As of late February 2025, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is now not utilizing a digital queue throughout EPCOT’s regular working hours because it opened over Memorial Day weekend almost 3 years in the past. Throughout these 1,002 days, the experience solely posted a wait time and used a standby line throughout onerous ticket, restricted capability events.
As such, this marks the primary time ever that we’ve seen simply how standard and in-demand one in every of Walt Disney World’s latest headliner attraction is throughout a daily operational setting. Will it’s EPCOT’s longest wait time, dethroning Remy’s Ratatouille Journey? Given the dearth of ‘grownup’ points of interest with Check Observe closed for reimagining, may it additionally surpass Slinky Canine Sprint, Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare, Avatar Flight of Passage, TRON Lightcycle Run, or different headliners? We’re about to search out out.
Earlier than we get going, we wish to reiterate that Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind switching to standby can have enormous ramifications on step-by-step EPCOT itineraries. That is the largest change in over a decade for EPCOT technique, extra so than any of the opposite new rides which have debuted throughout that point. Not even the swap from Additional Magic Hours to Early Entry/Prolonged Night Hours or free FastPass being changed by Lightning Lanes was as impactful. These have been considerably lateral shifts, whereas this introduces a brand new mega E-Ticket headliner with a daily line.
With that mentioned, we additionally wish to warning that Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is dropping its digital queue within the coronary heart of EPCOT’s low season. There’s a cause why Walt Disney World strategically timed the swap to standby this week. It’s the calm after Mid-Winter Break final week and earlier than the Spring Break storm, and one in every of our 10 Finest Weeks to Go to Walt Disney World in 2025. At EPCOT, particularly, it’s additionally a short window between two festivals.
It’s additionally true that there are tons of bloggers, vloggers, and influencers who wish to be the primary to do Cosmic Rewind’s standby line, for no matter cause. However it’s not like abnormal Annual Passholders and locals are going to return out of the woodwork, taking break day work, for this swap to standby. That is nothing like a brand new attraction opening when it comes to demand, as ought to be apparent.
Then there’s the truth that EPCOT operations has little or no expertise with this experience having a daily queue, that means that the posted wait occasions are going to be in all places, usually divorced from their precise waits (in methods each good and dangerous). They’re figuring this out as they go.
What I’m saying is that the primary few days of Cosmic Rewinds’s standby line can be nothing like the beginning of Flower & Backyard or coronary heart of Spring Break (Orange County’s recess is correct across the nook in mid-March), which can be nothing like mid-Could or when Check Observe 3.0 opens. In the event you’re visiting for Easter or this Christmas and wish to know the way this queue will affect you, it’s too early to inform. The outcomes from February merely gained’t be dependable for March by late April.
For these wanting extra dependable suggestions, we’ll be subject testing technique for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, however solely as soon as crowd ranges enhance beginning with Mardi Gras and persevering with with Spring Break in March and April.
There are a few issues price noting. The primary is that Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is open for Early Entry at EPCOT, which explains its greater wait time as of 9 am. It had already been working for half-hour at that time, which is ample time for the majority of on-site Early Entry visitors to make their method to the attraction and elevate wait occasions for the common rope drop crowd.
The second is that each Remy’s Ratatouille Journey and Frozen Ever After had sporadic downtime all through the primary day of Cosmic Rewind’s standby line, together with within the first couple hours of the day. In principle, this might have elevated wait occasions for Cosmic Rewind. In apply, we’re unsure simply how impactful that is (but). It’s more likely that a kind of rides happening would enhance wait occasions on the different, given their location in World Showcase and family-friendly demographics. Nonetheless, Cosmic Rewind may see a slight bump.
Reducing to the chase, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind posted a 35 minute wait time to begin the morning, from Early Entry by common rope drop. Shortly thereafter, it inched as much as 45 after which 50 minutes. With out being there, I’m going to hazard a guess that the precise wait at ~9:25 a.m. was not the posted 50 minutes, however reasonably, a lot greater. I’m fairly assured on this simply judging by pictures of the prolonged queue and figuring out what the approximate precise wait is as soon as the road is out the door.
In any case, solely a pair minutes later, the wait time for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind skyrocketed from 50 minutes to 170 minutes in a single fell swoop. That’s the place it stayed for a whopping ~6 minutes, earlier than plummeting to a still-high 135 minutes. That wait time solely lasted ~9 minutes, earlier than it was all the way down to “solely” 110 minutes.
By 9:46 a.m., Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind was all the way down to an 85 minute posted wait time. On the danger of stating the apparent, the earlier ~quarter-hour price of posted wait occasions have been flawed. It’s not like you might get in line at 9:25 a.m. and solely wait 50 minutes, whereas somebody lining up 5 minutes later would wait 170 minutes and somebody leaping in one other 10 minutes after that will wait 85 minutes. That defies the legal guidelines of, I dunno, one thing. Until we’re utilizing bounce factors to journey by time and area. So becoming for Cosmic Rewind, I suppose.
The sort of ‘whiplash impact’ with wait occasions truly occurs rather a lot. A very low wait time will entice quite a lot of visitors , and in response, the posted wait time skyrockets. We’ve identified beforehand that it’s higher to anticipate when wait occasions will drop reasonably than reacting to it. In any other case, you’ll be a part of the flood of visitors all arriving across the identical time, reasonably than using the wave, so to talk. Regardless, that whiplash impact can’t happen in such extremes–in each instructions–in such a brief timeframe. That’s not potential.
