Disney World Brings Back All-Day September Celebration at Guardians of Galaxy Cosmic Rewind

Walt Disney World normally randomizes the 6-song playlist on Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, but do you remember the one day in September when the fan-favorite EPCOT roller coaster runs the same track on repeat?! This shares the date & details about when you can hear the best selection on the ride, setlist rankings, and strategy for enjoying the September celebration!

We’ve done Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind dozens of times since it debuted, hearing every single song on the playlist several times. This includes both the (mercifully) short-lived Christmas version and “Conga.” Although the roller coaster track stays the same with each ride, it just “hits different” (as the kids say) thanks to the song selections. Seriously, there’s a night and day difference between “Conga” and one of the good songs!

No matter the song, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is an absolute blast. It’s like the roller coaster dances to the music; it’s difficult to articulate, but once you ride, you’ll get it. An “Awesome Mix Tape” plus the humor of these Marvel misfits and a great queue and pre-shows plus thrills is a recipe for success. The good news is that you’ll soon be able to enjoy the best song on loop…

Do you remember…The 21st night of September?

Those famous lyrics by Earth, Wind & Fire will play on repeat later this month at EPCOT! On Monday, September 21, 2026, guests riding Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will get “September” as their onboard song all day (and night) long. This was revealed on social media by the Disney Parks and Walt Disney World accounts.

Here’s the video announcement:

Will you be ready when we PRESS PLAY on September 21st? See you aboard Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at #EPCOT ▶️ pic.twitter.com/8thmi2UFCU

— Walt Disney World (@WaltDisneyWorld) September 15, 2026

This special one-day-only offering was also offered for each of the last few years, so it’s safe to assume it’s an annual tradition. If you’re planning ahead for 2027 or even 2030 for the opening of Villains Land or (fingers crossed) the reimagined Journey Into Imagination featuring Figment and Dreamfinder, mark your calendars for the 21st night (or day) of September.

This “September” celebration is an awesome one, like the Twilight Zone marathon but if they only played the best episodes. (Don’t sleep on “People Are Alike All Over” and “Howling Man.”)

We highly recommend making your way over to EPCOT if you’re at Walt Disney World. The ride has an even better energy than normal, as locals and tourists alike are aware of the ‘event’ and enthusiastic to be there. We’ve done this in the past and had a blast.

Part of the reason Walt Disney World can justify swapping out the setlist for a single song is because everyone with good musical taste agrees that “September” is far and away the best of the 6 tracks in the “Awesome Mix Tape” for Cosmic Rewind. I’m an expert on a lot of things. You know that. I know that. But uh, not a lot of things. A few things. Music is definitely not one of them, but still: “September” reigns supreme.

(While we’re not really on the topic, how about an informal petition for “9 To 5” by Dolly Parton to replace “Conga” as the sixth song. Not just because it would be a lovely tribute, but because it would absolutely be a great fit for the ride profile. “9 to 5” was allegedly considered and even tested by Imagineering, but ultimately ruled out for reasons beyond me.)

Expect demand for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind to be slightly elevated on September 21, 2026.

Unlike last year when it was a weekend, that date falls on a Monday. Accordingly, locals will have a more difficult time visiting EPCOT for the September 21st celebration. Food & Wine is currently underway, but it’ll be almost a full month into the event at that point. If anything, we’d expect to see a spike around 5 pm that escalates into the evening hours as local Annual Passholders get off work and head to the park.

Fortunately, we’re in the midst of the off-season at Walt Disney World. Crowds aren’t currently quite as low as we’d expect for this time of year, but the parks are fairly quiet and less busy than even the slow summer season. This celebration causing slightly elevated crowds at Cosmic Rewind on September 21, 2026 is as compared to the lower baseline, and September is the slowest month of the entire year.

Not only that, but it’s not as if a ton of tourists will read this and suddenly plan trips to Walt Disney World as a result, for a single song on less than one week notice. There will probably be exactly zero people who do that.

It’s basically just the tourists who are already planning Walt Disney World trips who might shift their schedules around, plus locals. To be sure, many from both groups will seek out Cosmic Rewind to be part of the fun when they otherwise wouldn’t have.

For reference, Monday, September 14, 2026 averaged 29 minute waits across all of EPCOT for a 5/10 crowd level. It’s safe to expect comparable overall numbers on Monday, September 21, 2026 at EPCOT. It’s not as if the park is going to suddenly spike to 10/10 crowd levels thanks to this announcement. Nothing like that will happen. It’ll be mostly ‘localized’ demand for just Cosmic Rewind.

With that in mind, we’d recommend strategizing if you want to successfully hear “September” a time or two on the 21st night (or day) of the month on Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.

Since the reimagined Test Track reopened last summer, that thrill ride and Cosmic Rewind have been neck-and-neck for the #1 average wait time at EPCOT. Both now come pretty close to splitting the Early Entry and regular rope drop crowd, but I’d say that’s settled in favor of Cosmic Rewind by a 60/40 split.

