Epcot Hosts Guardians Awesome Mix Live Show

2018 promises to be an incredible summer at Walt Disney World, along with the opening of “The Incredibles 2” at the box office.  The Summer 2018 offerings include an Incredible Tomorrowland take over at the Magic Kingdom, the Opening of Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios, Donald’s Dino-Bash at Animal Kingdom, and the “Guardians of the Galaxy” Awesome Mix Live at Epcot.

Let’s head over to Epcot for the Awesome Mix Live, and like everything at Walt Disney World, there is a back story here.   We first heard about the Guardians of the Galaxy E-Ticket at D23 Expo 2017 – Here is a quote from that presentation:

“a brand-new E-ticket attraction themed to Guardians of the Galaxy will also open in time for the big anniversary [2021]. If you’re wondering why Epcot seemed like the perfect place to set the Guardians, it was revealed today that Peter Quill (aka Star-Lord) actually paid a visit to the park when he was a young boy. This promises to be an “out-of-this-world adventure” with roots in an Epcot story.”

While we have to wait until 2021 for the new “E-Ticket”, we learned some new details in February (2018) from D23 Expo in Japan.

“When the family attraction themed to Guardians of the Galaxy opens at Epcot, it will feature a brand-new innovative ride system—and will be one of the longest enclosed roller coasters in the world!”

So, the Guardians of the Galaxy are coming to Epcot, replacing Ellen’s Energy Adventure with a state-of-the-art indoor roller coaster?  Sign me up!  The existing “Ellen” building will be used for the pre-show, load/unload, and gift shop, with the actual coaster housed in a new building currently under construction.  And if anything, the new building is enormous!!  It can be seen from just about every place in Epcot.  We can only speculate as to what it will look like

When finished.

Until then, we have the first appearance of Guardians characters in Epcot: Star-Lord, and Baby Groot can currently be found in Hollywood Studios as a meet-and-greet inside One Man’s Dream.

Star-Lord and Gamora take guests on a musical journey through the cosmos in the Guardians of the Galaxy – Awesome Mix Live! Show at Epcot. Featuring hits from Star-Lord’s Awesome Mixtapes, the show really functions as a sort of pre-show to the pre-show that will be in a new attraction.

“Recent events have brought our interesting planet to the attention of Xandar, capital of the Nova Empire”.  Star-Lord has identified “Epcot” as a cultural epicenter of our planet. As part of an outreach program, Xandar has sent cultural ambassadors to be the first to share Xandar’s extra-terrestrial cultures with us.  Music is an important part of Xandaran History, so to be the first representative, Xandar has identified the finest and brightest artist to share the harmonious songs of Xandar.  The show starts with the Xandarian Chamber Orchestra playing some traditional Xandaran music…  and as you would expect, it isn’t exactly pleasant to us earthlings.  The show is quickly interrupted by Peter Quill, who sets the record straight that Xandaran music isn’t exactly agreeable to the audience.   Gamora joins to remind Peter that the galaxy needs them, and they don’t have time to waste.  Baby Groot joins the action and patches in some of Peter’s favorite songs from his Awesome Mix Live Tapes.

The show, part of an Incredible Summer at Walt Disney World Resort, takes place at Epcot’s American Gardens Theater through Aug. 19, 2018. It sets the stage for the characters’ first appearance in Epcot. Wonder what else might happen between now and the 2021 opening of the new Guardian’s Coaster.

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