EPCOT Testing Rule Changes to Cosmic Rewind
Walt Disney World has a problem with Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and has for a while. A new rule change is being tested that’s aimed at addressing this, with the goal of improving crowd flow and reducing wait times for higher-spending guests. This covers details about the new procedure, plus my rant about why this is stupid.
Since it reopened earlier this summer, Test Track 3.0 has been the #1 highest wait time at EPCOT. It’s also been the top Early Entry and regular rope drop priority. That’ll change eventually, but as of right now, the monthly average is 75 minutes for Test Track vs. 65 minutes for Cosmic Rewind. That’s still high enough to make Cosmic Rewind one of the highest overall wait times at Walt Disney World.
This precisely why our list of the Best & Worst Times to Ride Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind offers comprehensive advice about “beating” the crowds. The easier alternative if you don’t mind splurging is buying line-skipping access via the Lightning Lane Single Pass. 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.
Admittedly, these resources and others like them create a certain sense of urgency for riding Cosmic Rewind, which feeds into the problem being addressed by Walt Disney World with the new rule change. Actually, it’s been a series of changes–I saw a different procedure being tested in late August and early September that was less ‘aggressive.’ (What I’ve seen previously is certain doors closed to ‘funnel’ guests along with stanchions in the first holding area. Apparently that was insufficient?)
The latest procedure change is that Cast Members at Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind are essentially separating the pre-show rooms (all 3 of them) with one side for standby and the other for Lightning Lane guests. This occurs after the merge point in the respective queues, which comes before these rooms.
Previously, all guests merged at the end of line at the first holding area (not really a pre-show) room. Lightning Lane guests typically loaded first in here, but were not directed to a certain side or area. It was a “fill in all available space” situation. Given guest demographics, I would assume that more standby guests were gravitating to the right side.
The new test divides guests into two sides when they enter this holding room. Standby guests are directed to the left, and Lightning Lane guests are placed on the right. Cast Members stand in the middle with outstretched arms to keep the groups separated. As seasoned Citizens of EPCOT (sorry, EPCOT Terrans) know, the last pre-show doors leading to load are on the far right–meaning this puts Lightning Lane guests at a theoretical advantage.
This process with Cast Members serving as a divider in between each pre-show repeats in the Big Bang room (the one with Glenn Close) and again in the teleportation room. This puts Lightning Lane guests closer to the load platform, while also better distributing guests in the pre-shows, so everyone isn’t just packed like sardines on the far right side.
This purpose of the test is presumably two-fold.
First, it’s aimed at improving crowd flow, eliminating the all-too-common scene of guests crammed into one corner of the teleportation room while the other side is empty. That’s gotta be a safety issue, and I’ve seen tensions get high as guests jockey for positioning over there.
The other likely explanation is complaints from Lightning Lane Single Pass purchasers. Cosmic Rewind is one of the Walt Disney World attractions with the longest wait from merge to load, simply by virtue of these pre-shows (right up there with Avatar Flight of Passage and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance). There’s no changing that in a material way, but at least this makes the higher-spending guests feel better about how they’re being prioritized. Perception matters a lot.
Our Commentary
This is stupid. It makes my blood boil to an irrational degree, and I recognize that it’s not worth being upset about this. Nevertheless, I am. (Self awareness counts for something…right?!)
To be clear, it’s not stupid that Walt Disney World has resorted to this rule change. I completely get the why of it, and understand that their hands were probably forced by guest feedback and satisfaction scores. Not to mention safety. Just based on what I’ve personally observed, it’s not hard to envision a kid, elderly or disabled guest being trampled or made to feel unnecessarily uncomfortable. This is doubly true later in the evening, when alcohol could exacerbate the issue.
Point being: this is an imperfect solution to a real problem. And I’d imagine that the test will continue to be tweaked, and the Cast Members eventually replaced by some stanchions, as the current approach is labor-intensive.
What’s stupid is that this problem exists in the first place. The underlying guest behavior that gave rise to this new rule.
As you might be aware, I spent a lot of time field testing Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind strategy earlier this spring and summer. It was probably a waste of time, in the grand scheme of things, as the resulting post hasn’t been particularly popular. It wouldn’t surprise me if this one resonates more with readers, and at ~5% of the time commitment.
