Guardians of the Galaxy Ride
Back in March 2023, we were able to ride Guardians of the Galaxy for the very first time. It was quite the experience, and I will say, I do think this is one of the best roller coasters there (we have NOT rode Tron yet). However, my experience afterwards was not the best.
So let’s start out with how we were able to ride. We knew we would be at Epcot 4 out of the 5 days of our trip. But I really wanted us to ride Guardians the first day if possible. By doing this, we could decide if it was worth doing more during our trip, and I also knew we were not buying Genie+ the first day. So we had more flexibility.
We are familiar with snagging boarding groups as we have done this for Rise of the Resistance in the past. I had been tracking how quickly boarding groups and lightning lines were going for the 2-3 weeks prior, and they still had times available as the day went on. So I knew this wasn’t as urgent of a grab. I logged on and refreshed right at 7 am. I immediately got a boarding group. Group 82. Our boarding group was called around 1:15 or so. We had plans that evening to do Animal Kingdom, so I then purchased a lightning lane for Flight of Passage. A lightning lane for Flight of Passage was more important than one for Guardians since this would be our only time at Animal Kingdom. After that, I decided to check for lightning lanes for Guardians. I took a screenshot below of what was still available as of 7:03 am. Most of the morning times were gone, but still availability in the late afternoon and evening. That didn’t work for us, so we just stuck with our boarding group.
Our boarding group was called around 1:15 while we were eating lunch at Tutto Italia. We originally planned to exit out of the International Gateway and head to Animal Kingdom after lunch, but we hated to miss the opportunity to ride Guardians. So we went and got in line.
We arrived around 2:15. We had to wait 45 minutes before getting on the ride. We didn’t really plan on that long of a wait, so that was a bit disappointing. Had we known it would take so long, we might have skipped it. If you don’t want a wait, lightning lane is the way to go. The queue is pretty, but when it is your first time, it is hard to know how far away you are from the ride itself.
So the ride itself is great. But I did have my eyes closed for a lot of it, I think. Brad was telling me things about the ride I truly do not remember. I do advise pulling your hair out of your face if you want a decent picture. I mean you cannot even see Melody’s face.
I knew going into the ride it could cause motion sickness. But I talked with my doctor, and she prescribed me some patches to help. They did NOT help. I have never been so sick after a ride than I did after this one. I barely made it to a bathroom to throw up. I have NEVER thrown up after any single ride in my life. Now Brad LOVED the ride and was a bit disappointed no one would ride it again in the trip. I did think it was a really great ride. It is smooth and exhilarating, but the motion of the ride felt much like a spinning one. That spinning feeling I had is what made me sick. Melody said the ride was scary, but she would try it again. I would give it another try in the future, but I could not put myself through it again that trip. I had to skip all the rides at Animal Kingdom because I was still so nauseous.
