According to a permit filed with the county, Walt Disney Imagineering is contracting out the fabrication and installation of props for the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind attraction. The contractor listed is Icarus Exhibits.
The permit mirrors a permit filed in April 2020, just weeks after the Walt Disney World theme parks shut down for COVID-19. BlogMickey.com was the first to report a halting of construction around Walt Disney World property in March – a report later confirmed by Disney.
The original April 2020 permit expired in April 2021 – so it’s possible that the “new” permit is actually the same permit that has been filed again to allow Icarus Exhibits to perform their portion of the project that may have been delayed due to COVID-19 in Spring/Summer 2020.
As with any permit, there is an expiration date for the permit that covers the scope of work to be completed. What’s interesting about this “new” permit is that it has an August 10, 2023 expiration date. Is it possible that the work will take until Summer 2023 to be completed? Will Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind open in Summer 2023 at EPCOT? It’s unclear as of right now. Here’s why.
First, we try not to put too much weight on expiration dates within permits because they’re really more of a deadline than a timeframe. Essentially, the work can be done at any time before the expiration date, or a new permit would need to be created. Most permits have a blank expiration date, which defaults to a 1 year expiration date. Anytime that an expiration date is entered into a permit, that is a specific decision that could tip off how much work needs to be done.
As an example, we’ve seen a number of permits for the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser target a January expiration date, and, in fact, the hotel will be opening just a few months later. In this example, the expiration date and opening timeframe are similar.
In another example, we see that project permits for the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge project had a September 2019 expiration date. As it would turn out, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge would open in August 2019. In this instance, the work was completed well before the expiration date, but still in the same few month period.
With those examples as context, it’s possible that Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind won’t open until 2023 at EPCOT. We still believe that Cosmic Rewind will open in 2022 at EPCOT, perhaps in conjunction with the theme park’s 40th Anniversary in October 2022. Also, we believe that Disney would want to open the attraction sometime during the 18-month Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary, a timeframe that would be missed with a Summer 2023 opening.
It’s also possible, but unlikely, that the expiration date was a typo. The permit was filed on August 13, so it seems like an August 13 date in the future could be attributed to a typo. An August 10, 2023 date was specifically entered and indicative, we believe, of a conscious decision to target that date.
Disney has been relatively quiet about the project since it became clear that it wouldn’t be open in time for the start of Disney World’s 50th Anniversary – as originally promised. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and TRON Lightcycle Run were snubbed from a list of 2021 openings.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!