Credit: @lukefmorrisA popular new ride at the Walt Disney World Resort left Guests trapped in a Disney disaster.
In the last few years, the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, has received several exciting upgrades and new additions.
Bob Iger started this shift all the way back in 2017, when Pandora – The World of Avatar first opened at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Since then, The Walt Disney Company saw a new CEO, Bob Chapek, take over the reins from Bob Iger. Eventually, Chapek was let go, and Iger returned, staying with Disney until at least 2026.
Perhaps the most exciting thing Disney fans got out of the Avatar franchise has been Pandora – The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park. This new addition to Walt Disney World includes arguably some of the best theming across any Disney Park as well as incredible state-of-the-art rides and attractions like Avatar Flight of Passage.
This land no doubt benefited from the success of Avatar: The Way of Water.
James Cameron has hit it out of the park again with his newest Avatar film, with the new installment to the franchise crossing the $1 billion mark less than two weeks after its release. The film became the fastest movie this year to cross the impressive milestone, breaking the record previously held by Top Gun: Maverick.
Disney later revealed that it would be constructing an all-new Avatar-themed experience at the Disneyland Resort in the near future.
After Avatar came Star Wars in 2019, with the construction of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Both of these immersive lands allow Guess to live out their very own Star Wars adventures as they embark on daring missions and enjoy unique treats and shopping experiences.
Guests can choose between two incredible attractions, Millenium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
Millenium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run is an immersive flight simulator experience, similar to other rides at Disney like Star Tours and Soarin’. However, this ride puts Guests in control (literally), allowing them to pilot and navigate the iconic ship itself.
Over at Magic Kingdom, things have definitely been picking up steam as well, both with the reopening of Disney’s steam engine as well as finish the construction of TRON Lightcycle/Run.
TRON Lightcycle/Run is a stunning attraction that can now be found at Magic Kingdom, taking Guests Into “The Grid” in this roller coaster themed to Disney’s TRON franchise. However, this is not the only new roller coaster to open at the Walt Disney World Resort.
One new ride has really made a name for itself at Disney World. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind opened at EPCOT in 2022, becoming the first-ever roller coaster to open in the history of the theme park.
This attraction features the first-ever reverse launch on a Disney coaster and is one of the largest fully-enclosed coasters in the world! A new innovation from Walt Disney Imagineering—this coaster rotates 360 degrees so you can focus on the action!
During the ride, Guests embark on a mission to guard the galaxy alongside Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Groot, and Rocket Racoon. The ride also features one of six randomly selected songs, giving each ride a completely different vibe and energy. This ride marks the second time Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy have starred in their very own attraction, first making an impression at Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! at Disneyland’s Avengers Campus.
Unfortunately, the attraction found at EPCOT has some design issues, mostly with its tight and cramped queue.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewwind has a unique queue, immersing Guests in the story of the ride far before it actually begins. Similar to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, the attraction’s queue utilizes several incredible theming elements, which all come together to create an immersive experience for Guests.
Unfortunately, since the attraction opened last summer, we’ve seen dozens of Guests complain about the hecticness of the queue, particularly where Guests merge into the next room.
The preshow is notorious for breaking at the Resort, resulting in disaster for patient Guests.
Inside the Magic has reported on several issues occurring in the line for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind due to the tight nature of the line. At one point, Guests felt trapped inside part of the queue. Currently, the attraction is operating in “b-mode,” meaning one or more aspects of the attraction are not functioning.
Recently, the preshow area got majorly backed up, with one Guest sharing a photo of the “ridiculous” situation. The Guest shared the photo online, revealing just how “claustrophobic” things actually got, resulting in a brief disaster at Walt Disney World:
This is horrible. They loaded the preshow (full!) and dumped the crowd into this standstill mess. Ridiculous and claustrophobic.
The Cosmic Rewind queue is a scrummage at the best of times, but this is bad enough to make me consider bailing. pic.twitter.com/JvsT6Ik07O
— Luke Morris (@lukefmorris) July 25, 2023
As you can see, dozens of Guests were trapped after Disney loaded more Guests into the preshow area. Guests were trapped in the dark, with only a solid red light illuminating the space. This is far from the first queue disaster we’ve seen like this occur at Star Wars Rise of the Resistance, with that attraction also featuring quite a claustrophobic queue.
This attraction also causes a lot of Guests to get motion sickness, something that most rides and attractions at Walt Disney World have avoided. While there may be a few rides that can make Guests stuck, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind became infamous for its barf bags and trash cans that were strategically placed at the ride’s exit.
It’s unfortunate that a ride like this one can have so many issues with regard to how Guests actually experience it because Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is a fantastic experience.
Perhaps the most claustrophobic attraction in Disney Parks history can also be found at EPCOT.
Mission: SPACE is an intense motion simulator ride found at EPCOT. While it may not be a fast roller coaster or thrilling drop tower, trust us when we say it’s intense. The ride simulates the feeling of an actual rocket launch, giving Guests two and a half gs. However, the scariest part of the ride is the actual restraints.
Guests get locked and loaded into a tight space with three other Guests for this journey, with restraints strapping them in from the top down.
As we said earlier, the ride features one of six different songs, meaning each time you ride, you’ll have the chance of a totally new experience. This is similar to how Star Tours and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror both work at Disney;’s Hollywood Studios, with each ride being randomly selected.
Of course, the most anticipated new attraction is Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, an attraction themed around Disney’s 2009 animated film The Princess and the Frog. This ride meant the closure of Splash Mountain at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland, but we have a feeling it will be more than worth it.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is expected to finally open sometime in 2024 at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and we cannot wait to see the final product.
This decision came with a lot of backlash, with some going as far as signing petitions to “Save Splash Mountain,” but we’re confident that Walt Disney Imagineering can create a worthy successor to one of the company’s most beloved theme park attractions of all time. The ride will star the titular Princess Tiana and feature new music, theming, and animatronics.
For more information on these rides and attractions at Disney World, stay tuned here at Inside the Magic!
Do you enjoy this ride at EPCOT? What’s your favorite “new” ride or attraction at Disney World?