A Ride Chicken Review of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
One of my kids will ride anything. Me, I’m a bit more of a ride chicken, or a ride wimp as some like to call it. Some thrill rides are OK, some are not, and I like to at least have an idea what I’m getting into. If that sounds like you then please, let me give you the benefit of my experience with Cosmic Rewind. I’m going to try to keep this spoiler free, but if spoilers are what you’re looking for you can find them in Len’s review.
If You Definitely Won’t Ride
It takes a bit of effort to get onto Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, and you might wonder whether it’s worth sticking with your party to appreciate the queue and just skipping the coaster itself. There are two questions that play into that.
First of all, yes there is a chicken exit for Cosmic Rewind. If you go through the queue and preshow you will not find that you’re unable to get out except by riding the coaster. Ask a Cast Member to direct you as you exit the preshow.
I really enjoyed both the queue and the preshow. The queue had some excellently detailed sections with scale models of cities and ships as well as occasional appearances from the Guardians. It switched rooms and vantage points frequently to keep it from feeling like the same endless line. The preshow was cheesy but I thought it was fun. I don’t think I would wait in the queue a second time if I wasn’t going to ride, but I think it’s worth going through once.
If You Aren’t Sure About Riding
People who have issues with some rides but not others are usually reacting to one of a few different things. I’m going to call these out individually below.
Smoothness
Cosmic Rewind is extremely smooth, one of the smoothest coasters I’ve ever been on. There was no bumping or sudden jerking. If you’ve ridden Slinky Dog Dash, it’s comparable. I would actually say that Cosmic Rewind was even smoother.
Ride Vehicle
The ride vehicle seats two in front and two behind, with the rear seats being slightly higher. The seats themselves are molded plastic, not a flat bench, and I found that the shaping did help to keep from sliding in either direction on the seat. Each seat has an individual lap bar, so it will be adjusted to fit you; not tighter or looser to accommodate a rider in the same row. I am not pooh-sized, but nobody would call me svelte either, and I found the seats comfortable.
Darkness
A lot of this ride takes place in the dark, but it’s not complete darkness like Space Mountain. Although there are a few brief moments where there is almost no light, it’s more like being in a movie theater. If you’re sensitive to strobes, one thing to be aware of is that there are some sections (especially one near the end) that are relatively dark and then interrupted by brightly flashing lights.
Drops
There are not really any drops. Your feet don’t leave the floor, there’s no airtime. There is up-and-down motion, but it’s more like gently rolling hills than the slow-slow-slow followed by a whoosh of speed that you get with a noticeable drop.
Heights
Although there are not any really noticeable drops, the effect of the ride at several points is like you’re traveling through space. It might be totally a screen effect, but it feels like there’s empty space all around you. If you have problems with heights this might cause you some discomfort.
Speed
Cosmic Rewind is fast, with a top speed of 60 mph. But it’s so smooth that it doesn’t feel as fast as other coasters that go this speed.
Spinning / Direction
There are no inversions in Cosmic Rewind, up stays up and down stays down. The coaster does have a reverse launch (you face backwards), followed by the individual cars turning toward a show scene, and the effect is really spectacular. The turning of the cars as they are also riding on the track feels similar to a Tilt-A-Whirl, and the Teacups are a good comparison too. Unlike the Tilt-A-Whirl or the Teacups, the spinning isn’t constant — but there’s enough of it that if those rides give you motion sickness, you should be prepared that you might have some with Cosmic Rewind.
Length
Cosmic Rewind is on the longer side at about 3 minutes or a smidgen more. This was my personal downfall, as I was really enjoying everything for the first half of the ride or so … until suddenly I was not. Since there are no drops, there are also no climbing sections that give you a breather from the motion, although some of the dark/light effects may help you to feel like you’re slowing for at least a little bit.
If You Decide to Ride
If you decide to ride, here are some tips to help minimize motion sickness – or at least, to help you manage it if you do experience it.
