Disney has announced that Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will soon be added to the Early Entry lineup at EPCOT. This covers dates & details, plus our commentary about how this changes morning park touring strategy, arriving via International Gateway vs. front entrance, and more.
The change comes as the hugely popular Marvel roller coaster ditches its virtual queue and switches to standby very soon, along with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom. In case you missed that big news, see Walt Disney World is Ending Attraction Virtual Queues.
That covers the official announcement dates & details about the virtual queues. Plus, our commentary about Walt Disney World’s possible motivations for making this change, and why this is good for the guest experience–despite it being bad for us, personally. By contrast, this news that Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will be eligible for Early Entry is very good news for us.
Starting February 25, 2025, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will be open for Early Entry at EPCOT from to
Although Early Entry times can vary by date at the other parks, that’s typically not the case at EPCOT. I cannot recall the last time official park opening was anything other than 9:00 AM. Park closing has been extended to 9:30 PM or 10:00 PM during peak seasons, but I cannot recall a time when EPCOT opened before 9 AM since…probably Summer 2022?
Before we go any further, the one thing I do want to mention here is that Walt Disney World “announced” this change with an update to the official Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind website, which now lists Early Entry hours for February 25, 2025 and every date thereafter.
Walt Disney World has not yet updated the official Early Entry website to match this.
Even once they do, I’m not sure I’ll believe it until February 25, 2025 rolls around, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is actually open. The reason for this is simple: the Walt Disney World attraction and perks pages are wrong. A lot.
The most relevant recent example of this occurred with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. It was listed as being open for Extended Evening Hours last year, and it wasn’t until the first night that started–and the ride wasn’t open–before anyone realized that was a mistake. The attraction has likewise had its status ping-pong around for MNSSHP, MVMCP, and most recently, the 2025 After Hours.
This is not an issue unique to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
Just a few days ago, Walt Disney World published the Villains Unfairly Ever After website and listed a 40-minute showtime. I saw other sites running with this story but refrained to do so myself, suspecting that 40 minutes was highly unlikely. That’s DCA Hyperion stage show-level duration, and at a time when Walt Disney World has been shortening stage shows. Surprise surprise, Disney quietly removed the time a couple hours later, making it look like the fan sites misreported it. (They didn’t–Disney did.)
I’ve been burned by this on other occasions, including over at Disneyland with Haunted Mansion Holiday supposedly not starting until Christmas 2025. (Not accurate.) If I sound bitter, it’s probably because I am just a bit. It’s absurd that Disney’s own official websites aren’t reliable sources, and that whoever pushes out website changes is seemingly just guessing (I guess?) when it comes to specifics.
Point being, it’s probably correct that Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will be open for Early Entry. It’s what we were expecting. But we won’t know with 100% certainty until February 25, 2025 rolls around and the ride is actually open (or not).
For whatever it’s worth, we were also expecting TRON Lightcycle Run to participate in Early Entry at Magic Kingdom starting last September when its virtual queue was retired. That did not happen immediately, so we assumed that surely it was a scheduling issue and the roller coaster would open early once peak season rolled around. Also nope.
Speaking of Magic Kingdom, we also can say with a high degree of confidence that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will not operate during Early Entry. This is a safe assumption because it’s not on the schedule and because Frontierland doesn’t open until regular rope drop.
For those who are unfamiliar with the on-site guest perk, Early Entry is offered at all 4 theme parks every single day and offers 30-minute access to guests staying in on-site hotels at Walt Disney World.
It differs from the extinct morning Extra Magic Hours in that it’s not an hour-long and is offered every day at all four parks, meaning crowds are diluted and there’s lower demand. See our Guide to Early Entry at Walt Disney World for more info & strategy.
Additionally, we have about a dozen or so “Extra Hours” Photo Reports, with more coming in March 2025 as a result of this change and (hopefully) more changes at Magic Kingdom.
I would hazard a guess that we’ve done Early Entry 50 to 75 times since it debuted a few years ago. My general perspective is that fans undervalue it. We see a lot of complaints that the perk is “only” 30 minutes, which is objectively accurate.
