Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind SPOILER Thread

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I've always boiled down the problems with C&H to:

1. While it's thematically good (in terms of properly representing a roadside carnival), it's aesthetically bad. Unlike the "visual rhyming" and other design principles that are carefully followed throughout the rest of DAK - making it one of Disney's most beautiful parks - C&H simply isn't beautiful.
2. The premise of a Disney environment is supposed to make sense immediately, even if it requires time and attention to understand in more depth. With C&H, most regular guests will not understand that it's "themed to be an un-themed amusement park." They just see an un-themed amusement park. This breaks the park's transportive "spell" and blurs the line between Disney and the "real world."

There are some things they could've done to mitigate this, especially #2. For example, the "Diggs County" sign could've been much larger and read something like: "welcome to our small town where big fossils were discovered and The Dino Institute was founded." Boom. Now everything makes sense.

I think it’s as simple as a bad theme is a bad theme no matter how well it’s done.

Universal Studios, Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney Studio Park at DLP… all look(ed) just like backlots but since that’s a horrible theme it doesn’t matter how accurate they look, they still look horrible, it’s also telling all three are slowly transitioning away from “soundstages” because its a universally loathed theme in the theme park community.

C&H is the same, it could be the best done “roadside“ carnival in the world but it would still be a horrible theme.

It’s pretty obvious when Disney picks a theme because they think they can build something amazing with it (Galaxy’s Edge, Pandora, Carsland, etc) and when they pick a theme because it allows them to build something cheap (C&H, soundstages, DCA boardwalk, etc).

 

[UNCgolf]

I think it’s as simple as a bad theme is a bad theme no matter how well it’s done.

Universal Studios, Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney Studio Park at DLP… all look(ed) just like backlots but since that’s a horrible theme it doesn’t matter how accurate they look, they still look horrible, it’s also telling all three are slowly transitioning away from “soundstages” because its a universally loathed theme in the theme park community.

C&H is the same, it could be the best done “roadside“ carnival in the world but it would still be a horrible theme.

It’s pretty obvious when Disney picks a theme because they think they can build something amazing with it (Galaxy’s Edge, Pandora, Carsland, etc) and when they pick a theme because it allows them to build something cheap (C&H, soundstages, DCA boardwalk, etc).

I actually think the soundstage look worked at the original Disney-MGM, because the front of the park was so incredibly well themed as an idealized Los Angeles. It was like you transitioned from Los Angeles itself onto a studio lot, and then the areas around the soundstages were also well themed like an actual studio lot (the dining etc.).

Once they went away from actually using it as a studio and then backed off the original theming (the facades are still fantastic, but they've basically given up on the interiors/merchandise for the most part), though, it definitely changed things. That soundstage look no longer works in the current park.

 

[Marc Davis Fan]

...and then the areas around the soundstages were also well themed like an actual studio lot (the dining etc.).

Yeah, the MGM soundstages worked okay (although still far from the epitome of themed design!) back when they were all clearly soundstages, and all of those areas' design elements leaned into that premise.

Now, it as if they can't decide whether they're soundstages or not, so it just looks incompletely-themed.

Case in point: Star Tours used to lean into the idea that the outdoor facades constituted a movie set (with the rigging, "hot set" sign, etc.), but once they changed that, it created the awful impression that Disney simply half-themes things (e.g., painted backdrop, back of AT-AT, etc.) If they just added back in some cameras and lights on cranes, all of a sudden the Star Tours facade would "click" to guests.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I got to ride today! Here are some meandering thoughts:

1. I smelled no vomit at any point. so that's something to be grateful for apparently.
2. At this point, I think it's somewhat pointless to talk about whether or not it fits original epcot. Calling a spade a spade, it's a comic book-based roller coaster that they dropped in the park (although I do have a little bit of a soft spot for them calling it the first "other-world" pavilion, that was cute).
3. There were no education elements, at least to my ears. My galaxarium clip had a funny joke about turkey legs.
4. Queue and preshows are somewhere between ok and good. It's about as interesting as Dinosaur's. Nowhere close to Flight of Passage or ROTR in my book.
5. The story is borderline incoherent, and that's coming from an MCU fan haha. You're trying to follow a celestial through space. if you're looking for more story than that, I would consider waving the white flag there.
6. Terry Crews is a riot. Opinions to the contrary are not welcome here.
7. If any of that sounds indifferent to the actual ride, I have to say the roller coaster itself is a blast. If Space Mountain puts a big smile on your face, I give you every assurance this will do that.
8. As someone who can do Mission Space Orange and largely have no issue but feels queasy just looking at Teacups, I had absolutely no motion sickness to speak of. I don't know if that's a helpful reference or not.
9. The coaster itself is so, so, so, so, so smooth. I have to think, but that has to be the smoothest coaster I've ever been on. I would honestly say you get more jerked around on seven dwarves than Guardians.
10. Has anyone described the sensation as going sledding on either a trash can lid or a lunch tray? That's what I'd equate it to, you're going downhill and around bends but sideways, frontways, backwards, etc., without ever truly "spinning." And that's fun!
11. I had "September" and it was an A++++ song for the ride, no notes.
12. I really don't think having animatronics anywhere would've improved anything, at least in this specific case. For the ~30 seconds you're interacting with the characters you're speaking them via transmissions from their ships. For example, do you need to see an animatronic of Dr. Seeker on Dinosaur? I'd equate it to that.

