News Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind attraction confirmed for Epcot

[osian]

The entire point is that there's nothing particularly unique about it. It's essentially just another Space Mountain and is not employing any technology that hasn't been seen much earlier. Gringotts doesn't utilize as much motion, but it doesn't mean it's not capable of it either. I've had a few rides where it bugged out and the vehicle spun in two or three circles. The issue is that people are always claiming that a merit of Guardians is that it's unique and it's very clearly not. Vekoma's technology is incredibly similar to what Intamin had already innovated.

I got to ride it 11 times during my recent 10-day holiday and I got to know its layout fairly well. You are right in that projections, controlled turning of the vehicle, and indoor coasters have been done before, but this is actually incredibly well designed and I think better than any other inddor coaster I've experienced. I thought the same about Paris' Space Mountain. When you get to know the layout it's easier to appreciate the thought and design that went into the layout, to give certrain forces and feelings at various points.

The theming? Meh. The "story" doesn't add anything to the ride, I don't think I followed much of it anwyay. Screens and projections and pop songs do not a good ride make. It would work just as well, if not better, if it was just a ride about the Big Bang and your journey through the newly created universe, with an appropriate atmospheric soundtrack.

Highlights:

The one complete 360degree rotation about halfway through the ride.
The upwards launch towards the end (although the effect diminishes somewhat the further back you sit)
The helix around the moon. OMG that is so well done. It gets tighter towards the end and drops at the same time, while you're sat at an angle, giving you a lot of "oomph", especially towards the back.

It's not "essentially just another Space Mountain" at all. But even Space Mountain wasn't just thrown together. Those drops occur in very strategic places and with a specific profile to give maximum impact.

Technology is just a tool that can be used to, erm, tell a story. It can be used well, or not, and it can be used to enhance. Doesn't really matter if Vekoma did something similar to Intamin, I would argue that this ride does it better than Gringott's.

[Edit: I get that you were responding to the "unique" argument, that the technology it uses is not unique and it's been used before. But my point is that it's being used in a better way, and it does provide a unique experience, considering the track layout and how the rotations work in harmony to provide certain forces, not just to point you to a particular object)

 

[osian]

You're making the argument that something can only be as good as the sum of its parts.

LOL, I think that was what I was trying to say, but not quite as concisely!

My nbr 1 coaster (out of almost 700 that I've ridden) is Nemesis, at Alton Towers (UK). There are loads of coasters like it, cookie-cutter elements, it's not the biggest and it's not the fastest. But it was like capturing lightning in a jar. It's more than the sum of its parts. It's a work of art.

 

[tpoly88]

I got to ride it 11 times during my recent 10-day holiday and I got to know its layout fairly well. You are right in that projections, controlled turning of the vehicle, and indoor coasters have been done before, but this is actually incredibly well designed and I think better than any other inddor coaster I've experienced. I thought the same about Paris' Space Mountain. When you get to know the layout it's easier to appreciate the thought and design that went into the layout, to give certrain forces and feelings at various points.

The theming? Meh. The "story" doesn't add anything to the ride, I don't think I followed much of it anwyay. Screens and projections and pop songs do not a good ride make. It would work just as well, if not better, if it was just a ride about the Big Bang and your journey through the newly created universe, with an appropriate atmospheric soundtrack.

Highlights:

The one complete 360degree rotation about halfway through the ride.
The upwards launch towards the end (although the effect diminishes somewhat the further back you sit)
The helix around the moon. OMG that is so well done. It gets tighter towards the end and drops at the same time, while you're sat at an angle, giving you a lot of "oomph", especially towards the back.

It's not "essentially just another Space Mountain" at all. But even Space Mountain wasn't just thrown together. Those drops occur in very strategic places and with a specific profile to give maximum impact.

Technology is just a tool that can be used to, erm, tell a story. It can be used well, or not, and it can be used to enhance. Doesn't really matter if Vekoma did something similar to Intamin, I would argue that this ride does it better than Gringott's.

[Edit: I get that you were responding to the "unique" argument, that the technology it uses is not unique and it's been used before. But my point is that it's being used in a better way, and it does provide a unique experience, considering the track layout and how the rotations work in harmony to provide certain forces, not just to point you to a particular object)

agree, just rode this again on sunday. still a great ride, flock of seagulls was the music this time. youre right its hard to hear the guardians talking with the music going but its the music that really makes the ride! was not as fun with tears for fears. Disco inferno and Blonde "one way or another" are the best.
was strange this time though, the whole que was rushed, didn't even finish the celestial scene before the doors opened.