First, go into the ride in tip-top shape, at least on your own personal scale. No empty stomachs. Not too full either. Make sure you’re properly hydrated, because dehydration can make you more prone to nausea. And if it’s allergy season, make sure you’ve taken your antihistamines. While some older classes of antihistamines such as Benadryl and Chlor-Trimeton are known to have an antiemetic effect, just the act of clearing out your sinuses can help because stuffy or inflamed sinuses can affect your inner ear.
Second, you should know that it hasn’t escaped Disney’s notice that a higher than average number of riders are experiencing motion sickness, and airsickness bags are available from a Cast Member when boarding. Ask for one if you think you might need it.
Cast Members have also recommended the left seat in the car if you’re prone to motion sickness, and this makes sense to me. Most of the turns have the left side on the “inside” of the turn where the g-forces are less. If you’re prone to motion sickness in other places then you probably know which of the common tips work best for you, and you may be able to ask a Cast Member where in the train you should ride based on this information. If there’s no time for this, then ask to be placed in a middle car as it will offer you the opportunity to see the turns ahead by watching the cars in front of you, without being as intense as the rear cars.
Riders on Cosmic Rewind who experience motion sickness report either nausea or vertigo (or both). Even if you don’t feel like throwing up, you may find that the world is spinning a bit when you get off. There are benches placed on the end of the exit platform and at intervals all along the exit pathway, and you can sit until you feel a bit better.
If you just have garden variety nausea, you’ll be good to go as soon as you feel … good to go. But if you have vertigo, be aware that this may continue to affect your experience of other rides for a while, even after you feel fine just walking around. I rode Spaceship Earth immediately after Cosmic Rewind, and the sections with the steep ascent and descent made me uncomfortable even though they were slow-moving. If you’re prone to vertigo, you may want to buy an Individual Lightning Lane so you can have more control over when you ride, just in case.
Have you ridden Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind? Are you prone to motion sickness? Let us know what did and didn’t work for you in the comments.
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I just got off this ride and am sitting in EPCOT trying to recover. I am very prone to motion sickness but most basic coasters don’t bother me too much. I’ve read a few things online that this ride isn’t that intense. No, it’s very intense. The ride may not go upside down but the individual cars spin. Our ride was delayed as they were cleaning up someone’s vomit. On the ride, my glasses also almost flew off several times from the forces. The ride felt like I was tossed into a blender. Never again. My wife screamed and laughed the whole time. She loved it
“I’ve read a few things online that this ride isn’t that intense.” Yup, that’s the reason that we have different people write these ride-chicken reviews than the ones we tag to ride them over and over collecting wait times. They have cast iron stomachs; we don’t bill things as “not that intense” just because they’re on the Disney coaster scale and not the one from Cedar Fair. 🙂 Glad your wife enjoyed it. She and my kids can have a great ride together, I’ll be waiting outside with you.
Hi there,
I read the comments carefully before riding. I can do all rides in WDW without problems except for the mad teacups, therefore I was a little worried about the spinning movements. But sitting left side, laughing and singing loud (and a tablet against motion sickness before just to be sure) it was great fun!!!
We went on it with our grown up sons and I was worried because I’ve had nausea on certain rides and I don’t know until it happens. That never happened until I got sick once on a boat excursion. I took Bonine while in Disneyworld so was prepared and ended up loving it! My husband, who doesn’t like spinning or drops felt sick and didn’t enjoy it. I went on 2 more times on the trip with our sons. One thing about coasters that has happened as I got older is that some of them hurt my head (like Space Mountain, Rock and Roller Coaster) but this one was so smooth so I was fine.
Glad to hear you had a great ride!
Just got off the Guardians Ride. Most intense coaster I have ever been on. I would gladly ride Space Mpuntain 100 times in a row before ever going back on this one again. Nearly threw up. It is worth noting that the ride ends in another part separate from the loading zone. When we arrived, there were 2 Disney cast members cleaning up someone else’s vomit. Never ahain…
This was my absolute favorite ride at EPCOT! It was fast, smooth, and entertaining! But i am a coaster junkie! My husband and kids (20 and 17) did feel motion sick after this ride, but that could also be because we did Mission:SPACE an hour before this, and if you get motion sick even a little, i do NOT recommend that ride! Even I got feeling motion sick after that. I cannot wait to go back to Disney and ride GotG: Cosmic Rewind again!