During that testing, I observed a lot of irritating little guest behavior (I’ll never do Cosmic Rewind ‘for fun’ again after ~8:30 pm), but the one thing that really stuck in my craw was the stampede to the right in the final pre-show. A large percentage of guests immediately cram to the far right side of the room, jockeying for position by the exit doors. This is not a new development; if you’ve done Cosmic Rewind in the last 2 years, you’ve probably seen it.
Back in the spring, I jotted down a post idea (“Stop Ruining Cosmic Rewind for First-Timers”) that I ultimately abandoned. I rant enough, and aiming an argument at a subset of readers–as opposed to the company itself–might not be well-received.
With that in mind, let me start by saying that I’m a firm believer in meeting guests where they are, and in the defense of everyone who does this, the lead-up to the actual ride-through portion of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is interminably long. After the lines merge, there are three separate holding areas, the first of which serves no ostensible purpose. It’s tedious, and easy to see why guests tire of these holding rooms by the time they’re at the marquee pre-show that is actually fun and funny.
So I’m not letting Disney off the hook for what strikes me as poor pacing and pre-show design. Cosmic Rewind could’ve and should’ve been built differently to maintain attention and interest through the final pre-show (Battle at the Ministry and Rise of the Resistance strike mas good multi-phase attractions that are very well-designed). But that doesn’t excuse guest behavior in the pre-show. Two wrongs don’t make a right, or whatever.
There’s a reason my (abandoned but now revived) rant would’ve been titled “Stop Ruining Cosmic Rewind for First-Timers” instead of “…for Yourself.” (Although either would be apt.)
It’s because the people leading the charge to crowd the exit doors in the Cosmic Rewind pre-show are, almost without exception, repeat riders. Obviously, everyone is responsible for their own choices, but first-timers simply would not know to do this but for the Walt Disney World regulars.
The problem is that first-timers see this, FOMO sets in, and they follow suit. I know this happens because I’ve repeatedly observed this pattern: there’s an initial rush towards the exit doors, then other guests see what’s happening, and they do what everyone else is doing. It occurs in two distinct waves.
The first-timers don’t know why they’re mimicking the behavior of regulars, but they don’t want to miss out or be at a distinct disadvantage. So instead of focusing on the pre-show, which at this point is actually exceptional, they’re packed like sardines to leave the room. They miss portions of the pre-show, or don’t appreciate it fully. All for unknown or unclear reasons.
For WDW diehards, rushing the exit doors might be savvy if it offered an appreciable strategic advantage. But it doesn’t!
That’s precisely why this is stupid! The very first people through those doors are maybe going to save a 2-4 minutes on average when aggregated over time. Even so, there’s more time spent in uncomfortable congestion while missing the cool pre-show. The best case scenario here is still a net-negative outcome.
More to the point, on each individual ride-through, there’s no guarantee of any time-savings whatsoever by being the first party versus the very last party out of the room. You might save 30 seconds, 3 minutes, negative 30 seconds, or somewhere in between.
Cosmic Rewind has a dual load platform, and so much is determined by which side you’re assigned and how you’re grouped. (Also, there’s a good chance you’re not the first through those doors even if you’re at the forefront, pushing other guests out of the way!)
I know this because I am always the last to leave the pre-show. If you wonder how I have so many empty photos of the room, that’s the answer–not because I’m first to rush inside. I enjoy watching the pre-show, trying to spot the illusions as they happen, and see no sense in rushing.
Despite this, I routinely have found myself passing other guests who rushed through the doors before me. Not always or even most of the time, but enough to say pretty conclusively that luck plays a big role. And on other occasions when I remain at the back of the pack, I’ve occasionally gotten my own ride vehicle because sometimes the pre-shows don’t pulse through quickly.
Staying left and waiting is the subjectively superior strategy, and arguably even the objectively better approach on balance. I would contend that it is–there’s way more upside than there is downside to letting the herd of humanity pass and tightly wedge its way through the corridor.
Finally, I want to circle back to the whole “stupid” thing. That’s strong language. Just to be clear, it’s the behavior that’s bad, not the people who do it. (A distinction with a difference.) I do plenty of stupid things on a daily basis. Just ask Sarah about my misadventures in the kitchen.
