Take a sneak peek at Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in this slideshow of images from the new Marvel ride’s queue and gift shop. We were recently invited as press to preview the coming attraction in EPCOT at Walt Disney World.
From the studio that brought us Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. I and II, this ride takes park visitors on an adventure through time and space when the opening of The Wonders of Xandar, EPCOT’s latest pavilion, is caught in a fight between the Guardians of the Galaxy and Eson, a celestial who seizes the Nova Corps’ cosmic generator to prevent the Big Bang.
Don’t worry, this ride is totally family friendly!
The tunes
The first section of the Wonders of Xandar queue is styled like a planetarium projection to display the cosmos and to show how the planet of Xandar is pretty similar to Earth. The visuals change a lot — like this one, which features a giant floating Awesome Mixtape Vol. 1 from the first Guardians of the Galaxy film. Cosmic Rewind itself features an exclusive mixtape for the attraction, and when you ride you get one of six potential tracks.
“September” by Earth, Wind & Fire
“Disco Inferno” by The Trammps
“Conga” by Gloria Estefan
“Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears
“I Ran” by A Flock of Seagulls
“One Way or Another” by Blondie
He is Groot
Throughout the queue videos give context to the ride: the Guardians of the Galaxy themselves played a big part in why EPCOT was Xandar’s choice for Earth’s cultural outpost.
Star-Lord digs Disney
Turns out it was Peter Quill’s idea to have the pavilion at Walt Disney World, a place he’d visited when he was a kid. Various video segments feature a catch-up for guests to learn about the Guardians’ role in saving Xandar from Ronan the Accuser as well as other key points from the films.
Xandar’s pavilion
Xandarian mapping tells of their society’s tech innovations, which line up with EPCOT’s theming; it makes it feel like it is just another cultural centre like the ones in the park’s World Showcase.
The Benatar
You also get to see awesome displays like this model of the Guardians’ second ship, the Benetar (named after Pat Benetar, singer of “Love is a Battlefield”). It replaced their first ship, the Milano (named after Quill’s childhood crush, Alyssa Milano).
Xandar at night
A look at Xandar’s cityscape.
Nova Prime
Nova Prime (played by Glenn Close) greets visitors to the Wonders of Xandar pavilion and prepares them for their journey into space to the Nova Corps’ base above Earth by way of a time portal called the Cosmic Generator.
Another greeting
Centurion Tal Marik (Terry Crews) greets park-goers on base before things get a little out of hand.
The mission begins
Well…maybe a lot out of hand. An unpleasant celestial named Eson steals the Cosmic Generator and sucks Earth back in time to the Big Bang. So it’s up to the Guardians of the Galaxy to save the planet with our help of course!
Ride vehicles
Here’s a look at the ride vehicles when you board! This coaster has no major drops or loops so you can bring your bags with you (think Space Mountain). It’s the world’s longest indoor coaster, however, and rotates quite often while reaching very high speeds. So if you get motion sick easily keep that in mind!
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind merch
When you save the word, you are named an honorary Guardian of the Galaxy and can buy the shirt to prove it… and the hat and bag and jacket.
More merch
To add to more of really cool in-universe merch, you can also buy Nova Corps Terra (Earth) division gear too.
Even more merch
You can also buy smaller models of the Benetar and the Nova Corps Starblaster. The latter also comes on a shirt.
For aspiring Star-Lords (kid version)
The littles can also play dress up as Star-Lord or Gamora with their iconic looks from the Guardians of the Galaxy films.
For aspiring Star-Lords (adult version)
Don’t worry they come in adult sizes too!
And peep those cool water bottles.
More merch!
I will say, long sleeves in Orlando’s humid weather is a CHOICE. Hopefully, Disney’s California Adventure on the West Coast will see some of these items reach the Tivan colletion warehouse at the exit of Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout! Temperatures definitely get cooler in California.
And the winner for best merch…
This is the best item of merch we have seen for a ride and will probably be a hot commodity. Looks at it! It’s a cassette player with the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Awesome Mix. Perfection.
These are also great though!
We love a fanny pack and tank top moment. This is more like it for Florida weather.
Retro-future merch
The retro future aesthetic perfectly marries the EPCOT brand Star-Lord would remember and the Guardians vibes we know from the films. It features EPCOT’s Spaceship Earth alongside The Benetar and a Starblaster.
For all your cosmic beverage needs
The retro vibes don’t stop with these colours on coasters and old school looking water bottles.
A cosy exclusive
More long sleeves! We do like the attraction exclusive items like the sweater, notebook, and picture frame that feature the Cosmic Rewind attraction with Rocket and Groot.
Green-skinned mannequin!
The mannequin is green like Gamora with such a killer fit. All of this merch is too good and I cannot wait to go back and buy a few things. IS THAT A STAR-LORD HELMET?!
Let us know in the comments below if you’re excited for the ride and what items you are most looking forward to buying — if they’re not sold out thanks to flippers that is.
Want more Gizmodo news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel and Star Wars releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.