🌟TODAY IS THE DAY!🌟 Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is officially OPEN in EPCOT.

This highly-anticipated indoor rollercoaster debuted TODAY to EPCOT guests after weeks of media and Annual Passholder previews. Of course, we’re headed to EPCOT to take in the sights and sounds of the opening day — and you’re coming with us! Let’s check out the crowds, the merch, the Virtual Queue, and more!

We’ll be updating this post ALL DAY as we spot news from the opening! 

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

Before we jump into opening day, let’s talk about the ride itself! Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is a Marvel-themed coaster in EPCOT that is one of the LONGEST indoor rollercoasters ever built AND features Disney’s first-ever reverse launch.

Over the course of the ride, you’ll adventure with the Guardians of the Galaxy through space and time in new Omnicoaster ride vehicles that turn 360 degrees as they move along the track. For more, you can check out our SPOILER-FREE review…or our spoiler-FULL one.

Click here to see a SPOILER FREE REVIEW of Cosmic Rewind!

Crowds

Ready to head into the park?

Scanning into EPCOT for opening day of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind 👏👏👏 LET’S GO! pic.twitter.com/YYM4FShwuA

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) May 27, 2022

A ride opening tends to be a pretty big deal in Disney World and we spotted a LOT of people near the EPCOT entrance when we arrived this morning.

The crowds dispersed a bit as the park opened but it is certainly a busy day! We’ll have to see how crowded it is around the attraction when we get called back for our Virtual Queue.

Click here to see more of the CROWDS on opening day!

Virtual Queue

Cosmic Rewind uses a Virtual Queue system meaning that EPCOT guests will have two chances to join the queue in the My Disney Experience app — once at 7AM and once at 1PM. There is also a BONUS opportunity for those who are eligible for Extended Evening Hours on select nights at 6PM.

This morning, boarding groups filled up FAST! Just about 30 SECONDS after 7AM, one of our reporters shared that the My Disney Experience app was already showing 1PM as the next Virtual Queue enrollment start time. That meant 7AM boarding groups had already filled up by that time!

We managed to book into Group Number 85 and our app gave us an estimated callback of 3:35PM with an estimated physical wait of 30 minutes.

There is no standby option for the attraction at this time, just the Virtual Queue.

Click here to see more about how FAST the queue filled at 7AM!

Lightning Lane

The Virtual Queue is not the only option for riding Cosmic Rewind though, it is also available as an Individual Attraction Selection (IAS) for guests to purchase Lightning Lane access — that’s Disney’s skip-the-line offering.

The first thing that was revealed this morning was the price for Cosmic Rewind’s Lightning Lane access. At $17 per person, it’s the most expensive IAS attraction since the release of Disney Genie+ last year.

When the option became available at 7AM, we watched as the Lightning Lanes for Cosmic Rewind sold out by around 7:04AM.

However, UNLIKE the Virtual Queue, we noticed that more times would pop up if we refreshed and checked again until about 7:20AM.

Remember that IAS purchases are available to resort guests at 7AM and non-resort guests at park open. So, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Lightning Lanes sold out before non-resort guests had access to them. This has been the trend with Rise of the Resistance in Disney’s Hollywood Studios too.

Want to see more about WHEN Lightning Lane sold out this morning? Click here!

Merchandise

We found Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind merchandise at the attraction’s Treasures of Xandar store and Creations Shop.

It was a little chaotic earlier this morning trying to get to the NEW merch for the Guardians ride 👀 pic.twitter.com/UupEPA2yAn

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) May 27, 2022

First thing in the morning there was a line just to get into Creations Shop.

And it was CROWDED inside.

Let’s take a look at some of the COOL items we spotted — like this coaster replica with Groot and Rocket!

I mean we NEED this right? 🤩

We found this coaster replica with Groot and Rocket at Creations for $12.99! pic.twitter.com/2sITdDrCAc

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) May 27, 2022

Limited-edition opening day merchandise includes t-shirts and some Passholder-exclusive tees as well.

Here’s a look at the Passholder exclusive shirts for opening day! 👕 pic.twitter.com/hKyZ66Cbgy

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) May 27, 2022

There are FOUR new collections — Heroes of Xandar Collection, Guardians of the Galaxy: Through the Eyes of Quill Collection, the Honorary Guardians Collection, and the Groot Through the Years Collection — and some limited-edition opening day merch too! It’s a LOT of merch so head on over to our FULL MERCH POST to see it all!

To see ALL of the new Cosmic Rewind merchandise, click here!

MORE Opening Day Fun

This morning we also spotted a pretty unique sight in World Discovery — that’s the land where Cosmic Rewind is located. There was a ROBOT walking (rolling?) around to talk to guests.

Yep, iCan the Showbot, who you might recognize from appearances in Tomorrowland in years past, is celebrating the opening with guests today. According to Disney, iCan is a robot “from another galaxy who is fascinated by Earth and earthlings, and wants to learn all he can about us and our culture.”

Want to see more of iCan the Showbot? Click here!

Over at the nearby Joffrey’s Coffee and Tea kiosk, you can also snag the Awesome Drink celebrating the opening! It’s a blend of frozen lime ice with a splash of Minute Maid Premium Lemonade and desert pear syrup, topped with chewy green apple jelly stars. You can add Grey Goose Vodka too!

NEW DRINK ALERT 🚨

We present to you Joffrey’s Awesome Drink – a galactic blend of frozen lime ice with a splash of Minute Maid Premium Lemonade 🍋 and desert pear syrup, topped with chewy green apple jelly stars ⭐️ for $6.49

You can also add Grey Goose Vodka! Making it $13.99 pic.twitter.com/GJWZWOc6Xp

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) May 27, 2022

Remember, we’ll be updating this post LIVE today so keep checking back! Stay tuned with DFB for more of the latest news from Disney World!

Want to learn more about Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind? Check out our video!

Got questions about Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind? Ask them in the comments!