Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind - Spoilers

[Dean Barnett]

I also had the chance to do Cosmic Rewind - and let me just start with - visiting Walt Disney World now sucks. It's very expensive, and requires heaps of planning etc. I only had time to visit for one day - which cost over $300 for a park hopper, which you can't hop to 2pm.. etc .. just really stressful and not a great experience - Universal is a much better option.

 

Anyway my day started at 7am at my hotel, anxiously refreshing the app to get a boarding group for Cosmic Spin - 

 

I got one - but the 660 minute estimate was disheartening... then this

 

I obviously had plans to be not be in Epcot at 6pm.

 

Anyway once the park opened - I did Mission Space (I still can't believe a ride that pulls that many sustained G's exists inside a disney park) then Test Track SR then I got this 

 

 

The queue building is amazing 

There's a middle section that runs videos which sync up with several double projection screens - along with holographic type displays (spinning leds)

 

There's 2 preshows, one which employs the fake room trick like Posidens Fury - after that there's a safety video (wow!) which explains the boarding process 

You end up on a ramp between the two load stations 

I found the joins between the trains pretty interesting

 

The ride experience is incredible - you start with a reverse launch (the train is technically launching fowards - but the cars are rotated backwards) - from then it was sensory overload - the projection parallax effect is bloody bang on - then you do a helix around planet earth.. it was just such a brilliant ride - basically Space Mountain 2.0 with a banging soundtrack.

Would love to do it again... but I couldn't.. the paid lighting lane option ($25AUD, cheaper than the MW/SW offerings) was sold out.

It's exactly what Epcot needs, but would be great in Magic Kingdom.. if that makes sense.

[REGIE]

I guess that’s why MW and SW’s one shot are more expensive to stop it from selling out. (On peak somehow it still sells out). If Fast pass is affordable it wouldn’t work because everyone would have it.

speaking of wait times how long were most the stand by lines? Loading quick?

Edited March 27, 2023 by REGIE

[Gobbledok]

If you have a finite number to sell then making it cheaper and selling out quicker doesnt really mean everyone would have it making it pointless

[Dean Barnett]

7 hours ago, REGIE said:

 

I guess that’s why MW and SW’s one shot are more expensive to stop it from selling out. (On peak somehow it still sells out). If Fast pass is affordable it wouldn’t work because everyone would have it.

 

 

You’re not taking into account the rubbish exchange rate and the huge inflation in the states right now. 
 

The cost for the skip queue was cheaper than a burrito bowl (and drink) from Chipotle (their mad mex etc) 

 

Where as at movie world - the cost is the equivalent to around two burrito bowls worth. 

7 hours ago, REGIE said:

speaking of wait times how long were most the stand by lines? Loading quick?

The only real line I waited in was Big Thunder - was posted at 60 minutes, was actually 25 mins. 
 

The operations are incredible at Disney and Universal - on cosmic spin the trains move very quickly between the ride and the station etc. The train was always secure before the track was ready for it. 
 

[Natti_amusements]

Ye I got on Cosmic Rewind last August during my trip to Orlando, it’s just an all round fun ride. Wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it was, but after riding it was my favourite ride at the resort. The different sounds tracks rlly add another layer to the ride as well, like with Mission Breakout over at California Adventure.

[biasesumo]

I got to do a Cast Member preview back in late April last year, so I have a pretty unique perspective on the ride.

I think I managed to get on it around 25 times in my time as a Cast Member during that preview window. I would show up before work and get on it 3 times before going to my shift. 
 

Overall, I think the ride itself is pretty bang-on with what Disney parks need. A moderately thrilling family coaster much like Slinky Dog Dash fits perfectly in EPCOT. The ride system is unique and provides really interesting thrills with how it spins. The backwards launch is also very exciting.

My biggest issue with it, and much of what Disney is doing nowadays, is that it seems very barren on theming. Imagineering has been on a shoestring budget for a while now. It can be felt very heavily on Guardians. The pre show and actual ride seem very light on theming, with original concept art showing off animatronics and so on. It’s a shame the ride couldn’t be fully realised.

All said, it’s a fine addition to EPCOT, if a little weird. I still hate the virtual queue system and glad I managed to ride it as much as did when I was working there. I hope EPCOT sorts it’s identity crisis out soon. 

7 hours ago, Dean Barnett said:

The cost for the skip queue was cheaper than a burrito bowl (and drink) from Chipotle (their mad mex etc) 

 

I think I ate Chipotle for every meal through the summer. $11 burritos are ridiculously cheap when you’re earning $15 an hour. I could get through maybe 3/4s of one and save the rest for breakfast.

[REGIE]

Audio adds so much to rides. It can even make fairly average carnival rides super fun.   I especially like the audio in SE’s dark ride bit. It’s not music but it makes the rides somewhat. When I hear it I am reminded of how much fun SE really is. (Still 4th for me)

[Dean Barnett]

Yeah - I feel like it really adds value to hulk too - especially how the music reacts to the dive off the MCBR