By
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly
The
Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster headed to Epcot is poised to take visitors for a spin (literally) when it opens in 2021.
Disney
experiences and consumer products chairman Bob Chapek confirmed
Wednesday at the International Association of Amusement Parks and
Attractions convention that the long-gestating attraction — set to
become Epcot’s first roller coaster when it debuts in time for Disney
World’s 50th anniversary celebration — will feature an “innovative” ride
design that will allow park guests to “become part of the [ride’s
story]” unlike ever before.
“We call it a ‘storytelling coaster,'” Chapek told the crowd in
attendance for Disney’s presentation at the annual industry gathering.
“On most coasters, the vehicles point straight ahead throughout the
ride, but on this attraction each individual cab will be programmed to
direct your eye to the story happening around you.”
Chapek then debuted a series of images showing off the ride’s car designs, which are modeled after the Milano Starship from the
Guardians of the Galaxy series of films upon which the attraction is based.
“Instead
of whizzing by the action, you’ll be fully immersed in the story from
the minute you launch,” Chapek continued of the ride, which was designed
in collaboration with Vekoma (the company behind the
Expedition Everest coaster
at Animal Kingdom) and will be housed inside a massive indoor building
that’s large enough to fit four of Epcot’s Spaceship Earth attractions
inside.
Disney’s IAAPA presentation also included video footage from a testing facility, in which a version of the
Guardians of the Galaxy ride’s coaster trains can be seen spinning as they traverse a twisted course of track.
Following 35 years of operation, Epcot’s
Universe of Energy pavilion — which, beginning in 1996, also housed the
Ellen’s Energy Adventure ride
starring comedian Ellen DeGeneres — ceased operations in August 2017,
with its show buildings ultimately repurposed for the ambitious
Guardians of the Galaxy coaster.
The
ride will open as part of Disney’s previously announced plans to revamp
Epcot into a more accessible, family friendly destination, a
transformation that will begin with the alteration of the park’s Future
World section. Further development includes a
Ratatouille-themed dark ride —
a clone of a similar ride currently operating at Disneyland Paris —
also scheduled to open in 2021 in the World Showcase’s France pavilion.
Elsewhere, the Orlando-based
resort will open a
Tron-themed roller coaster next to
Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom in the near future as well as a
Star Wars land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in summer 2019.
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