Bigger picture, what we’re diagnosing is ultimately a symptom of the problem as opposed to the underlying issue itself. Walt Disney World’s policies are the catalyst for this–just like DAS abuse and so many other things. Disney purposefully fuels the FOMO machine, introducing stress and friction to the guest experience with confusing and convoluted policies plus high prices…and then sells solutions to the problems they’ve created. The stakes are high for guests, and time is money on vacation.
One of our goals, though, is helping readers recognize when savvy strategy is important and offers valuable time-savings, and also identifying when FOMO or FUD or whatever is counterproductive, or actively damaging to their own experience. It is my strong belief that rushing the exits in the pre-show at Cosmic Rewind is counterproductive, making your own experience and that of first-timers worse.
All of this is to say that I don’t mind Walt Disney World’s new prioritizing of the “higher-class” guests in the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind pre-shows. If that makes the big spenders feel better about their investment in Lightning Lane Single Pass, so be it. And again, it’s a good move on Walt Disney World’s part to prevent the post-pre-show stampede.
You will continue to find me on the far left side of the room, actually enjoying the pre-show. As longtime fans who appreciates attractions as opposed to rides, there’s a reason we pay the big bucks to visit Walt Disney World as opposed to regional amusement parks. There’s a time and place for efficient itineraries, but as we’ve often remarked, the parks should be savored like a fine wine as opposed to chugged.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Thoughts on this rule change at Cosmic Rewind? What are you thoughts on the three pre-show rooms before the ride-through aboard Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind? 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!
I was really hoping you were going to post that (for a lot more money) LL guests could bypass the pre-shows. I actually am in the minority of people who truly loves both pre-shows, but a member of our group has a physical disability that makes standing around (and being jostled) really taxing and it’s rough to do GOTG, even when it’s operating smoothly and the LL isn’t out the front door.
I will admit to being one of the people trying to get to the far right right at the lighted ring, but it’s partially driven by a desire to avoid my kids being trampled by others as they jostle towards the right once the walls come up—if you’re the first one in the stampede, you don’t have to worry about hurting others and you can get far enough right that you don’t get crushed.
In any event, it seems to me that it would be far less manpower (less money and less stress for cast members) if Disney simply let anyone who wants to save 5min bypass the pre shows at the merge point, so those who do want to enjoy the shows can have less crowded, less chaotic rooms and lower risk of stampede injury. They could still hold the bypass people at the same corridor until their assigned final pre-show was about to end, and give them the head start they crave, but already organized into a roughly single file line.
I absolutely can’t stand the rushing to the left. It absolutely ruins the experience. My idea for the last 2 years was the have a FULL queue with stanchions going all the way through all pre show rooms. This would just mean that you have to continue on in line so, no moving around and you have to stand where you are to watch the pre shows including the last one. I don’t mind the separate lighting queue; tbh this may partially have to do with DAS bc it’s very very stressful if you are the person that needs DAS but then have to deal with getting crushed on the way to the ride. I’ve been tossed around, bumped into and had my feet run over by scooters in that room more than at anywhere in Disney. Also my mom has ptsd from the military and she said that room and rushing out to crush into a line to “evacuate” gave her anxiety although she loved the coaster. It’s definitely a case of bad behavior running out for everyone else. But extreme changes were needed
Rushing to the *right sorry! Typo
This design is horrible. Last year my son got seperated from us as the doors opened and we started into the queu. He tried to squeeze by 3-4 people saying “I’m just trying to get to my parents” now he was 13 not a little kid but still wanted to stay close in the crowd. And another guest absolutely lost it on him. Yelling , screaming making a scene. My son was shaken. Absolutely it’s the guests that ruin it for others and themselves. The man waited 3 more seconds out of his day.
I’m with a wheelchair guest so I stay to the left and leave last. The queue narrows as you enter and ankles are in danger as it forms into single file. It’s less stressful for me to be in the rear to avoid running over someone.
Ha, I started deliberately moving left my last couple trips exactly for the all reasons you mentioned. Here I thought I was in the minority, and maybe I am – but I am now also Bricker-vindicated. It can’t be bought, kids! (Although it can be researched.)
“I’ll never do Cosmic Rewind ‘for fun’ again after ~8:30 pm”
I’m very curious about the “why” for this statement. Can you elaborate?
The crowd tends to get a little bit more rowdy after making their way around the countries a few times ;-P
You can tell this is the case when in the preshow he says “does anyone know what they call themselves” and no less then 5 grown adults shout “alcoholics”!
