Does Disney World’s Guardians of the Galaxy ride connect to the MCU?

Disney World’s Epcot theme park opened the Guardians of the Galaxy rollercoaster earlier this year. Does the ride’s plot fit into the franchise’s narrative?

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is Epcot’s first rollercoaster, as well as Disney World’s first Marvel themed ride. The attraction’s story is set on Xandar and features Glenn Close’s Nova Prime. The pre-ride entertainment showcases the wonders of Xandar – the planet that was a major setting in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. It is where Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket, and Groot get arrested by the Nova Corps.

The main actors reprise their roles for some crowd-pleasing footage. Before entering the ride, guests waiting on line are treated to a Star-Lord interview, where the leader is questioned about whether he or Rocket are their ship’s captain (Rocket apparently named himself as captain in an earlier conversation with the interviewer).

The Cosmic Rewind storyline succeeds the chase for the Power Stone (as seen in Guardians of the Galaxy), where the ragtag team end up guarding Xandar from Ronan and leave the Power Stone in Xandarian care. Now Eson the Searcher is threatening to restart Earth’s very existence by jumping to the dawn of time. This Celestial was glimpsed in Guardians of the Galaxy when Collector was giving his Infinity Stone seminar to the group.

Nova Prime calls on the Guardians to help. Since Xandar was destroyed off-screen by Thanos right before the events of Avengers: Infinity War, this story clearly takes place between the first volume and Infinity War. Another chronological clue is that Gamora is still alive in Cosmic Rewind, even though she was one of Thanos’ victims during his infinity quest.

All five original Guardians are here to help in Cosmic Rewind, however the Groot in this mission is fully formed. The problem with this, continuity-wise, is that Groot sacrificed himself at the end of the original movie and Rocket revived him into Baby Groot. So is there any way this mission precedes Volume 1’s climax? Well, a key piece of evidence that Cosmic Rewind lands after the first film is that the lineup is recognized by Xandar and Nova Prime as a team of superheroes. This would not be the case prior to the group saving Xandar from Ronan’s forces.

Cosmic Rewind could have worked within the MCU canon, that is, if it wasn’t for Groot appearing as a fully grown tree. So this tale cannot take place within the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s official timeline. Groot would have to be a smaller version of himself for it to narratively make sense. Even in his most recent sighting – in Thor: Love and Thunder – the heroic tree creature is still an adolescent, working his way back up to adult form.

Unfortunately, this is the only detail that displaces Cosmic Rewind out of canon. So while the ride has no obligation to stick within the MCU continuity, it could have easily done so by turning big Groot into Baby Groot. And which Guardians fan would not have been just as happy to see the mischievous little sapling in this Disney World experience?

Is this a missed opportunity by Marvel to interweave the MCU’s continuity throughout other mediums or should theme park attractions not worry about conforming to the movies and shows’ timeline? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.