Walt Disney Chief Corporate Affairs Officer unintentionally announces opening date for EPCOT's 'Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind'

Feb 23, 2022 in "Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind"

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Posted: Wednesday February 23, 2022 8:51pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

According to a now-deleted post on Twitter by a high-ranking Disney executive, EPCOT's Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind will open on Memorial Day 2022.

Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind will be EPCOT's first rollercoaster

The announcement was made by a new face at the Walt Disney Company, the Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Geoff Morrell. Geoff has been in the newly created Chief Corporate Affairs Officer role for only a month and reports directly to Disney CEO Bob Chapek.

Posted this evening, the original Tweet said, "Just another day at the office—got to "test ride" the new @Guardians of the Galaxy rollercoaster at @EpcotCentre. @WaltDisneyCo Imagineers designed this one like no other ride you've ever been on. Have to ride it to believe it! Check it out starting Memorial Day weekend!"

The revised post was quickly edited to replace the Memorial Day weekend comment with "Coming soon!"

Just another day at the office--got to "test ride" the new Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind roller coaster at @WaltDisneyWorld EPCOT. Walt Disney Imagineers deigned this one like no other ride you've ever been on. Have to ride it to believe it! Coming soon! pic.twitter.com/PjSityLjUb
— Geoff Morrell (@MorrellGeoff) February 23, 2022

A May 30 2022 opening date does not come as a surprise. Disney has often used Memorial Day weekend as a key date in its summer marketing drives. The company will be expecting the new rollercoaster to push attendance at EPCOT and Walt Disney World throughout the summer and beyond.

Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind concept art

Assuming Geoff Morrell's original tweet was accurate, we should expect an official opening announcement very shortly. If the opening pattern of Remy's Ratatouille Adventure is repeated, we should also expect various levels of previews before May 30 for Cast Members, Annual Passholders, Disney Vacation Club, D23, and Club 33 members.

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mergatroid6 days ago

That's fair enough.

MisterPenguinOct 07, 2024

https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/big-list-of-forum-abbreviations.939248/

UNCgolfOct 07, 2024

I'm not a big fan of Cosmic Rewind -- it's fine, but I don't think it's remotely a special attraction -- so I wouldn't mind losing those things for something better. I also think the half a billion price tag is a problem, not a good thing (spending half a billion on a ride certainly could be a good thing, but CR doesn't have the content to justify that price). Regardless, I'm certainly not suggesting the Imagineers don't care or aren't trying to design the best possible attractions. Just because CR doesn't work very well for me doesn't make it bad; most people seem to love it. It doesn't really matter how I personally feel about something if it's an overall success.

zipadee999Oct 07, 2024

Would this be a retrack or a full-blown rebuild with a new layout like Tokyo? I feel like that would make it too much like Cosmic Rewind or even Tron right next to it. Right now Space relies on its 1975 charm as a form of differentiation, so I hope that any overhaul keeps the general structure of the attraction intact. I’d be happiest with a re-track and re-profiling by either Vekoma or S&S since Arrow Dynamics isn’t around anymore, a new cable-lift system that removes the un-immersive lift hill noise, on-board audio, and new effects/projections during the coaster layout. Those are all upgrades they could do to modernize and make the attraction vastly more enjoyable while still retaining the original Space Mountain

JayspencyOct 07, 2024

Tdo?

Marc Davis FanOct 07, 2024

Wouldn't that require a complete rebuild? This doesn't seem like something Disney would fund absent an IP, which makes me nervous...

FigmentFan82Oct 07, 2024

Wait so, theme updates to Space Mountain in MK? Would this be when they refresh the tracks as well?

MisterPenguinOct 07, 2024

Jack occasionally posts here: @IveBeenJack

UNCgolfOct 07, 2024

It's too bad they didn't just do that at EPCOT instead of Cosmic Rewind. Then maybe they could have built a good Guardians attraction elsewhere. Note that I'm not calling Cosmic Rewind a bad attraction (although I don't think it's a great one) -- just that it's a bad Guardians attraction in terms of capturing what makes the IP interesting/fun. Cosmic Rewind would be just as good, if not better, if it was a space themed coaster without the misused Guardians.