rockin’ Rollercoaster Starring Aerosmith because of the on ride music, but Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is decidedly less thrilling than Rockin’ Rollercoaster and I think a ton more fun. This highly technical coaster is completely smooth and a ton of fun to experience over and over again.

Queue spoilers below…!

Now, with that positive sentiment out of the way and general PSAs, I will dive into a bit more of the narrative for the attraction so if you hope to go in blind, skip this section and just read more about how to experience the attraction for the first time.

The attraction uses a clever hook to connect the story into the EPCOT theme. Setting aside that this next-generation rollercoaster is a wholly new experience that is unlike anything EPCOT has delivered in the past, it felt natural to walk from World Discovery into the queue. Throughout their are videos and display with information on community planning and the formation of earth using comparisons it to the very similar Xandar (the world that the Guardians save in the first film). Of course, something goes terribly wrong and the Guardians need your help to save Earth and the rest of the Galaxy.

The people from the planet Xandar have come to Earth to create their first “other-world” showcase at Epcot called the Wonders of Xandar pavilion in the park’s World Discovery neighborhood. In the queue you’ll learn more about their technology and culture in the pavilion along with the experience of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.

There are three distinct sections of the queue. First you’ll enter the Galaxarium with a huge planetary style observation. Here there’s a galaxy planetarium style show with soaring visuals of the planets with narration from Worldmind, a Xandarian suercomputer. This is the first room that you’ll recognize the incredible score created for the attraction that is used throughout the queue. The Galaxarium plays a loop that’s over 30 minutes long featuring planets including Xandar, Earth, Andromeda, Milky Way and Star Lord’s Awesome Mix Volume 1.

Then, the Xandar gallery that provides you a look at this semi-Earth equivalent planet (you’ll find lots of Easter eggs here including video of Walt Disney from the original EPCOT Center film). This gallery also has clips from “Good Morning Xandar” – the Xandarian equivalent of Disney’s ABC’s “Good Morning America” – with interviews of the Guardians of the Galaxy. These somewhat campy clips were shot during when the cast was first returning to the set of the third Guardians of the Galaxy film. A Disney Imagineer shared that this acting job was almost a warmup for the actors to get back into their characters.

From here you’ll enter a set of two pre-show rooms with incredible effects. The story is that you are going to be teleported up into the Nova Corp Starcharter to see some of the latest Xandarian technology. Your visit is coordinated by Nova Prime Irani Rael, played by Glenn Close, and a lighthearted Terry Crews, playing Centurion Tal Marik.

The tour of the latest technology goes terribly wrong and you are enlisted to help the Guardians retrieve a stolen Cosmic Generator from Eson, a Celestial. Of course, Rocket needs your help.

You can see the photos below (SPOILERS for the ride queue) of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind! You might even spot a familiar face beyond our favorite Marvel characters!

Photo Tour of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Queue!

Overall, this new attraction is a brilliant addition to Epcot and we can’t wait for you all to enjoy it when it officially opens on May 27th at Walt Disney World!

In Disneyland, Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! quickly became my favorite or second favorite attraction at the resort depending on the day. I can confidently say that this new Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is in my top three attractions at Walt Disney World. That opinion doesn’t come lightly and I am basing it on my desire to ride it over and over again. Rise of the Resistance is absolutely more a technical storytelling marvel that revolutionized the theme park industry and Pirates of the Caribbean will forever remain a classic, but this attraction is one that I will continue to ride over and over again as a priority part of my Walt Disney World vacations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where in Walt Disney World is the new Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind?

The Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is located in EPCOT.

Where in EPCOT is Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind?

In the World Discovery neighborhood which is located in the previously titled Future World area of Epcot. You can see the map of Epcot below to see where this is located. Epcot recently underwent renovation to transform the layout of the park. The three neighborhoods of World Discovery, World Celebration and World Celebration used to be called Future World.

What are the six songs on Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind?

There are six possible songs you could hear during your ride on the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind rollercoaster.

1. “September”
2. “Disco Inferno”
3. “Conga”
4. “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”
5. “I Ran”
6. “One Way or Another”

My favorite was either “September” or “Conga”, but you won’t have a choice of song. You’ll just have to ride over and over again to experience them all.

Is DAS be available for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind?

Yes, DAS is available like it is for all rides at Walt Disney World.

I get motion sick on rides, will this ride spin around?

Thankfully, during Gavin’s ride preview this ride proved to be extremely smooth which helps diminish the worry of motion sickness!

Does the Guardians roller coaster go upside down?

No, the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind doesn’t go upside down. You can see the vehicles below to also get an idea of what you can expect with the harnesses. Aside from preview videos that confirms there are no inversions, a roller coaster that goes upside down would typically have shoulder harnesses.

What are the Nova Corps?

In the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, the Nova Corps are the Xandar’s peacekeeping team that serve as protectors of the planet.

What is Xandar?

Xandar is a planet in the Guardians of the Galaxy universe.

Do I need to watch the Guardians of the Galaxy movies before I ride?

I suggest watching the first Guardians of the Galaxy film as this is the film that takes place on Xandar and introduces you to the planet along with the Nova Corps. It’s a great film and you don’t need any context from other Marvel films to understand it as it works just fine as a stand alone movie. In fact, it’s my favorite Marvel film!

Plan Your Walt Disney World Vacation!

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• Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
• Disney World Cheapest Hotels
• Walt Disney World My Experience App: How to Use this App to Maximize Your Time
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