However, this understates the value of that time and just how much you can accomplish. As I’ve demonstrated in our EPCOT morning reports, I’ve accomplished multiple rides during Early Entry and also beating the regular rope drop rush to my next destination at ~9:00 AM.
Fans also underestimate the subjective value of Early Entry. By that, I mean that morning is the second-best time of the day at all 4 of the parks–behind only late nights. There’s something special about watching the sun rise over the parks, and I love savoring my strolls around World Showcase, watching the countries “wake up” for the day.
With that said, Early Entry at EPCOT hasn’t been good/great since Test Track went down for refurbishment. (See Is Early Entry at EPCOT Worth Waking Up for With Test Track Closed Until 2025?)
As a result of that closure, the bulk of the crowds are basically all heading to two destinations, both in World Showcase: Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and Frozen Ever After. Some guests do head to Soarin’ Around the World, but that isn’t exactly a great use of time.
The Test Track closure consolidates the crowds, but is mostly fine for those arriving via International Gateway–the back entrance by France that serves the Skyliner and Crescent Lake Resorts. But for the majority of guests coming via the front entrance, it’s a long walk to either of those headliners. We’re talking over a mile!
Because of this, we’ve received a lot of questions about using the gondolas or getting to International Gateway from other resorts. Many WDW fans have had some very…let’s call them creative…ideas involving convoluted routes between wherever you’re staying at International Gateway.
I’d like to think that this blog teaches you how to think outside the box about hacking Walt Disney World systems to beat the crowds, zigging when they zag, and that sort of thing. (More likely, it fills your head with dated pop culture references, bad dad jokes, County Bear lore, and hatred for Dino-Rama–so still a societal net positive.) So kudos to putting your knowledge to use and coming up with creative solutions, I guess.
Nevertheless, our perspective has always been that this is a bit much. It has been true that you’ll come out ahead by arriving to EPCOT via International Gateway. Being so close to Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is advantageous, and the walking distance disparity is insurmountable for those arriving from the front entrance. It’s also undeniable that Soarin’ is an objectively worse Early Entry starting point that the World Showcase headliners.
We’ve implored readers to think about things in holistic terms. Not all vacation time has equal value, but it all does have some value. The added time of these convoluted routes is significant (and costly), to the point that we don’t recommend them. You’ll need to wake up much earlier and potentially spend extra, either of which alone would move those approaches to “not recommended” territory.
Well well well, how the turn tables.
Starting February 25, 2025, you can basically just reverse all of the above and apply it to entering through the front entrance of EPCOT. Without question, the advantage will instantly flip to arriving via the front and prioritizing Cosmic Rewind. More guests will be heading to Cosmic Rewind, and by a very wide margin. Unless something changes with protocol, it’ll be almost impossible for International Gateway guests to beat or match the arrival times of those doing Early Entry from the front entrance.
Even though we can’t yet predict precise wait times for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, we know this with near certainty because that’s the dynamic we’ve observed with Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and TRON Lightcycle Run at Magic Kingdom. And that’s without TRON even being open during Early Entry!
Guests staying at Skyliner and Crescent Lake Resorts will try their best John Candy and Steve Martin impressions, and start coming up with their own convoluted routes for getting from their hotels to the front entrance of EPCOT before 8 AM. I know this because I’m one of the people already plotting my approach. (In my defense, I’m doing this in the name of Very Important Research…and because I already booked BoardWalk for the start of EPCOT’s Flower & Garden Festival.)
Just as before, I cannot imagine this will be “worth it” from either an objective or even subjective perspective. The cost in time (and effort) will likely exceed the time-saving disparity between Cosmic Rewind and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. That won’t stop dedicated fans from trying, though. The upshot is that the crowds for the Rat Ride and Frozen Ever After will almost certainly decline a bit. All of this is speculative, though. I’ll be doing extensive actual testing and will report back with my results sometime in mid-March 2025. So stay tuned!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Will you be doing Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind during Early Entry at EPCOT? Plan on going out of your way to arrive at the front entrance for Cosmic Rewind, or will you do the Rat Ride if entering via International Gateway? Thoughts on Early Theme Park Entry at EPCOT? Have you experienced this 30 minute jumpstart to the day since Test Track went down? What’s your preferred approach to mornings at EPCOT? Agree or disagree with our advice? 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!