Can’t be entirely sure, but I feel similarly because of how popular drinking around the world is. The line is quite populated late in the evening by those who are a little less behavior sensitive.
I like this idea of separating the lines. In fact, I would like to see numerous holding pens that get called randomly after the Lightning Lane folks go. My personal experience, besides being pushed out of the way on several occasions, is that the ‘runners’ of the group save places in line for the slower of their group. I have ridden 4 or 5 times this year and each time I had to yield to people cutting in line. One time it was literally 10 people that ‘needed’ to join the other two that were immediately ahead of us.
Shhh–you’re going to ruin part of the fun of riding Cosmic Rewind: standing on the far left and enjoying feeling like you have the room all to yourself.
Thanks for bringing more attention to this. I absolutely hate any of the “fill in all available space” queues…because it suddenly puts the onus on me to either be a jerk and smash the people in front of me who aren’t moving, or stand there like an idiot. That is not the kind of stress I want as a guest! Even as someone who does often go to the right in this room, I’d way rather they just load into three tiers separated by stanchions which each continue through to the next three doors and then open each door sequentially at the end. Everyone maintains their place in line, everyone watches the pre-show, no one feels like a jerk. Solved.
“What’s stupid is that this problem exists in the first place. The underlying guest behavior that gave rise to this new rule.”
is a great line that can be applied to any infinite number of scenarios.
AS someone else posted, this started with Haunted Mansion and has been iterated in several other rides. I’m not sure what the solution is (shorter pres-hows?, smaller groups and assigned numbers like Avatar?), but having CMs stand in the middle of the room doesn’t seem like it. I feel for those people. I echo your sentiment of “You will continue to find me on the far left side of the room, actually enjoying the pre-show.” I learned this quickly riding Spiderman in Avenger’s Campus. (And I also agree – please don’t shout out dumb things during the preshow. You aren’t funny.)
I’m a left side of the pre-show rooms also. We have no problem letting everyone else cram into the next area. It is so much more enjoyable this way. From a fellow Epcot terran.
I hope this change sticks. Was there last week with my (tall, thrill loving) 3 year old and he was shoved a few times in the pre rooms by adults jockeying for better spots then nearly trampled when the final doors opened. I had to cage him with my arms until the crowd passed us and a backpack still got the back of his head. Maybe if those jerks had been herded more deliberately it would have been safer for him.
I agree with you, Tom. It IS dumb to have two holding areas before the cute REAL preshow, and I, too, linger at the left of the room to avoid being trampled in dim lighting. There’s no point — the ride is a very efficient people eater. I just think if they had made some sort of lane demarcation outside the doors in the carpet to subconsciously steer folks into a line, versus the chokepoint running up the ramp once you bust through the holding room doors — it just needs traffic directing.
Couple of quibbles with Disney here from me. One, agreed that the preshow is entirely too long, in particular the first holding room being pointless. Second is the anxiety all of these merges create. Just like the stretch room with the Haunted Mansion, human nature is to jockey for position and it just give me agita thinking about it. I do not like this method of lining up for those with disabilities, anxiety, young children, or for first timers. Heck, I think I even like the fact that those who paid for LL get to go first in GotGCR! I just dread the chaos and wish going forward Disney would handle queues differently.
Yes, thanks for this. The other very annoying stupid guest behavior on this attraction is responding to Terry Crews’ question, “What do they call themselves?” with “alcoholics,” or worse. So clever. Not.
You also see people pre-rushing to the exit doors in the Tower of Terror and Haunted Mansion pre-shows. But it’s not as prevalent or potentially dangerous compared to Guardians.
This is something I’ve felt for a long time and deeply suspected that it didn’t result in much, if any, time savings. Thank you so much for saying all of this.
I really love that teleportation room – and it frustrates me so much that everyone rushes, especially because then my group feels the need to do it with them! It’s not unlike the mansion stretching room- the “goal” is to be right at the side to get out first, then you miss half the things to see.
It would almost be interesting to see them queue people up MORE – like do a single file stretching room with ropes leading you through, or have people need to enter queue lines in that teleportation room… think something that looked like when you get shoved into rows before boarding Soarin’ or outside the Star tours ride vehicle, but the person count per row wouldn’t matter so much. Then when the doors open you feed out row by row. Then everyone gets to watch the show without FOMO if you actually stand there to watch vs spend all your mental energy getting the top spot.
