There are six songs on the Guardians of the Galaxy ride at EPCOT, and you won’t know which one you’re getting until Cosmic Rewind launches. The current playlist includes Earth, Wind & Fire, Blondie, Tears for Fears, Gloria Estefan, A Flock of Seagulls and The Trammps.
I’ve ridden Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind multiple times, and the soundtrack is one of the reasons I keep wanting to do it again. I’ve personally gotten “Disco Inferno” and “One Way or Another,” and even though the coaster itself doesn’t change, those two rides felt surprisingly different.
The 6 Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Songs
- “September” – Earth, Wind & Fire
- “Disco Inferno” – The Trammps
- “Conga” – Gloria Estefan
- “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” – Tears for Fears
- “I Ran (So Far Away)” – A Flock of Seagulls
- “One Way or Another” – Blondie
That’s the complete regular Cosmic Rewind ride playlist.
Disney Imagineers originally considered more than 100 songs for the attraction. They repeatedly rode the coaster while testing different tracks before narrowing the onboard soundtrack down to these six.
The selection is random, so riding again is the only way to give yourself another chance at a different song.
Here’s a Spotify playlist with all six Cosmic Rewind songs if you want to hear them before your trip.
Why the Song Changes the Ride So Much
Cosmic Rewind is unusual because the music doesn’t feel like something Disney added on top of a roller coaster afterward.
The ride vehicles rotate as they travel through the coaster, directing you toward different parts of the story while music is playing through the onboard audio system. Add the reverse launch, darkness and huge show scenes, and the song ends up affecting how I perceive the movement.
“Disco Inferno” made my ride feel much more like a party. “One Way or Another” gave it a completely different energy.
That’s what makes chasing another song tempting. You’re not getting a different track layout, but the soundtrack changes the personality of the exact same ride.
September
“September” by Earth, Wind & Fire is probably the Cosmic Rewind song I hear people hoping for most often.
It’s an obvious match for the attraction: upbeat, immediately recognizable and almost impossible not to associate with dancing. On a coaster where the ride vehicles are already rotating through space, that kind of rhythm makes sense.
Everybody Wants to Rule the World
This is the interesting outlier in the playlist for me.
“Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears isn’t as frantic as something like “Conga” or “Disco Inferno.” The slower, sweeping sound can make Cosmic Rewind feel more like you’re floating through the huge space scenes rather than racing through them.
It’s a good example of why I don’t think there needs to be one objectively “best” Cosmic Rewind song. A track can change what you notice about the ride.
Conga
“Conga” brings the opposite energy.
The Gloria Estefan track is fast and percussion-heavy, which suits the constant movement of the ride vehicle especially well. If you want Cosmic Rewind to feel like a three-minute dance party disguised as a roller coaster, this is one of the songs that can do it.
Disco Inferno
This was one of the songs I’ve actually gotten, and it worked better than I expected.
“Disco Inferno” has exactly the kind of steady disco rhythm that fits a ride vehicle rotating through the coaster rather than simply pointing straight down the track.
It made the whole experience feel less like a traditional roller coaster and more like the ride was moving with the music.
I Ran (So Far Away)
If I were choosing songs based purely on the setting, “I Ran (So Far Away)” might be the most naturally suited to Cosmic Rewind.
The A Flock of Seagulls track already has that unmistakably spacey early-’80s sound, and putting it over an intergalactic chase involving the Guardians doesn’t require much explanation.
One Way or Another
“One Way or Another” was the other track I’ve gotten.
Blondie’s faster, punchier sound gives the ride more of a chase feeling than “Disco Inferno” did for me. That’s what really convinced me that the soundtrack isn’t a minor detail on Cosmic Rewind.
Same coaster. Very different mood.
Can You Choose Your Cosmic Rewind Song?
No. The song is selected for your ride, and you don’t know which of the six tracks you’ll hear until the attraction gets underway.
I wouldn’t plan around getting a specific song or assume a Cast Member can guarantee one for you.
That’s also part of what makes repeat rides fun. Getting another song is essentially luck.
How Many Songs Are on Cosmic Rewind?
There are six songs in the regular Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind ride rotation.
More than 100 tracks were considered during development, but Disney ultimately selected the six-song playlist used on the coaster.
That means you’d need at least six rides to hear all six, and even then there’s no guarantee. Since the selection is random, you can easily get the same song more than once.
The Ride No Longer Uses the Old Virtual Queue System
If you’re reading an older Cosmic Rewind guide while trying to collect different songs, be careful with the ride instructions.
Cosmic Rewind now has a regular standby queue. Disney introduced standby access in February 2025, replacing the old everyday virtual-queue system.
Disney also currently offers Lightning Lane Single Pass for Cosmic Rewind. It is not one of EPCOT’s Lightning Lane Multi Pass attractions.
I wouldn’t go much deeper into ride strategy on this page because I have a separate guide explaining how to ride Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT.
Why I’d Ride Again for Another Song
I normally don’t re-ride an attraction just because one small part might change.
Cosmic Rewind is different because the music lasts through the part of the experience you’re going to remember most. It affects the launch, the movement and the feeling of racing through those enormous indoor scenes.
I’ve only gotten part of the six-song rotation myself, which gives me a reason to keep going back.
And if I finally hear “September” or “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” next time, I’ll probably immediately start wondering what the other one feels like.
