The Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind attraction at EPCOT will be honored with a Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement in 2024. The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) announced the impending distinction in a blog post on November 14.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Earns Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement
TEA is an international association that represents creators, developers, designers, and producers of themed entertainment. The Thea Awards, according to Disney, “acknowledge exceptional achievements in the themed entertainment industry and celebrate the creative teams who bring immersive experiences to life.”
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is one of three attractions that will be awarded a Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement next year, with the others being the Bermuda Storm attraction inside the indoor Chimelong Spaceship theme park in Zhuhai, China, and the Musikkfabrikken Hunderfossen at Hunderfossen Eventyrpark in Lillehammer, Norway.
Thea Awards for Outstanding Achievement are awarded in several categories, including live shows, experiential dining attractions, and live interactive experiences. The Walt Disney Company has received several Thea Awards in the past, most recently in 2022 for Outstanding Achievement in Brand Experience for the now-closed Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser hotel.
Barbara Bouza, president of Walt Disney Imagineering, said the following about the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind distinction:
On behalf of all Imagineers, I would like to thank TEA for this tremendous recognition of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, and for continuing to drive the themed entertainment industry forward. As our Imagineering teams push the boundaries of creative storytelling in innovative and exciting ways, it’s always the highest honor for our work to be recognized by friends and colleagues from around the world.
Barbara Bouza, per Disney
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, an indoor roller coaster based on the popular Marvel Studios franchise, was announced at D23 Expo in 2017. It anchors the World Discovery neighborhood of EPCOT and occupies the location formerly inhabited by Ellen’s Energy Adventure, which itself was an evolution of the Universe of Energy pavilion that was an opening day attraction at EPCOT Center in 1982.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind opened at Walt Disney World Resort in May of 2022. The high-speed attraction allows guests to come face to face with their favorite Guardians (and also Terry Crews) as the crew must recover the ‘Cosmic Generator.’ The attraction marks several firsts for Walt Disney Imagineering; in addition to being the longest fully-enclosed coaster in any Disney Park, it’s also Disney’s first-ever reverse-launch roller coaster.
You can watch our full video review of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind here:
The attraction was one of the larger additions to EPCOT in what was a years-long reimagining of the park that also saw the openings of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure inside the France Pavilion and the Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana walkthrough attraction in the World Nature neighborhood. The latter attraction, according to The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger, was the final piece of the park’s overhaul.
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