Thanks for weighing in! I agree that Mission Space might not be the best prep for GotG 🙂 Hindsight is always so much clearer!
When we went on this ride for the first time I was nervous. I get motion sick very easily on dark rides. We did a little research online to see what it was like to smooth our nerves. Online compared it to slinky dog dash…it was not! I had to close my eyes the whole ride. It was noticeable fast! I wish I had known to sit on the left side of the car to help with the g force. I sat on the right side. My children weren’t fans of it going backwards, but other than that seemed to enjoy it. I might have been better if I took something for motion sick prior and sat on the left. Its fast and smooth.
Thanks for weighing in. I think a lot of reviewers make that comparison to Slinky Dog Dash because of how smooth it is, but it’s confusing because that is the only way they are alike. That’s why we try to call out elements individually here.
if you get motion sickness at all do not ride this. I even was on Dramamine and this wrecked me, I got off feeling not right and ended up puking on epcot’s lawn a short while later, I tried to sleep it off on the hill and even getting back to the bus, I still had motion sickness. No matter what anyone tells you, those with motion sickness do not try this ride.
I have been wondering about this ride for my next trip. I don’t like drops, but love simulation rides and things like Remi, Rise of the Resistance, and Toy Story. I hadn’t really heard a good review of this yet, everyone just says its very intense, so I thought it was a HARD NO. But if it’s not big drop and mostly just fast moving, I will probably try it!
Hi Rachel, the big difference between this and some of the fast-moving scenes in Remy is that in those scenes you are not actually moving fast, it just *looks* like it. On Cosmic Rewind you actually are going that fast. But if you enjoy them and it’s only drops that you have an issue with then yes, you will probably enjoy Guardians. Only one way to find out!
This ride was a wonderful surprise. I had ZERO clue what it would be like. It’s the first time since my 20s that I’ve LIVED LOVED LOVED a roller coaster so very much. I’m 55yo and this was the absolute best, smoothest, most amazing roller coaster experience I’ve had in a LONG time.
Hi Elicia, glad you had a great ride! Thanks for sharing.
Hi, I’m a terrified of coasters but gave it a go when a cast member told me there’s no drops, the only fast bit is the launch then it “mellows” and it’s not really a coaster. It’s completely the opposite, it’s fast paced and pushed me to my absolute limits of comfort. Even though there are no drops, the spiralling downward and upward motion and speed makes it feel like it’s a coaster. However, saying that, I thought it was excellent, I was terrified but at the same time it was amazing due to the smoothness. My 5 year daughter loved it which helped me overcome some of the terror!
Afterwards I made the fatal mistake of doing Mission Space, orange mission within 10 mins of guardians ride and so wish I hadnt. I had severe motion sickness and wiped me for the rest of the day although I pushed on for the kids sake.
Personally, I would say Gardian ride is two or three times more intense than Big Thunder Mountain if I had to give a comparison to a non coaster rider so if you struggle with BTM then this ride isn’t for you.
Hi John, thanks for sharing your experience!
I was very nervous on my first ride. I am prone to get vertigo. With that said, this ride did not bother this condition, which surprises me. I am going to say that it’s a very smooth ride ( probably why vertigo was not triggering) and it’s my all time favorite ride!! 4 times so far.
Hi Laura, glad you enjoyed it!
My 10 year old passed out on it. Wouldn’t wake up at all until it ended. Just fyi to some if any are prone to that.
Hi Molly, thanks for sharing. Hope he’s OK!
