Disney Announces Opening Date of Guardians of the Galaxy Coaster

Remember when Epcot was the “educational” park at Walt Disney World? When it was a place to learn about how motion worked, how energy was created, how fish lived in the seas, how cultures from around the world exist? Yeah, it’s not so much that anymore. The next big ride at the park is based on the decidedly not-factual, not-educational (although quite entertaining) Guardians of the Galaxy movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Titled Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, it is the first roller coaster based on the Guardians franchise. (Another ride, Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout, has been open for years at Disneyland.)

This new ride was first announced way back in 2017. It is taking over the old pavilion in Epcot that used to be known as the Universe of Energy, which formerly housed a ride where Ellen DeGeneres taught guests about the history of energy. The new ride is just a wee bit more exciting; on Disney’s website they describe it thusly:

This family-thrill attraction features the first ever reverse-launch on a Disney coaster and is one of the longest enclosed coasters in the world! A new innovation from Walt Disney Imagineering—this coaster rotates 360 degrees so you can focus on the action!

Today, Disney announced the ride will officially open at Epcot on May 27. They also unveiled the trailer for the ride, which features appearances from Rocket and Groot, along with the Guardians’ ship, the Milano:

Although they’re not featured in that trailer, the ride will supposedly include appearances from numerous Guardians cast members, including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, and Glenn Close — who played the leader of the Nova Corps, the alien peacekeepers who are in serious trouble in that trailer, in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. The cast supposedly shot new footage specifically for the ride during production on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which is scheduled to open in theaters on May 5, 2023. Corporate synergy bay bay; it makes the Spaceship Earth go round.