Rumor: Guardians Of The Galaxy Ride Coming To EPCOT?
Last month a rumor began to circulate that Disney was planning to redoDisney California Adventure’sTwilight Zone Tower of Terroras aGuardians of the Galaxyride. As ridiculous as that sounded, we had heard the rumblings from enough sources to believe that Disney Imagineering was considering it at the very least. A new rumor claims that Disney is trying to bring the Guardians of the Galaxy to Walt Disney World Resort in EPCOT’s Future World. But don’t worry, it won’t be replacing a cool ride likeSpaceship Earth. Hit the jump to learn the Guardians of the Galaxy EPCOT ride rumor details.
This new rumor comes fromBlog Mickey, a source which we have not been able to substantiate. The report claims that a newGuardians of the Galaxyattraction could replaceEllen’s Energy Adventurein EPCOT’s Future World’s Universe of Energy pavilion. Previous rumors had suggested that Hollywood Studios’Tower of Terrormight be getting the same re-do thatis rumored in Anaheim, or thatRock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmithmight be re-themed into a Marvel coaster (that ride is in desperate need of an update). Of course, over the last few months,Rock ‘n’ Roller Coasterhas gotten new interactive displays that put the park guests' names on rock concert posters thanks to the technology in the magic bands. AndTwilight Zone Tower of Terrorwill be adding a themed bar/lounge.
Ellen’s Energy Adventurecame to EPCOT in 1996, starring Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Nye “The Science Guy,” Alex Trebek, Johnny Gilbert, and Jamie Lee Curtis, and takes riders on “a light-hearted look at various energy resources, how energy is produced, the history of energy production, and the search for new energy resources.” The show uses the same traveling theater system that was used by the originalUniverse of Energyshow. It’s unclear how Guardians of the Galaxy would use this system, or if a completely new ride would be constructed in the pavilion. The rumoredTower of Terror Guardians of the Galaxymake-over would likely either see guests enter the Collector’s museum or escape from the intergalactic prison as seen in the first film.Frozen Ever Afterjust opened in EPCOT’s World Showcase, replacingMaelstrom. So far the new ride has had up to five-hour-long wait times from open to close, seemingly attracting a lot more park guests to EPCOT. I got a chance to ride the new attraction over the weekend while I was in Orlando and I have to say it’s pretty great. I know some Disney World fanatics aren’t happy that new Disney characters are taking over rides in World Showcase, but I thinkFrozen Ever Afteris a positive step in the direction of the future of EPCOT.
For those of you interested in seeing whatEllen’s Energy Adventureis like, here is a full ride through video:
Now I’m not sure if it makes much sense to putGuardians of the Galaxyin the Energy Pavilion, but Future World is as sci-fi as it comes. I’m sure Disney is seeing how ticket sales are picking up now that theFrozenride is open, and is seeing the value of injecting some of their popular brands into EPCOT, which currently sits as the #6 most visited theme park in the world (about 700,000 people above Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom). It makes sense that Disney Imagineering is concentrating on theGuardiansbrand in these potential theme park offerings as they are looking for a longer life attraction andGuardiansis only one film into an expected trilogy while a lot of first generationAvengerscharacters have completed their trilogy arcs.
And if you’re wondering, yes, Universal Studios Orlando owns the rights to Marvel attractions east of the Mississippi, but that apparently only includes characters currently featured in Islands of Adventure Superhero Island. When that themed land opened in 1999, theGuardians of the Galaxywere not nearly as popular as they are today, and thus Universal focused on the characters and villains from the Spider-Man, Avengers, X-Men and the Fantastic Four.
The restrictions of Universal Studios' deal with Marvel arevery complicatedand no one knows for sure if Disney can sneak a Guardians attraction into Disney World. So far Disney World has had Gamora and Star-Lordappear in limited meet and greets, as well ashosted Marvel movie previews, Marvel movie monorail skins and even include footage from the films in the Great Movie Ride. Most people seem to agree that a Guardians ride could not be constructed in Disney World unless Universal were to agree to it, which isn’t beyond the realm of possibility. Its also possible that the Guardians of the Galaxy could feature into the attraction in some kind of hosting capacity. This stuff gets really complex.
Again, consider this whole report to be rumor and speculation until confirmed by the mouse.
