The Celebration of Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary Continues. The opening of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind on May 27, 2022 marks another milestone in the Epcot Transformation.
According to backstory, Peter Quill, AKA, Star-Lord, once visited EPCOT as a child in the 1980s. He loved the experience so much that he suggested Walt Disney Word’s Epcot would be the perfect place for Xandarians to connect with Terrans. Xandarians are from the planet Xandar in the Andrama Galaxy, and Terrans being their word for humans on our planet Earth. That Peter Quill suggestion resulted in the first other-world showcase pavilion at Walt Disney World’s Epcot “The Wonders of Xandar.”
The Wonders of Xandar Pavilion is located in Epcot’s World Discovery and features three main sections:
The Galaxarium: a sweeping planetarium-style space showcasing planets, stars, and other intergalactic wonders that connect Terra and Xandar – reinforcing the notion that we’re all born of the same space dust.
In the Galaxarum, you’ll meet The Xandarian supercomputer, Worldmind, whose purpose is to preserve the knowledge and history of Xandar. Most of the knowledge Worldmind has collected regarding Teran, aka Earth, comes from Peter Quill – “Terrans love music that moves your soul.” Understanding Terrans is just one of the many reasons Xandarans have opened the Wonders of Xandar Pavilion at Epcot. Worldmind provides the narration that gives us context to the stunning visuals in the queue area, along with some intriguing questions like Where is Johnny going and is he being good? Why only the turkey leg, what about the rest of the creature? Milkey Way is a curious name for a galaxy; why?
The complete loop rounds a little over 30 minutes, and I hope this is your only opportunity to experience it in its entirety. After the Galaxarum, the Xandar Gallery, and the Phase Chamber are next in the Queue, I’ll save that for the next episode of Sam’s Disney Diary.
For more from the Opening check out my Interview with Wyatt and a sneak peek at the Wonders of Xandar Merchandise
