When Should Cosmic Rewind Switch to a Standby Queue?
While May the 4th claimed all the headlines this past weekend, another Disney milestone occurred.
I’m sorry to inform you that the honeymoon phase is over at Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.
On May 5th, the EPCOT attraction unofficially turned two years old, having soft-opened in 2022.
Technically, its official opening date was May 27th, but guests were riding Cosmic Rewind long before then.
Now that the roller coaster is no longer the new hotness, it’s time to ask a question.
When should Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind switch from Lightning Lane to a standby queue?
About Cosmic Rewind
In 2014, Disney released its most daring Marvel movie to date: Guardians of the Galaxy.
When Disney announced this project, cynics – like me – dismissed the movie as about as likely to succeed as a Barbie film.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
So, yeah. I’m an idiot. Anyway, once Guardians of the Galaxy became the breakout blockbuster of 2014, Disney improvised.
Park officials angered pretty much everyone in Southern California by announcing a re-theme of Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
Photo: Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG
Disney evolved that attraction into Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!.
Once again, critics quickly shut their mouths as a Guardians story exceeded expectations for the second time.
At Walt Disney World, park officials wanted to get in on the action.
Disney did the unthinkable and closed Ellen’s Energy Adventure, an attraction whose origins dated back to EPCOT’s 1982 opening day.
Let’s just say that some folks weren’t crazy about Disney replacing a classic infotainment ride with a fictional one.
Well, those people got over themselves when Cosmic Rewind debuted, as it’s an instant classic.
The Guardians of the Galaxy embark upon an intergalactic battle with a Celestial, with the story told via the rider’s perspective.
Cosmic Rewind is the world’s first “storytelling coaster” in that Imagineers force your line of sight to align with the action.
You’ll watch events unfold on wall-sized digital displays, and everything happens with a musical soundtrack playing.
Your musical accompaniment is random, with each of the six possible songs creating an entirely distinct ride experience.
Cosmic Rewind
Imagineers truly outdid themselves with Cosmic Rewind, which has quickly become EPCOT’s must-do attraction.
Personally, I’m a big fan of the giant Celestial scenes, which utilize scale brilliantly, and that gravitational drop toward a planet is *chef’s kiss*.
How to Ride Cosmic Rewind
Even though this roller coaster just turned two years old, guests still ride it practically the same way they did at the start.
Park visitors have two options to experience Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.
Photo: Disney
You can attempt to join a virtual queue, or you can purchase a Lightning Lane. That’s it. That’s the list.
Walt Disney World only operates two virtual queues at the moment.
Photo: Disney
One is for the newest ride, Tron Lightcycle / Run, while the other is for Cosmic Rewind.
At EPCOT, the virtual queue works as follows:
“There will be 2 daily opportunities to request to join the virtual queue for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind:
- 7:00 AM (Guests do not need to be in EPCOT to join the virtual queue at this time)
- 1:00 PM (Guests must be in EPCOT to join the virtual queue at this time)”
I’ve taken that information directly from Disney’s website, and it reinforces the oddity of the system.
You get two kicks at the can on Cosmic Rewind. Should you swing and miss on both, your only option is to purchase a Lightning Lane.
If you’re unfamiliar with Lightning Lanes, they’re the equivalent of one-use-only FastPasses.
You pay X amount of money. In exchange, you’ll walk onto the roller coaster after 10-20 minutes rather than waiting for an hour.
Lightning Lane
Once we enter the line, you’ll notice that Cast Members prioritize Lightning Lane guests over people in the virtual queue lane.
You get what you pay for, even at Disney.
How Much Does Lightning Lane Cost?
Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind Extended Queue
Throughout 2024 to date, a Lightning Lane purchase at Cosmic Rewind has cost roughly the same.
You’ll pay $14-$17 for a single trip into outer space, stopping first at the Wonders of Xandar pavilion.
I’m not getting into whether Cosmic Rewind is worth that much, as it’s a conversation for another day.
The point is more that you’re still paying an average of $15.50 for a single trip on a two-year-old ride.
As a reminder, Lightning Lane is still a relatively new offering, as is the digital queue.
We don’t really have any conventional rules for how long an attraction should remain a Lightning Lane option.
Credit: Disney
In fact, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train turns ten years old this month.
Guests still pay $10-$12 to experience the ride. However, these park visitors have a choice.
. (Matt Stroshane, photographer)
You can also enter the standby queue for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, choosing to wait an hour rather than paying the money.
Only two Disney attractions lack standby queues. One is Tron, while the other is Cosmic Rewind.
Photo: Disney
While Tron is currently Disney World’s newest ride, it’ll lose that honor when Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens.
That statement raises a question. Once Tiana arrives, will Disney operate three virtual queues indefinitely?
When Should Cosmic Rewind Switch to Standby?
Credit: Disney
Notably, several other attractions offer Lightning Lanes. Some of them aren’t even new.
As an example, Avatar Flight of Passage debuted in 2017, yet guests still happily pay $14-$16 to skip the line here.
An Ilm can be spotted on Avatar: Flight of Passage
Given that the Pandora ride is among the longest waits at Walt Disney World, that’s like a cost-benefit analysis in action.
Again, Disney provides guests with the choice of standing in line or paying to skip most of it.
Cosmic Rewind ride vehicles
After two years, Cosmic Rewind still doesn’t have that option. So, the question becomes, “When will Disney add that?”
Let’s be realistic about the fact that it probably won’t happen this summer.
After all, EPCOT hasn’t finished adding experiences yet. For instance, CommuniCore Hall & Plaza will debut in June.
I don’t think it’s coincidental that the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival will debut later than usual this year.
Disney is already performing a kind of crowd control to keep EPCOT free from potential bottlenecks.
The changing of Cosmic Rewind to a standby attraction would cause additional ripples.
Cosmic Rewind
Then again, I guess you could argue that it’d lure guests away from the other new offerings, which is valid.
Still, I suspect Disney won’t change its current Cosmic Rewind setup until the fall.
By then, the roller coaster will be nearly two-and-a-half years old, which is a reasonable time to end its virtual queue.
Then again, Disney might surprise me and switch Cosmic Rewind to standby as soon as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure arrives.
That’s what I would prefer to happen, as I find it a bit odd that this popular ride still lacks a standby queue.
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