 

[mergatroid]

The entire point is that there's nothing particularly unique about it. It's essentially just another Space Mountain and is not employing any technology that hasn't been seen much earlier. Gringotts doesn't utilize as much motion, but it doesn't mean it's not capable of it either. I've had a few rides where it bugged out and the vehicle spun in two or three circles. The issue is that people are always claiming that a merit of Guardians is that it's unique and it's very clearly not. Vekoma's technology is incredibly similar to what Intamin had already innovated.

The bit highlighted part I would disagree with as it's not really like Space Mountain is it especially if we're looking at the technology is uses as you clearly are? I mean if we're arguing that then we may as well say that every ride using a screen is essentially the same and that all the roller coasters outside are all the same. We may as well say the still being built Epic Universe is just a park copying IOA and US which it clearly isn't.

Space mountain is in indoor roller coaster in the dark. Space Mountain doesn't go backwards at any point, it doesn't reach the speeds Cosmic Rewind does, it isn't as long as CR is, it doesn't have vehicles that spin like CR does and to the point you're arguing it doesn't use the technology that CR does. If we're arguing something is essentially the same to that degree then we get to the point where we may as well say Jurassic Park us 'essentially the same as Pirates' as they're both boat ride attractions including animatronics.

The technology may have been used before but the award it won which triggered this conversation wasn't in any way related to 'the best ride using unique technology award' so it just seems a bit strange mentioning it. I think when people refer to it as unique it may be because they've personally never been on a ride using that technology before? However it could also be that they mean they've never been on a ride using that technology that also utilises the storyline, the music, the darkness and the screens in that way combined? They're possibly referring to the whole experience rather than dissecting the technological aspect of which screws and ride systems were used and letting that somehow spoil the experience the ride allowed them to feel.

It's subjective as to whether people enjoy it or not, as is whether it deserved the award or not. It's just whenever we read "It's just a coaster in a box" it usually is an argument that would make 99% of attractions the same and just feels a bit of a lazy way of saying that the person saying it doesn't like the ride.

 

[tpoly88]

The bit highlighted part I would disagree with as it's not really like Space Mountain is it especially if we're looking at the technology is uses as you clearly are? I mean if we're arguing that then we may as well say that every ride using a screen is essentially the same and that all the roller coasters outside are all the same. We may as well say the still being built Epic Universe is just a park copying IOA and US which it clearly isn't.

Space mountain is in indoor roller coaster in the dark. Space Mountain doesn't go backwards at any point, it doesn't reach the speeds Cosmic Rewind does, it isn't as long as CR is, it doesn't have vehicles that spin like CR does and to the point you're arguing it doesn't use the technology that CR does. If we're arguing something is essentially the same to that degree then we get to the point where we may as well say Jurassic Park us 'essentially the same as Pirates' as they're both boat ride attractions including animatronics.

The technology may have been used before but the award it won which triggered this conversation wasn't in any way related to 'the best ride using unique technology award' so it just seems a bit strange mentioning it. I think when people refer to it as unique it may be because they've personally never been on a ride using that technology before? However it could also be that they mean they've never been on a ride using that technology that also utilises the storyline, the music, the darkness and the screens in that way combined? They're possibly referring to the whole experience rather than dissecting the technological aspect of which screws and engines were used and letting that somehow spoil the experience the ride allowed them to feel.

It's subjective as to whether people enjoy it or not, as is whether it deserved the award or not. It's just whenever we read "It's just a coaster in a box" it usually is an argument that would make 99% of attractions the same and just feels a bit of a lazy way of sating that the person saying it doesn't like the ride.

i think its a great ride, yes not like space mnt. i missed that part.

 

[Rich Brownn]

Unique? As in rollercoasters with programmable yaw? Like Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts 8 years prior? In a big building with star projections like Space Mountain did a previous 47 years prior?

For good measure, might as well mention its novelty effect, the retracting walls in the pre-show, which was achieved by Poseidon's Fury on a larger scale after its rework in 2001.

Actually the Presto-Chango room (as Landmark called it) was there since Poseidon opened in 1999. Orginally you walked in with the walls already up . When you were rescued by Zeus (Poseidon was the bad guy in this version) the walls dropped down to give the illusion you were back in the previous room/People had trouble understanding it so in the new version it starts with walls down

 

[Bocabear]

There was a much better version of the flying walls trick used at the Star Trek Experience in Vegas... It really was an amazing effect...Smaller room, and the cast were all fully playing their roles as starship team members....It was really well done... but long long gone now....that opened in 1998.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I don't think people are saying it's no good because it's an indoor coaster, or at least that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying it doesn't really elevate beyond just being an indoor coaster -- even if it's a very good one -- and they'd indicated it was going to be something more than that. That doesn't mean it's a bad ride (and it's not a bad ride). I just don't think it's an especially great one and don't think it's even close to being one of the best at WDW.

