Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind SPOILER Thread

[SplashJacket]

This is why I think the ride is partially a failure in execution.

That doesn't mean it's a bad ride -- just that it doesn't succeed in that area. It feels like they could have built the attraction without the Guardians (and probably for less money) with little to no effect on the overall enjoyability, which is a pretty big miss from a design standpoint.

The theming should enhance the ride, not just... exist.

Agree, but I’d say the theming is well executed, it’s just the buildup could’ve been a nondescript alien civilization in place of the Guardians and Xandar.

I found the Guardians queue museum area to be rather underwhelming for what I think they were going for, but still felt very Epcot. It all feels like Epcot until you’re “teleported” to space.

I believe VelociCoaster has the best extreme thrill ride experience of any coaster.
I believe Hagrids has the best themed ride experience of any coaster.
And I believe Guardians is the best overall ride experience. It’s not the most thrilling, but still thrilling, but the overall physical feeling is incredible. The overall visual experience is also incredible.

It’s interesting, I haven’t yet put my finger on the dynamic. I get two more rides Monday, so we’ll see.

 

[Rickcat96]

It's a good Universal Studios ride in Epcot.

 

[Epcot82Guy]

The story issue is the exact problem here. They totally mangled the overarching theme of that side of the park to make this attempt to fit. And, they then put in a very weak story that is at best inconsequential and possibly a bit of a detraction. I agree for CR, it's not that big of a deal. It's the fact they could have simplified the story into a simpler "going back in time" story about the history of our solar system, written a more cohesive story for World Discovery and not lost anything.

But, it's "fun" so why care...

 

[WDWJoeG]

The story issue is the exact problem here. They totally mangled the overarching theme of that side of the park to make this attempt to fit. And, they then put in a very weak story that is at best inconsequential and possibly a bit of a detraction. I agree for CR, it's not that big of a deal. It's the fact they could have simplified the story into a simpler "going back in time" story about the history of our solar system, written a more cohesive story for World Discovery and not lost anything.

But, it's "fun" so why care...

Exactly! So fun!

I was at my local fair yesterday and rode the Zipper and it was so fun. I kept thinking, this would be a great replacement for The American Adventure! What's more American than a county fair classic?! And that stale, old attraction isn't that fun at all anymore.

I agree, forget cohesive theming that supports the mission and concept of the park, Epcot just needs more fun!!!

 

[Epcot82Guy]

Exactly! So fun!

I was at my local fair yesterday and rode the Zipper and it was so fun. I kept thinking, this would be a great replacement for The American Adventure! What's more American than a county fair classic?! And that stale, old attraction isn't that fun at all anymore.

I agree, forget cohesive theming that supports the mission and concept of the park, Epcot just needs more fun!!!

And the problem is they aren't mutually exclusive. And aren't more or less expensive. I'd argue a simple story here would actually have been the same if not cheaper.

That's the part that continues to baffle me - unless they really are trying to focus the audience on the character-obsessed, weeding out any of the other fan groups.

 

[UNCgolf]

Agree, but I’d say the theming is well executed, it’s just the buildup could’ve been a nondescript alien civilization in place of the Guardians and Xandar.

Right, that's what I mean -- that it's supposed to be a Marvel/Guardians ride and they feel mostly superfluous to the experience. It could have been a simple space themed ride (remove Eson etc. from the projections/screens and just make it planets, nebulas, etc.) and probably been even better than what exists.

I think the only reason the Guardians help the ride at all is they provide the excuse for the soundtrack.

 

[DCBaker]

New video from WDI -

 

[Henry Mystic]

It’s not necessarily that I found the story weak, it’s that it didn’t serve an active role in the attraction, which is fine.

Everest doesn’t have a continuous plot in the traditional sense, but still a great sense of place and design.

You could takeout the Guardians and it really wouldn’t lose anything, because they don’t really add anything besides a reason to play classic rock in the gravity building. In contrast, Guardians are integral to and drastically enhance the Mission Breakout ride experience.

Don’t think it really matter. It’s a great ride regardless.

It fits way better at EPCOT than I expected it to for this reason. It really does feel like we got the Big Bang coaster.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Remember when the queue and pre-show told most of the story for a ride and you didn’t need extra videos and a 1492 page backstory of every single square inch of a ride to know what was going on? Or when you weren’t sledgehammered over the head with “story Story STORY!!!!!!” every second? It’s not like they don’t have examples of this already in the parks…

To me, this current crop of Imagineer contractors is just so… meh. They knock one out of the park with Rise (despite the on-going operational issues), but then it’s a bunch of bunt singles and “we’re just so smart and clever you simpletons need extra help understanding what we did” stuff like this (plus the managerial focus on food/bev/merch sales over all else). They spend so much to say so little, lead by the PR-approved-and-written verbal diarrhea master himself, THEZach. I prefer the creatives be allowed to be creative and not beholden to the whims MBA “creative directors” or bald crap peddlers or former weathermen. Maybe Everest was the last truly great ride WDI makes unless it’s more creativity and less movie IP, management meddling, and mental gymnastics going forward. I can’t imagine the catalog of unique ideas at WDI that haven’t and maybe never will see the light of day while instead we get “Guardians is fun!!!”.

 

[WondersOfLife]

New video from WDI -

A whole bunch of nothing.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

But, it's "fun" so why care...