I really appreciated the underlying sentiment of this post, though I respectfully suggest to you that your own anger is showing here, and that’s probably not helpful either. (It’s clear that you are aware of that.)
To my way of thinking, this is a microcosm of everything in the world that has been unleashed by the false sense of immediacy created by social media and, by extension, everything about new computer technology and “data driven” behaviour. I personally think that the solution to fastpass madness is in how it used to be done – only available in the physical space of the theme parks. That caused both much less “abuse” and compelled park visitors to be aware of the physical space they were in – and take pleasure in it – rather than seeing everything and everyone as an obstacle to getting most efficiently to the next ride, and minimize time spent. What we should be doing is indulging in that time, and taking pleasure in the people around us – even our own families. On a much different (but essentially the same) topic of my trying to cut down or eliminate time on my phone, I wrote to some of my friends the following:
“For me, I do have a bad habit of responding instantly and it is somewhat an “addiction”.
I was pretty “proud” for many years of not being constantly on my phone; ESPECIALLY in the company of other people When we were recently in Disney World – as when I am out in public everywhere really but attenuated and more pronounced – I was very annoyed by how many people just always had their heads buried in their phones… in line, walking around, at dinner, everywhere
I verbalized this and my son said “you do the same thing Dad” (he meant back home, not while we were on vacation ). And I knew he was right and I also know I did not used to do that. (For me, I had made a concerted effort to stop – successfully – around 2007 or so, when I realized I was plugged into work 24/7 and did not need to be and affecting both my mood and plain rude to those around me)”
What I should have said – what I also thought – was how unhappy and angry all those people looked… and that I myself was pretty cheery the whole time (I hope this does not sound smug)… mainly because I was being very conscious of keeping my phone in my pocket and enjoying the moment(s).
Your blog is a pleasure to read, and I am not wanting to single you out for blame – far from it. But maybe there is a space for something different than “tips and tricks” and strategies. Maybe a new strategy to devise is how to enjoy NOT completing a checklist, and being wildly inefficient, and being present in an amazing place, with other people, instead of looking ahead to getting around them (and thereby reducing us all to obstacles and objects).
I like your final idea there. We had to start diving our days up into the times when we are rushing like mad to get the most out of the plan, and the times we are just wandering aimlessly to do whatever the heck comes up. Those wandering times are really what makes the trip for us now.
Thank you Susie. We do the same, but we also make an effort to treat line-ups that way. One of the conscious strategies I have learned to employ – and it really works well – is treating each line-up as a short “party” to enjoy instead of a chore to endure. Those people will be in front of you regardless. This isn’t even that hard; everyone there is from a different place so asking “where are you folks from” is an easy and obvious conversation starter. And everyone there has one thing in common: we love this theme park. That has the effect of both making the time spent more pleasant (and feel shorter!), but also reminds you that we should be enjoying this together. What most people do – and I have been guilty – is unconsciously treat everyone else in the line up as a competitor, and a nemesis to foil. This elevates anxiety and makes us all slightly simmer at each other, I think. Your brand new (temporary) friend and others in earshot is going to be the first to ask you to go ahead politely instead of rushing to fill the slender envelope of air that just opened in front of you. It really works! (And I promise you that by nature we are very introverted, and not naturally gregarious or sociable people. It takes some effort to get in the habit.) In Cosmic Rewind, the last two times we rode it, we had people next to us say (in effect) “Aw, I see we’re coming to the end of the line… kinda sad it’s over”. I swear that’s true! (One was a couple from Ireland, and the other a newlywed couple from New Jersey).
Thank you for this, Tom. I love the teleportation room pre-show so much, and it makes me completely crazy watching everyone rush to the opposite side of the room once the walls come up. The cosmic generator effect alone is worth being up close for.
Stupid activity at WDW? Sometimes it’s The Disney Corp, sometimes it’s the guests. Wether it is eliminating FastPass, not bringing back Tables in Wonderland, or not giving guests, aka-frequent riders like you and I, the option to skip the preshow, or guests paying $10/beer to stopping in the middle of a walkway and complaining about being bumped to changing Disability access to the detriment of the legitimate user. I guess I’m just saying there is a lot of “STUPID” to go around. It appears lopsided towards the actions of Disney…..