EW exclusive 'Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind' interview with Disney brings confusion around audio-animatronics in the ride

Dec 07, 2021 in "Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind"

Forum Forums Tweet Share Tweet Share

Posted: Tuesday December 7, 2021 12:30pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

EW has published an exclusive preview of the upcoming 'Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind' rollercoaster coming to EPCOT in 2022, and with is comes some uncertainty about exactly what audio-animatronics show scenes we can expect.

Imagineers inside the Galaxarium

The original edition of the article said, "Kicking off with a backward launch, the fast-paced attraction will rocket riders through time and space and into the largest 'show building' on the property, complete with animatronics, digital media, and the James Gunn-directed series' signature soundtrack of pop-rock hits, all in the name of amping up the same 'energy and excitement'from the films."

The article has been revised today to remove all mention of the animatronics, and now reads, "Kicking off with a backward launch, the fast-paced attraction will rocket riders through time and space and into the largest 'show building' on the property, complete with digital media and the James Gunn-directed series' signature soundtrack of pop-rock hits, all in the name of amping up the same "energy and excitement" from the films."

Did EW jump the gun and announce something that Disney wasn't ready to talk about just yet, or was it an error and there are in fact no animatronics in the attraction?

Inside Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind show building

Disney has not previously made any mention of animatronics, but the ride's massive price tag has given observers the impression that we should expect some elaborate show elements, possibly part of the pre-show area that will take place inside the former Universe of Energy building.

Another tidbit in the EQ article refers to the thrill actor, with Disney saying, "the overall thrill factor lies somewhere between that of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster."

You can read the full article at EW.

Discuss on the Forums

Get Walt Disney World News Delivered to Your Inbox

MisterPenguin24 days ago

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

UNCgolf24 days ago

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.

zipadee99924 days ago

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

Jayspency24 days ago

Tdo?

Marc Davis Fan24 days ago

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

FigmentFan8224 days ago

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

MisterPenguin24 days ago

Jack occasionally posts here: @IveBeenJack

UNCgolf24 days ago

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.