As intimated above, we additionally know from previous expertise that the precise wait time is roughly 60 minutes when the standby line hits the entrance entrance. After all, this may fluctuate primarily based on the allocation of capability and influx of visitors by the Lightning Lane (each paid and in any other case), in addition to operational effectivity. However, it’s a tough rule of thumb and one which we’ll proceed to watch because the mud settles on the standby line.
After 9:45 a.m., the wait time for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind by no means once more hit triple digits. The remainder of the day was principally uneventful, with a wait time vary of fifty to 65 minutes for the overwhelming majority of the noon stretch.
There have been a few spikes to 70 minutes, but it surely was remarkably constant after the rope drop rush and people ping-ponging waits. In reality, there have been a number of occasions after we noticed 2-3 different points of interest with greater wait occasions than Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind! (Once more, downtime elsewhere in EPCOT performed a task there.)
Essentially the most noteworthy pattern is that Cosmic Rewind’s wait time ticked up within the night, growing to 70 minutes at round 5 p.m., 75 minutes by 6:45 p.m., and 85 minutes at round 7:15 p.m. By round 8:00 p.m., it began a sluggish and regular decline to 50 minutes, which was the posted wait time at park closing. This was virtually definitely overstated, as is all the time the case with wait occasions within the final hour of the night, as they act as a deterrent.
From this, we have now a number of preliminary observations. The primary is that Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind goes to be an amazing choice throughout Early Entry. This contains visitors arriving by way of Worldwide Gateway, and can stay true whilst crowds enhance and if the holding factors for Early Entry evolve (they have already got!). Assuming, in fact, you’re prepared to make the lengthy stroll.
What’s extra of an open query is whether or not Cosmic Rewind would be the finest Early Entry choice. This could be untimely after solely two mornings, however I’m beginning to suppose it is not going to. Cosmic Rewind could siphon off sufficient Worldwide Gateway visitors that it turns into simpler to hit Remy’s Ratatouille Journey and Frozen Ever After earlier than common rope drop.
As soon as Check Observe reopens (and the preliminary fanfare dies down), it might be potential to shortly knock out all 3 with minimal morning waits by mid-2026. Speak about getting forward of ourselves, although.
We’re additionally totally anticipating there to be a mid-morning lull for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. That is a straightforward prediction, as there all the time is for these headliners. The “when” of that is truly probably the most tough as a result of it is determined by the cadence of rope crowd crowds inflicting wait occasions to spike. So far by 2 mornings, we haven’t actually seen this, but it surely’s a sluggish week for EPCOT.
This dynamic happens as a little bit of an accordion impact, as folks begin seeing the posted wait time imbalance and avoiding the attraction in query. After which immediately, it drops dramatically. This commonly occurred at Magic Kingdom pre-TRON at Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare; it might have a 90 minute wait at 9:30 am whereas virtually each different attraction is at half-hour or much less. The logical visitor thus prevented SDMT and does one thing else. That occurs en masse, producing the aforementioned dynamic.
Noon ought to proceed to be pretty constant, even as soon as Mardi Gras and Spring Break roll round. Wait occasions will simply be constantly greater then. The true wildcards are after work as soon as EPCOT Flower & Backyard Competition begins, and on weekends.
Usually, the entrance of the park begins emptying out later within the day as visitors transfer on to World Showcase. Nevertheless, we’d count on locals arriving after work will trigger a extra pronounced spike throughout festivals (and all day on weekends).
The final hour of the day ought to be reliably decrease, no matter what posted wait occasions mirror. The entrance of EPCOT hollows out as each is getting spots for Luminous: The Symphony of Us. Apart from Early Entry, that is the very best time to do any experience in EPCOT–particularly these within the former Future World. The one draw back is it sacrifices watching the fireworks and simply usually having fun with World Showcase at night time.
In the end, it’ll be attention-grabbing to see how lengthy 170 minutes stays the height wait time for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. My guess is that it’ll not exceed that high-water mark for the rest of this month, however will as soon as March rolls round. One factor I’m assured in predicting is that we have now but to see the height wait time for Cosmic Rewind in 2025.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is sort of definitely the caliber of attraction that’ll hit 3-hour traces on occasion in peak crowd ranges. To be clear, I’m not suggesting this may occur with any diploma of regularity (it gained’t), but it surely’ll be one thing to look at for round Easter and possibly Mardi Gras, first weekend of Flower & Backyard, or Orange County’s Spring Break.
It’s additionally potential this spike will happen earlier, or at a random time if one of many loading stations goes down. Alternatively, it helps that Cosmic Rewind has a really wholesome hourly capability, normally operates effectively, and is likely one of the most dependable new points of interest at Walt Disney World of the final decade.
On the very least, EPCOT goes to be considerably busier beginning subsequent week, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind ought to fairly simply be capable to hit two hours with regularity. I believe 120+ minute peak posted wait occasions all through March and April are fairly protected bets. The higher query is the place Cosmic Rewind will rank amongst all points of interest at Walt Disney World. It’s already fairly clear it is not going to be the #1 wait time resort-wide, however will it’s the longest wait at EPCOT, or will Remy’s Ratatouille Journey surpass it? Needs to be attention-grabbing to see, however in any case, it’s protected to say the worst case doom and gloom predictions usually are not going to play out.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you are expecting the height posted wait time can be for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in March and April? What’s your optimum method and time of day to experience Cosmic Rewind? What would you advocate to Walt Disney World first-timers? Will you persist with standby at one of many very best occasions or purchase a Lightning Lane Single Cross? Do you agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions we may also help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even while you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!