Disney to launch new ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ roller coaster at EPCOT Center

Disney to launch new ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ roller coaster at EPCOT Center
Disney Parks/Marvel Studios

Writer/director James Gunn‘s Guardians of the Galaxy universe is already a figurative roller coaster of aliens, action, and FM-gold rock songs, but it’s soon going to literally become a roller coaster.

None other than Glenn Close — in costume — announced the upcoming ride at Disney’s D23 expo over the weekend. The multiple Oscar nominee who played Nova Prime in the first film, said “Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind” opens at EPCOT Center in Orlando’s Walt Disney World this upcoming summer. Close appears in the ride, to boot. 

“We can’t wait to see you all there, so you can help save the galaxy,” she smiled in the preview.

Cosmic Rewind is being billed as Disney’s first reverse-launch coaster, considered an “omni-coaster” — which rotates riders in separate spaceship-like cars as the coaster zooms along the track. Also being built is an interactive pavilion featuring the creatures and technology of Xandar, the planet Close’s character rules.

The ride is replacing Ellen’s Energy Adventure, and will be located in what was formerly known as the Future World East part of the EPCOT park.

Last year, Disney opened Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout, an interactive ride at Disneyland in Anaheim that was a retrofit of the park’s Tower of Terror ride. Chris PrattBenicio Del ToroDave BautistaZoe Saldana and Bradley Cooper all reprised their GOTG roles for that project.

That ride is part of Disneyland’s Avengers Campus, which features costumed heroes, the Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure ride starring Tom Holland, and other themed MCU attractions.

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