Walt Disney World has a lot of new things planned for the resort's upcoming 50th anniversary in 2021, but for fans of Marvel comics as well as movies, little is quite as exciting as the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy-themed roller coaster, recently given the official name of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. The attraction boasts a brand new ride system, and now we have our first look at the ride vehicles themselves, which have been designed with the same color scheme as the Milano, Peter Quill's ship from the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Check them out.
The cars look beautiful. They're blue and gold just like the first craft that the Guardians of the Galaxy share. The cars are even scored to look like they've taken damage in a battle. Each car seats four, with individual lap bars and based on what we see here, two cars are connected together, so we're looking at a maximum of eight people per train, though it's possible the final design will have more than two cars.
We also see what appears to be a speaker set in between the seats in each row. Music is a key component of the Guardians of the Galaxy, especially in their James Gunn-led MCU iteration and so one would expect music will be an important part of the attraction. We'll likely get some of Peter Quill's favorite music on the ride, alongside whatever other effects we need to hear, similar to the way it works Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout at Disneyland Resort.
However, the most interesting thing about the cars is the way they move. The video from the Disney Parks Blog shows the vehicles rotating in place on the track. This is part of the special ride system Disney has never used before. The company had previously been referring to the Guardians of the Galaxy as the first "story coaster" and now it's being called an OmniCoaster, as the ride vehicles can rotate 360 degrees so that they can direct the rider's attention to the story being told.
As far as exactly what that story is, we do have a little bit of information in that regard. The attraction begins in the Galaxarium, a planetarium like exhibition designed to explore the similarities between the formation of Earth and Xandar's galaxies. Then guests will be able to explore the treasures of Xandar, until the Guardians of the Galaxy arrive and things really get started.
Exactly what the OmniCoaster cars will be showing riders, we don't really know. The coaster is enclosed like Space Mountain, so there is plenty of space for projections or screens. Although, with the speed of a roller coaster involved, it will be interesting to see just how easy it will be to see anything the ride tries to show.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is being built over at Epcot and will open in the new pavilion called World Discovery, which is part of what is now Future World.
It's the first Marvel-themed attraction that will open at Walt Disney World, and it's one of the few that can. Marvel Entertainment made a deal with Universal Studios in the years before being acquired by Disney, which allows the Universal theme parks exclusive rights to most Marvel properties for theme park use east of the Mississippi River.
Universal never did anything with the Guardians of the Galaxy, they were lesser known characters prior to the first movie being released, which means Disney has the ability to use them.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind has no firm opening date, and has thus far only been confirmed to open in time for Walt Disney World's 50th anniversary in 2021, but you can bet it will open significantly earlier if possible.