The criticisms might be valid, but ultimately we go to these parks to feel something. Sometimes it's emotion, sometimes it's inspiration, but fun is virtually always the baseline.

The minute the parks no longer feel fun, that's when the desire to return truly dissippates. And for those who can handle it physically, this is one of the most fun ride experiences you can have anywhere (I'm also comparing Cosmic Rewind to the other eleven Disney parks, UOR's best, and two Six Flags parks).

Massive credit is warranted for that accomplishment.

 

[Hawg G]

It's a good Universal Studios ride in Epcot.

Universal could have built this ride, and another totally unrelated one, in series, for the Same money.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I think the only reason the Guardians help the ride at all is they provide the excuse for the soundtrack.

Exactly.

The story issue is the exact problem here. They totally mangled the overarching theme of that side of the park to make this attempt to fit. And, they then put in a very weak story that is at best inconsequential and possibly a bit of a detraction. I agree for CR, it's not that big of a deal. It's the fact they could have simplified the story into a simpler "going back in time" story about the history of our solar system, written a more cohesive story for World Discovery and not lost anything.

But, it's "fun" so why care...

The story being a borderline detraction pretty much nails it. You are spoon-fed it SO hard in those two long pre-shows, only for it to not matter even a little bit in the ride portion.

Picture if Expedition Everest had 10 minutes of pre-show before you could board. That's pretty much what we have here. With Everest, the story is there and there are layers to it if you care enough. If you don't, you only need to know that the yeti should be avoided. Nobody ever complains about Everest not having a pre-show or a heavy dose of story because the ride experience does not necessitate it. See also: 7DMT, Slinky Dog Dash, Hagrid's, Velocicoaster. Rock 'n' Roller Coaster's brief pre-show feels justified and doesn't feel like they're attempting a ROTR level of story like CR does.

To make a contrasting comparison - Gringotts. It too has two pre-shows (one being the elevator), but the ride is ALL story and very little coaster, so it makes sense to have that much setup.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Eh. Basically my interpretation of the same issue is that they tried so hard to make the ride appropriate to its Epcot setting that they went a little overboard with the pre-shows and storytelling.

That’s true, they did.

But if the pre-shows are too much, and the ride itself is glorious for different reasons, is that ultimately a bad thing? For me, not at all. I place much more weight on the ride portion and still respect the ambitious lengths they went through to make everything fit.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Eh. Basically my interpretation of the same issue is that they tried so hard to make the ride appropriate to its Epcot setting that they went a little overboard with the pre-shows and storytelling.

That’s true, they did.

But if the pre-shows are too much, and the ride itself is glorious for different reasons, is that ultimately a bad thing? For me, not at all. I place much more weight on the ride portion and still respect the ambitious lengths they went through to make everything fit.

They didn’t go a little overboard. They went hundreds of millions of dollars overboard. That story is the reason this is the world’s most expensive attraction. That amount of money could have gone towards adding capacity elsewhere.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

They didn’t go a little overboard. They went hundreds of millions of dollars overboard. That story is the reason this is the world’s most expensive attraction. That amount of money could have gone towards adding capacity elsewhere.

Speaking for myself, this is my favorite ride in any theme park by a wide margin, and I have all the best to compare it to. It’s brought so much joy to Epcot, which really, really needed it.

If they got a little too ambitious (or a lot) to make that happen, it was completely worth it in my eyes.

 

[SplashJacket]

After visiting all the parks (besides Animal Kingdom) first time college aged friends ranked Rise #1 and Guardians #2, and the other ranked Guardians #1 and Rise #2. A Guardians caliber ride is exactly what this park needed.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Speaking for myself, this is my favorite ride in any theme park by a wide margin, and I have all the best to compare it to. It’s brought so much joy to Epcot, which really, really needed it.

If they got a little too ambitious (or a lot) to make that happen, it was completely worth it in my eyes.

Are you absolutely certain it is your favorite theme park ride? Not trying to be condescending, but your first few rides on any new ride are going to be more enjoyable to you than your 100th on, say, Big Thunder Mountain. This happens with every new major E-ticket where people quickly claim it as their new top ride before it has time to settle in.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Are you absolutely certain it is your favorite theme park ride? Not trying to be condescending, but your first few rides on any new ride are going to be more enjoyable to you than your 100th on, say, Big Thunder Mountain. This happens with every new major E-ticket where people quickly claim it as their new top ride before it has time to settle in.

13 rides in, and as someone who loves to dance, there isn’t a better ride experience set to music out there. Combine with a smooth, satisfying track layout, and no one will be topping it for a while.

MK’s Space Mountain will snap your neck in comparison, and you can barely hear the soundtrack, as fun as it is. Even coasters like RnRC and Everest feel simple and boring in comparison. Also rough now, in RnRC’s case.

 

[mergatroid]

13 rides in, and as someone who loves to dance, there isn’t a better ride experience set to music out there. Combine with a smooth, satisfying track layout, and no one will be topping it for a while.

MK’s Space Mountain will snap your neck in comparison, and you can barely hear the soundtrack, as fun as it is. Even coasters like RnRC and Everest feel simple and boring in comparison. Also rough now, in RnRC’s case.

So reading between the lines, what you're saying you really don't like it very much?