We’d expect that to skew further in favor of Cosmic Rewind on September 21st. As such, prioritizing the ride during Early Entry is a good idea, if you’re eligible. But if Test Track does have significantly lower crowds that morning and you are not at the front of the Early Entry pack, the better play might honestly be starting at Test Track and then trying to beat the rope drop rush to Cosmic Rewind. (This means you need to be done with Test Track in under 30 minutes, which is doable, but not always possible.)

It’s also worth noting that Test Track has a Single Rider line, whereas Cosmic Rewind does not. While that Single Rider line can be busier in the second half of the day, it’s often a complete walk-on in the morning. I looped Test Track a few times during a recent morning with zero wait whatsoever!

If you don’t mind splurging, the easiest option for Cosmic Rewind is buying line-skipping access via the Lightning Lane Single Pass. As of Fall 2026, that costs between $16 and $18 per person most days, depending upon demand and crowd levels. Those posts explain each option, their pros & cons, and everything else you need to know.

Otherwise, see our list of the Best & Worst Times to Ride Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind for comprehensive advice.

For those who are unfamiliar with the attraction, here’s the full “Awesome Mix” playlist for Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind:

• “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire
• “Disco Inferno” by The Trammps
• “Conga” by Gloria Estefan
• “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears
• “I Ran” by A Flock of Seagulls
• “One Way or Another” by Blondie

On days other than September 21st, you won’t know which track you’ll hear each time you ride until you actually blast off with the Guardians on an intergalactic chase through time and space.

In addition to these 6 songs that did make the cut for the roller coaster portion of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, many more “Awesome Mix” tracks are played in the post-show and corridor upon exiting the ride. These also are cycled through at random, the full loop is like an hour long, and you’re only in this area for ~60 seconds, so it’ll take a while to hear them all!

As noted above, “September” is viewed by big-time music experts (or experts-ish) as the best Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind song. Here are my full power rankings for the playlist:

1. “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire (Sarah’s #2)
2. “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears (Sarah’s #1)
3. “I Ran” by A Flock of Seagulls
4. “Disco Inferno” by The Trammps
5. “One Way or Another” by Blondie
6. …Nothing At All…
7. “Conga” by Gloria Estefan

My pro tip bringing AirPods so you can listen to something else if you get stuck with “Conga.” I know they wouldn’t be logical fits for the attraction, but I wish Cosmic Rewind could’ve gotten “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” or “Lake Shore Drive” instead. But you don’t have to worry about that on September 21st, which is a celebration of the Earth, Wind & Fire classic–but doubles as an Anti-“Conga” Day for us haters!

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is the most fun ride in EPCOT and there should be more rides following this formula. While it’s not on the same level, we were very happy to see Walt Disney World pull from this playbook with the new Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets. (See our review: Muppets Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Pulls Off a “Reverse Cosmic Rewind” and Is Better Than It Had Any Right to Be.)

If you somehow came to this post wondering about a totally different ride in a totally different park, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets features a setlist of 5 songs that play “randomly” on each ride:

• Song 2 – The Electric Mayhem
• Born To Be Wild – The Electric Mayhem ft. Camilla the Chicken
• Love Rollercoaster – The Electric Mayhem ft. Jennifer Hudson & Questlove
• Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop) – The Electric Mayhem ft. Def Leppard
• Walking on Sunshine – The Electric Mayhem ft. Kelly Clarkson

Air quotes around randomly because, unlike Cosmic Rewind which is truly random, there’s a predictable pattern to the song selection on Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets. It’s almost impossible to plan around as a regular guest, unfortunately.

Unlike Cosmic Rewind, where the clear consensus is that “September” is the best song, my polling of other guests revealed no such clear favorite here. If there is one, it’s probably “Song 2.” There isn’t an obvious best or worst song on Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets, though. But I digress.

Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t call attention to last year’s joke about playing the “Flute Ambiance” from Living with the Land. Wait a minute…I love that idea!

There are so many iconic EPCOT Center attraction songs, some of which still exist and others of which are defunct. Can you imagine a special event aimed at hardcore fans–perhaps DVC’s Moonlight Magic or a special EPCOT Center hard ticket event–that offered a rotating selection of songs like “Feel the Flow,” “It’s Fun to Be Free,” “Tomorrow’s Child,” “Celebrate the Future,” “One Little Spark,” “Energy (You Make the World Go Round),” etc?

Not only that, but they could easily switch back to the original background music loops, have rare character meet & greets, run IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth, and offer so many other tributes to the original EPCOT Center. A lot could happen without any structural changes to the park, and fans like me would absolutely eat up an event like this! What started as a fun joke is actually the kernel of a legitimately great idea that would be a license to print money for Disney!

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YOUR THOUGHTS

Happy to see the “September” celebration return to Cosmic Rewind on September 21, 2026? What are you thoughts on the “Awesome Mix Tape” for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind? Think these tracks are good choices for a roller coaster through space and time? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!