So the very summarized version is it's a very fun, very forced ride. Which I assume most people thought it would be when it was announced 5 years ago hahah.

Thanks for the great review!

As to point 12, the problem is that Seeker isn't the main character of the attraction OR the IP, the dinosaurs are. If you only saw the dinosaurs on screens that were supposed to be screens and were told by Seeker (on another screen) that the dinosaurs were somewhere else for some reason, yeah, that would be an issue. That's the situation with GotG. At the very least, the scene in the concept art needed to be in the ride, even if they just used holograms to create the illusion of 3-D characters, ala Gringotts or DCA's awful Spidey (obviously, I'd greatly prefer AAs).

"Eventually you do plan to have Guardians of the Galaxy on your Guardians of the Galaxy ride, right?" Apparently not.

The other, slightly related issue regarding AAs or, at the least, more innovative projection effects, is that this is a ride in which we are supposedly chasing a planet-size god-like robot through time as existence "rewinds" and they do absolutely NOTHING with that concept, which is mind-boggling. At a bare minimum, the ride needs ONE mind-blowing show scene linked to that premise.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

I really don't think having animatronics anywhere would've improved anything, at least in this specific case. For the ~30 seconds you're interacting with the characters you're speaking them via transmissions from their ships. For example, do you need to see an animatronic of Dr. Seeker on Dinosaur? I'd equate it to that.

To this point, it seems pretty clear that the lack of Animatronics has less to do with the effort to tell a better story or create a better experiece and more to do with the desire to create a less expensive one.

Which once again begs the question . . . where did all the money go??

$450 Million on a Guardians of the Galaxy ride and you never even get to feel like you're sharing the same space with them? Wild.

 

[marni1971]

Two industry friends whom I trust implicitly rode. One ranked it a D ticket. The other gave a thumbs down with a very long and detailed list why. One was also mildly nauseated.

Straw poll I know. For the sake of balance another friend called it “fun“.

 

[Trinitys Ghost]

I got to ride today! Here are some meandering thoughts:

1. I smelled no vomit at any point. so that's something to be grateful for apparently.
2. At this point, I think it's somewhat pointless to talk about whether or not it fits original epcot. Calling a spade a spade, it's a comic book-based roller coaster that they dropped in the park (although I do have a little bit of a soft spot for them calling it the first "other-world" pavilion, that was cute).
3. There were no education elements, at least to my ears. My galaxarium clip had a funny joke about turkey legs.
4. Queue and preshows are somewhere between ok and good. It's about as interesting as Dinosaur's. Nowhere close to Flight of Passage or ROTR in my book.
5. The story is borderline incoherent, and that's coming from an MCU fan haha. You're trying to follow a celestial through space. if you're looking for more story than that, I would consider waving the white flag there.
6. Terry Crews is a riot. Opinions to the contrary are not welcome here.
7. If any of that sounds indifferent to the actual ride, I have to say the roller coaster itself is a blast. If Space Mountain puts a big smile on your face, I give you every assurance this will do that.
8. As someone who can do Mission Space Orange and largely have no issue but feels queasy just looking at Teacups, I had absolutely no motion sickness to speak of. I don't know if that's a helpful reference or not.
9. The coaster itself is so, so, so, so, so smooth. I have to think, but that has to be the smoothest coaster I've ever been on. I would honestly say you get more jerked around on seven dwarves than Guardians.
10. Has anyone described the sensation as going sledding on either a trash can lid or a lunch tray? That's what I'd equate it to, you're going downhill and around bends but sideways, frontways, backwards, etc., without ever truly "spinning." And that's fun!
11. I had "September" and it was an A++++ song for the ride, no notes.
12. I really don't think having animatronics anywhere would've improved anything, at least in this specific case. For the ~30 seconds you're interacting with the characters you're speaking them via transmissions from their ships. For example, do you need to see an animatronic of Dr. Seeker on Dinosaur? I'd equate it to that.

So the very summarized version is it's a very fun, very forced ride. Which I assume most people thought it would be when it was announced 5 years ago hahah.