Your description of Revenge of the Mummy is how I felt about Cosmic Rewind! I think Revenge of the Mummy is a better attraction than CR, even though it's not one of my absolute favorites either.

Of course it's all subjective, though.

I’d sum it up as CR is a vastly better coaster than Gringotts but Gringotts is a vastly better theme park attraction than CR.

The really glaring failure of the ride in comparison to other, similar attractions is the changing room. As Boca points out, the effect was done spectacularly at a Las Vegas Hilton decades ago. Even with that model, Disney messed up the effect so badly and at such a fundamental level it actually makes one question their competence.

 

[Bocabear]

I’d sum it up as CR is a vastly better coaster than Gringotts but Gringotts is a vastly better theme park attraction than CR.

The really glaring failure of the ride in comparison to other, similar attractions is the changing room. As Boca points out, the effect was done spectacularly at a Las Vegas Hilton decades ago. Even with that model, Disney messed up the effect so badly and at such a fundamental level it actually makes one question their competence.

True dat! I like the ride... It has a few issues, but in general, I think it is a solid attraction...Just needs some tuning....

 

[Rich Brownn]

There was a much better version of the flying walls trick used at the Star Trek Experience in Vegas... It really was an amazing effect...Smaller room, and the cast were all fully playing their roles as starship team members....It was really well done... but long long gone now....that opened in 1998.

Same company (Landmark) but that effect included a ceiling that moved in and out as well. I wish I could have experienced that

 

[Casper Gutman]

Same company (Landmark) but that effect included a ceiling that moved in and out as well. I wish I could have experienced that

It worked beautifully for a lot of reasons CR missed, perhaps the two biggest being that the initial room created a very convincing illusion of being a simulator loading area and that there was a very substantial difference between the first and second version of the room. It was genuinely great.

 

[Bocabear]

Same company (Landmark) but that effect included a ceiling that moved in and out as well. I wish I could have experienced that

It was amazing...Even the floor changed under your feet....You were in a small pre-boarding room and Flash and whoosh, you were on the deck of the Enterprise and the cast members were all in motion...It felt so believable... amazing attraction....

 

[DCBaker]

Anyone know if they are putting the Christmas mode on again? I hope they don’t unless we get a better song.

It hasn't been mentioned in any of the Holiday releases and the song was not playing when I rode this morning.

 

[ᗩLᘿᑕ ✨ ᗩζᗩᗰ]

Anyone know if they are putting the Christmas mode on again? I hope they don’t unless we get a better song.

It should have been more than a song anyway. It wouldn't theoretically be terribly difficult to overlay a Holiday version seeing as how it's mostly screens and projections. Only the exit tunnel would require festive decor. The biggest caveat would be the costs associated with filming a new preshow and lift sequence videos. On-ride audio could be pulled directly from the The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. The post show projection could be tweaked to give The Guardians of the Galaxy Santa hats and other holiday garb. As for a song choice, maybe McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime"?

Speaking of preshow: Does anyone suspect they'll be changing it? There's a rumor going around that Disney isn't happy with the way guests respond to Terry Crews's question of "Does anyone know what they call themselves anyway?" with shouted responses of "Drunks" or "Alcoholics!"

Has that been a rampant issue? I guess if they were to redo it they'd have the opportunity to record a holiday version too.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I read somewhere that there won't be a Christmas overlay to CR.

 

[EricsBiscuit]

I wonder if Disney is going to build this ride at another park. An Aladdin ride with the same ride system in Adventureland would be great but anyways I think Tokyo’s new SM might employ this ride system? Not sure

 

[ᗩLᘿᑕ ✨ ᗩζᗩᗰ]

I wonder if Disney is going to build this ride at another park. An Aladdin ride with the same ride system in Adventureland would be great but anyways I think Tokyo’s new SM might employ this ride system? Not sure

All the Parks are due a quality Aladdin attraction.

 

[Epcot82Guy]

I wonder if Disney is going to build this ride at another park. An Aladdin ride with the same ride system in Adventureland would be great but anyways I think Tokyo’s new SM might employ this ride system? Not sure

While not confirmed, Tokyo SM is assumed to be the next use case. If true, that will be a really good application of this ride system (and hopefully with a simpler, more effective storyline).

 

[michmousefan]

Epcot managers: kindly consider a one-day a year change in soundtrack... you guys love retro, limited-edition merch and mashups; this seems like it might work well for that...

 

[wannabeBelle]

I love this, the line would be insane!!! Marie