Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind opened at Epcot this past Friday. This family-thrill attraction features the first-ever reverse launch on a Disney coaster and is one of the largest fully enclosed coasters in the world! This new attraction rotates 369 degrees so you can focus on the action! This is sure to be a new favorite and I can’t wait to experience it firsthand in a few weeks.
It’s important to know how you’ll be able to ride because there won’t be a traditional standby queue. As Disney has done with the last few ride openings, they will be using a Virtual Queue system along with the new Individual Lightning Lane option. That means you’ll have two options to ride! Here’s how it will work:
• Virtual Queue: This will work like Rise of the Resistance and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure used to. When you get “boarding group” from the My Disney Experience app, your group is given a number. When your group is called, it’s your turn and you’ll have one hour to return and ride. This allows you to enjoy other attractions instead of waiting in a traditional line. You’ll have two times each day that you can join. 7 am and 1 pm. For the first 7 am time, the park won’t even be open yet, so you don’t have to be inside the park. For the 1 pm time, you DO need to be inside the park. Because of that, it’s a little easier to join in the afternoon while the morning time slot usually fills up the fastest. NOTE: That means you must have a park reservation for Epcot since you can’t park hop before 2 pm.
• Individual Lightning Lane options are a la carte and separate from Genie+. They have different times they can be purchased depending on where you stay. Guests staying at a Disney resort can buy them at 7 am. Everyone else can buy them at the park opening time.
• Extended Hours for Deluxe Resort Guests: All Disney hotel guests get into each park a half hour early each day. But deluxe hotels get two nights a week where they get bonus hours inside the parks. Currently, most Monday nights they get extra time inside Epcot, and for those guests, Disney will add an additional Virtual Queue time slot at 6 pm. So, this third time to join the Virtual Queue will only be on Monday nights and only for Disney deluxe resort guests.
Here are some tips to help get you in the queue:
• The 7 am Virtual Queue typically goes very fast. Don’t be too disappointed if you don’t get in. It’s more like a lottery than anything else, and even doing everything right sometimes you still won’t get a spot.
• Try to have the best connection possible when trying to join the virtual queue. When inside the park it works best to use your own cell service and not Disney Wi-Fi.
• When you join the Virtual Queue at 7 am you will most likely end up riding in the first part of the day. And likewise, when you get in at 1 pm you can be anytime in the afternoon or evening.
• The Individual Lightning Lane option will sell out quickly, especially at first. This means that it may already be gone for the day before off-site guests get a chance to book it.
• When you do get a spot in the Virtual Queue, you’ll be assigned a Boarding Group number. The lower the number, the earlier you will be called to ride. The higher the number, the later in the day. The app will give you a rough estimate of how long you have left before your group is called.
• When your boarding group is called you will have one hour to return and ride. So, there’s no need to rush.
So, are you ready to start saving the galaxy now?
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