Song List for Guardians of Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

There are 6 songs on the playlist for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in Epcot at Walt Disney World. This post shares the music you can hear on the ride, how they shape the experience, and our rankings of the roller coaster’s different tracks. (Updated September 11, 2025.)

Before we get started, a couple plugs for other resources about this blockbuster attraction at Walt Disney World. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind switched to standby and ditched its virtual queue in 2025. This makes the ride easier to experience, but it’s one of the most popular attractions in all of Walt Disney World…for good reason!

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. We’d expect that to change once the new car smell wears off Test Track in early 2026. We still view Cosmic Rewind as the significantly better attraction, and recommend prioritizing the ride during Early Entry, if you’re eligible. Otherwise, see our list of the Best & Worst Times to Ride Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind for comprehensive advice.

The easier alternative if you don’t mind splurging (and are staying on-site, as you’ll probably need the pre-booking advantage) is buying line-skipping access via the Lightning Lane Single Pass. As of Fall 2025, 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.

We’ve had the chance to experience Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind dozens of times since it debuted three years ago. We’ve heard every single song on the playlist at least three times, including the dreaded holiday version (more on that below), and each have different favorites that we think work better with the roller coaster. Although the track stays the same with each ride, the motion just feels different thanks to the song selections. It’s almost like the ride dances, for lack of a better term.

Suffice to say, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is an absolute blast. Even though the rides are very different in nature, Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! demonstrated just how fun an “Awesome Mix Tape” plus these Marvel misfits plus thrills can be. It’s a recipe for success and, frankly, there should be more rides following this formula.

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 Sunday, September 21, 2025, guests riding Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will get “September” as their onboard song. See September Celebration at Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in EPCOT for full details.

This special one-day-only offering was also offered each of the last two years, so it’s safe to assume it’s an annual tradition (and an awesome one). If you’re planning ahead for 2026 or even 2027, mark your calendars for the 21st night (or day) of September.

Expect demand for Cosmic Rewind to be slightly elevated on September 21st of any year, but especially ones when the date falls on a weekend when locals are off work (so 2025, 2029, 2030, 2031, etc).

As for the full playlist, Walt Disney Imagineering revealed that during development of the family-thrill coaster, they came up with a list of more than 100 potential songs for the Starjumpers’ onboard sound system.

The Cosmic Rewind ride team rode the attraction over and over again testing how various tracks fit with the spirit of the roller coaster. Per Imagineering, the goal was finding songs with that perfect balance of energy, a flow that matched the major movements of the ride, and lyrics that gave a fun nod to the story of Cosmic Rewind.

Here’s the normal Cosmic Rewind song list, which is played throughout the year…

The “Awesome Mix” playlist for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind consists of six songs in their classic versions:

• “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

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 of the 100 tracks that were tested will be played in the post-show and corridor upon exiting the attraction. These also are cycled through at random–I still don’t think we’ve heard them all.

Next, our rankings of each song played on-board Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind…

Sarah’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind song rankings:

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

Tom’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind song rankings:

1. “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire
2. “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears
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

Seriously, next time I might bring AirPods so I can listen to something else if I get stuck with “Conga” again. 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.

As mentioned above, there’s also a now-defunct holiday version of the attraction with different music. During the ride’s first Christmas season, there was the Guardians of Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind – Holiday Remix ride overlay with different music than normal.

During that first Christmas season, the Guardians of the Galaxy traded in their classic hits playlist for a mash-up of seasonal jams at Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT. Guests blasted off to the tune of an awesome holiday single, bringing joy to Xandar and Terra, too.”

The Holiday Remix did not return either of the last two years. We strongly suspect that it was a one and done, as guest feedback towards the song was negative. To each their own, but we hated the holiday overlay. It was in no way whatsoever integrated into the attraction–the Christmas song just came out of nowhere. Even with that, the ride doesn’t feel the least bit festive because literally nothing else was done to make it a cohesive or comprehensive Christmas overlay.

Worst of all, the song itself is not very good Cosmic Rewind has fantastic flow and fluidity–thanks to the music and the motion, it normally feels like dancing in roller coaster form. That was not the case for Holiday Remix, which underscores just how much song selection matters. Don’t be disappointed if you missed it, as the Holiday Remix actually diminishes the Cosmic Rewind experience.

With that said, we hope Walt Disney World hasn’t given up on the idea of a holiday overlay to Cosmic Rewind. Honestly, we’d love to see well done ones for both Christmas and Halloween. The reason we’d love to see this even after the first attempt was a misfire is because we know there’s potential for this to be awesome.

That’s because there is a great seasonal overlay for the Guardians of the Galaxy ride at Disney California Adventure. Known as Guardians of the Galaxy — Monsters After Dark, the Halloween overlay at Disneyland Resort is really good. It’s campy and fun, completely keeping in the spirit of the characters.

Monsters After Dark also runs simultaneously with the regular ride–there’s a day/night split, with Monsters After Dark starting in the evening hours. It’s truly the perfect solution, as guests can choose which version they want to ride…or do both!

If you want to know when a holiday overlay is introduced or the playlist changes, sign up for our free email newsletter. We’ll notify subscribers as soon as there’s news about song selection changes for Cosmic Rewind.

As mentioned above, there’s also a somewhat similar music-based attraction at Disneyland Resort. For the sake of comparison, here’s the Song List for Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! On the DCA attraction, Rocket hotwires the lift to play while guests help escape from the Collector’s Fortress and one of the following songs plays:

• “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” by Pat Benatar (1980)
• “Give Up The Funk” by Parliament (1975)
• “Born To Be Wild” by Steppenwolf (1968)
• “I Want You Back” by The Jackson 5 (1969)
• “Free Ride” by The Edgar Winter Group (1973)
• “Burning Love” by Elvis Presley (1972)

Even if none of these songs are your jam, so to speak, they just “hit different” when played during a thrill ride. I don’t know how to explain it, but all of those tracks work really well on Mission Breakout.

Speaking of the Cosmic Rewind ride experience, the attraction’s antagonist is Eson, a Celestial that has been watching Earth for eons. The Celestial makes a startling appearance in the attraction and is looking “to right a wrong in a big way.”

While Eson might be surprising to encounter at Epcot’s Wonders of Xandar pavilion, he’s no stranger to the Guardians of the Galaxy. While the Celestial and the ragtag troop have never crossed paths before, Eson was once in possession of the Power Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones, as the group learned in the first Guardians of the Galaxy. Now, he has set his sights on Earth.

The Guardians of the Galaxy–Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot–step in to help save the day. But, they can’t do it alone, so (naturally) they enlist the help of guests to stop Eson from completing his grand plan!

This is a similar story conceit used in both Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure and Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout. It’s right up there with “and something goes terribly wrong” as a storytelling device on rides.

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YOUR THOUGHTS

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? Are you excited to experience Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at Epcot? 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!