I decided to give this ride a try after reading the review. I regretted so much and feel so bad dragging my entire family for this ride and none of us are coaster riders. When u compare this ride to slinky and say no drops , I thought it’s not a crazy ride. I felt so bad to convince my kids to come along and they don’t like the coasters before. During the ride I was so scared and I hug my kid throughout the whole ride. I closed my eyes after the first drop and felt line l am being spin around plunged and dropped into a black hole.
End up feeling so sick and I threw up 10 mins after I got off, then I felt better. I never do it again!
My experience on this ride was somewhat unique. I actually rode twice a day apart with family and my first ride was scary, stressful and nausea inducing, but my family loved it. I was determined to give it a second chance, and so glad I did! The second time we had Gloria Estefan singing Conga, which is a fav of mine. Next, when I felt I could be overwhelmed again, I forced myself to laugh. It immediately soothed my angst and let me challenge the ride, accepting every sensation with eyes wide open! I now can’t wait to do it again.
Do you have reviews from other rides? Thank you.
Hi Dawn, yes we do – just search the site for “Ride Chicken” or “Ride Wimp” and you will find them.
I just rode it and found this site before to try and decide if I should. Mission space is my mortal enemy and I general can’t handle spinning. I had a bout of vertigo about 10 years ago and have never been the same.
The ride is amazing and high tech but I did not enjoy and immediately had to close my eyes and just wait for it to end. It is all well done but the volume and the aggressiveness of it is too much for me. Felt pretty rough afterwards!
I was green with nausea after riding, and had to find an air conditioned spot to sit for a few minutes. I think it is the spinning and tilting that get me. If I try again I will try your tips, including the one in the comments about looking in the direction of the forward motion. Also motion sickness meds the day before and day of.
It’s an amazing ride.
Thanks!
Hi Laurene, thanks for sharing! I hope you have a better experience next time if you try again. I’m not sure I will, personally, but you know … I say that now …
I am prone to motion sickness. Spinning and inversions are my nemesis. I asked my Dr for a prescription patch, I also took Dramamine and carried peppermint candies with me. I still got queasy but not sick. I sat on a bench for 10 minutes, sucked on a peppermint, and was good to go. I rode RnR with only Dramamine a few years back and lost it completely. May try again with the patch and a barf bag.
I don’t have problems with roller coasters but I do have problems with spinning, even so I was determined to ride this at an after hours event. I got in 3 rides without too much trouble, in my case I kept my head turned in the direction of the forward motion of the train or at least looking at the track instead of where the car was pointing me. Often that meant I missed the projections, but I was happy I didn’t feel bad at the end
Thanks for sharing Michele! Keeping your head facing the direction of travel is a good tip to try.
I get sick on rides that go backwards, or spin a lot, but was determined to go it. I took ginger, ate soda crackers and had a ear patch on. I was on about 10 seconds before I felt my stomach churning, so I closed my eyes and missed the whole ride. LOL I felt a little sick afterwards. Do not ride if you get motion sickness. I didn’t have problems with Everest or Tower of Terror. Just my experience using ginger, soda crackers and ear patch.
Hi Donna, thanks for sharing!
Amazing, detailed review! So well-written and true to the bones – which mine were shaking from head to toe after the ride! Lol – Never again, chicken rider much?? Yes, on steroids, haha. My son loves this ride so much, for it’s smoothness, like you mentioned, he went 4 times! Me? I’m still trying to catch up my breath after 24 hours of riding it LOL. Thank you for the awesome warnings, tips, and fun read! You are a great and trustworthy reviewer!
Thank you! I had decided not to ride it, but your detailed description nailed it for me. Small Rolling hills are my nemesis, even though I loved them before breaking my roller coaster tolerance on Rockin, not to mention Teacup like spins. You’ve saved at least one guests trip!
Hi Terry – yeah, I really find the devil is in those details. I can ride RnR with no issues despite the inversion, but BTMRR which is “tame” by comparison gives me issues sometimes because it’s rattly. Motion sickness is so personal!
Very complete review. Thank you.
You’re welcome!
Jennifer,
Much appreciated review!
Warm regards,
Nick
Thanks Nick! Glad it was useful.