Yoshi Posted May 12, 2022 Report Share Posted May 12, 2022 I went to EPCOT on Monday to try the new Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind coaster. Although I was glad to finally see a coaster added to EPCOT, at the same time, I still miss what is gone on that side of the park. Now instead of World of Motion, Universe of Energy and Horizons you have 3 thrill rides. The entrance to the ride is the Wonders of Xandar Pavilion. After the queue you get to the pre-show waiting area and then into the first pre-show room which is the Welcome Center. There is a second pre-show room with some effects I don't want to spoil. After that room, the doors open at I think the left or right (the pre-show I was in, the door opened to the right) to take you to one of two loading areas. I didn't like how it goes from an open room to a narrower queue and it causes people to have to merge in line. Great Adventure's The Dark Knight pre-show with the queue rails in the room to keep the line organized is much better. After a short breakdown, I was given row 6. I'm going to put the details of the coaster in a quote box, skip over that if you don't want anything spoiled. Quote There is a small dark ride section before the main part of the ride including a lift hill. There are screens all over the ride and the cars rotate to face backwards and there is a backwards launch. The launch starts off not too strong but picks up some intensity but nowhere near a coaster like Kingda Ka. The main ride area has lots of stars all over. There are also more screens here. The coaster itself does not have any big drops but a lot of turns and helices. There is one helix where you are facing sidways looking at what I think is a planet). There is also a soundtrack to the ride. I got Disco Inferno for my ride. I know this isn't the most detailed description but I was so focused on the coaster part itself and with it being over 5,000 feet, it's difficult to remember much after just 1 ride. The spins are controlled and although there was not too many rotations at once, for some reason it really got to me. I think it might have been a combination of not knowing what direction the track was going in and looking at screens the same time the car is spinning and going around turns. Other spinning coasters like Laff Trakk, Cobra's Curse, Primeval Whirl and Freedom Rider don't bother me at all and only Sierra Sidewinder was a little dizzying. Most people exiting the ride thought it was really good and I heard people saying it was the best coaster at Disney World. They were only allowing 1 ride and even if re-rides were allowed, I wouldn't have gone back. It was the opposite at Ice Breaker and Iron Gwazi's previews where you could ride as much as you wanted although I understand that wouldn't have worked here with the demand so much more. With it being a virtual queue once the ride opens to the public, I don't think I will bother trying to get a boarding time but once it goes to a standard line, I'll give it another try. Test Track was broken down and after lunch it reopened. I went right to single rider and was the first person in line but they wouldn't allow us to enter the boarding area until the standby line got there which took about 10 minutes. I walked around for another ride this time waiting less than 5 minutes. Test Track is still my favorite ride at EPCOT. After Test Track,we went to Living With The Land, The Seas With Nemo and Journey into Imagination all of which were 5 minute waits. Taking a boat to World Showcase and seeing The American Adventure, there was a concert starting in 20 minutes. It was The Commodores and they played 4 songs. On the way out we stopped at Spaceship Earth. I'm glad I got to try the new coaster and got my 4th new credit of the year. EPCOT is always fun I'm looking forward to going back probably next month. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted May 13, 2022 Report Share Posted May 13, 2022 It is great that you got a preview even though it doesn't sound like it is your favorite coaster. The original Universe of Energy had such a huge show building and with the massive back building that they added the square footage for this attraction is impressive. The trains look oversized compared to other Vekoma coasters. Are they as roomy as they look? How is the legroom? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted May 13, 2022 Report Share Posted May 13, 2022 They are (relatively) roomy. It's only 3 minutes of actual ride time, and considering this is such a huge show building and took so long to build and cost so much, it seems a little disappointing overall. I didn't get to do the whole preshow are when I rode, but it really felt like an updated Space Mountain in many aspects. My overall impression (and this isn't a knock on Universal) is that it's a Universal attraction-- a roller coaster with projections (and not great projections either). Overall a good and much needed addition to Epcot, but it really doesn't fit Epcot at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoshi Posted May 13, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2022 I thought the trains were very comfortable with lots of leg room. I'm 6'1" and can ride in any row on Runaway Mine Train but prefer the front row of each car for the extra leg room. With Skull Mountain, if I sit in the front row of a car, my knees hit the front of the car. I agree it doesn't fit Epcot. I know rides with popular characters is what drives the merchandise sales but I would like to see some rides without a tie in to a franchise and save those attractions for Hollywood Studios. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted May 13, 2022 Report Share Posted May 13, 2022 2 hours ago, Yoshi said: I know rides with popular characters is what drives the merchandise sales but I would like to see some rides without a tie in to a franchise and save those attractions for Hollywood Studios. As long as Chapek is in charge EVERYTHING will have an IP... Gone are the days when Disney created something unique for the parks. Unless there's a market for the merchandise already it won't get built. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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