For #10, have you ever seen racing cars "drift", or the Tokyo Drift movie (Fast and Furious series)? I watched a video of the ride (am ok with spoilers), to see if anything might effect me (disorientation makes me dizzy and migraine prone), and to me it looked like the cars were drifting, followed by rotating at ends/corners during the main part of the ride.

 

[Incomudro]

Two industry friends whom I trust implicitly rode. One ranked it a D ticket. The other gave a thumbs down with a very long and detailed list why. One was also mildly nauseated.

Straw poll I know. For the sake of balance another friend called it “fun“.

Anyone who comes up with a long detailed list of why they can't enjoy a ride need to take a look inside themselves.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Anyone who comes up with a long detailed list of why they can't enjoy a ride need to take a look inside themselves.

Or… they are simply more cerebral about things than you are, and yet still very much capable of enjoying theme parks and rides. Calling a spade a spade isn’t a bad thing.

 

[Clopin Trouillefou]

For #10, have you ever seen racing cars "drift", or the Tokyo Drift movie (Fast and Furious series)? I watched a video of the ride (am ok with spoilers), to see if anything might effect me (disorientation makes me dizzy and migraine prone), and to me it looked like the cars were drifting, followed by rotating at ends/corners during the main part of the ride.

It's absolutely like that! I texted a friend it kinda felt like you were in a Mario Kart game! The only thing I'll add is that it is deceptively fast/zippy, so that may be a consideration.

Again I can't personally say I felt disoriented in the least, but motion sickness is obviously comes down to personal tolerance. The first time I got off Flight of Passage I felt a little wobbly (nothing serious at all) but didn't feel a thing after this one.

 

[kalel8145]

It's absolutely like that! I texted a friend it kinda felt like you were in a Mario Kart game! The only thing I'll add is that it is deceptively fast/zippy, so that may be a consideration.

Again I can't personally say I felt disoriented in the least, but motion sickness is obviously comes down to personal tolerance. The first time I got off Flight of Passage I felt a little wobbly (nothing serious at all) but didn't feel a thing after this one.

I love coasters of all kinds, but some affect the wife in a bad way. She's cool on thunder and space but can't do everest. We got a tour of the AK clinic after that one. Still up in the air for her in guardians.

 

[Unbanshee]

View attachment 639508

That's not an "82" in terms of the Xandarian written language. Maybe to our human eyes it looks like it, but it doesn't directly translate

 

[ZodIsGr8]

Two industry friends whom I trust implicitly rode. One ranked it a D ticket. The other gave a thumbs down with a very long and detailed list why. One was also mildly nauseated.

Straw poll I know. For the sake of balance another friend called it “fun“.

Rode it and it was amazing and very smooth. It felt like you were floating if that makes any sense. I will say this, do not eat before riding it as I did not feel well afterwards when I did that. I got to ride it a total of 4 times and both times that I rode it without eating I felt fine but the 2 in the middle of that after eating were scary. In my opinion it is the best coaster on property and BTM was always my favorite. The music is perfect and just goes so well with the ride. When I was watching videos online about the ride, the story did not make much sense. When you are there in person and get to experience it, the story does make perfect sense. I found that riding in the middle gives you the most time to enjoy the screens and the story telling. Overall it is an amazing attraction, just in the wrong park. Should have been placed at MGM.

 

[marni1971]

Anyone who comes up with a long detailed list of why they can't enjoy a ride need to take a look inside themselves.

It wasn’t why they can’t. It was why they didn’t.

Maybe they design rides like this as a career?

 

[Andrew C]

Anyone who comes up with a long detailed list of why they can't enjoy a ride need to take a look inside themselves.

Either way, they don’t seem to be in the majority. And that’s okay.

 

[marni1971]

Either way, they don’t seem to be in the majority. And that’s okay.

Of course they’re not. This was expected to be popular. 5 minutes of a shiny new instagrammable thing before moving onto the next shiny thing.

 

[Andrew C]

5 minutes of a shiny new instagrammable thing before moving onto the next shiny thing.

Why take a shot like this at the typical and/or AP guest who likes it? Don’t get it.

 

[marni1971]

Why take a shot like this at the typical and/or AP guest who likes it? Don’t get it.

Because that’s the world we live in today?

 

[Clopin Trouillefou]

Also I'm realizing this only after I already typed it, but if Universal had built this ride for Mario Kart I'm pretty sure people would be calling it one of the best rides on the planet. this would've been a flawless Mario Kart.

Someone hire me, I have no engineering, architectural, or artistic experience but I have ideas like ^that^

 

[Andrew C]

Because that’s the world we live in today?

Ah. That is certainly a take on why you think people enjoy this attraction.