Guardians of the Galaxy souvenirs bring back 1980s
Souvenir options for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, the indoor roller coaster opening at Epcot this month, will have an ‘80s ring to them.
Designers leaned into the lead character of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films and handy Disney background story for inspiration.
“We know that Peter Quill visited Epcot in the ‘80s. We have that instant photo of him from the ‘80s in front of the Epcot ball,” said Elisa Melchiori, brand merchandising manager, during a media preview of the ride and Treasures of Xandar shop.
“With that storytelling, we knew that he still loves everything ‘80s from living in that time period. He’s also telling the Xandarians, ‘Hey, this is kind of the look and the lifestyle of Earth.’ … So we kind of took that and ran with it.”
Disney’s storyline for Cosmic Rewind is that the world of Xandar, a sort of sister planet on the other side of Andromeda, has opened a pavilion at Epcot to show off its culture and advanced technology.
The merchandise lineup includes current souvenir staples such as T-shirts, hats, pins, keychains, tumblers, plush, mugs, frames and backpacks. They tend to mix 1980s theme and the space element of the “Guardians” films.
“We worked really closely with our Imagineering partners to gather a lot of the artwork that was around us at Epcot in the ‘80s,” Melchiori said. “So that Spaceship Earth [T-shirt] is very reminiscent of a similar style design that was sold in the ‘80s here,”
In the Heroes of Xandar collection, the designs feature a multicolor look with rock concert poster vibe that echoes the feel of the film and the attraction, which has incorporated six pop songs of the era into the ride’s onboard soundtrack.
“All of the great neon and bright colors really bring that era to life,” Melchiori said.
Film characters’ looks inspired two collections.
“We kind of carry that through not only the role-play pieces, but also the ready-to-wear pieces” such as jackets, Melchiori said. The Honorary Guardian collection builds off storyline for the ride.
“As part of the attraction experience, you are designated as an honorary guardian,” she said. “So we created a whole line for the full family around honorary guardians with a unique badge that is designated just for honorary guardians. And we pulled in a lot of the elements from their costumes from Gamora to Peter Quill and will have that embossing detail and his jacket details on there all throughout that line.”
Guardians gear will be sold in the Treasures of Xandar shop near the ride exit and elsewhere at Walt Disney World. Expect more.
“We know what we want to open with, but then we’re always thinking like what is going to be kind of that next new look that we can extend the storytelling with,” Melchiori said.
The coaster is available to some Disney World annual passholders for previews now. Its grand opening date is May 27.
Email me at dbevil@orlando sentinel.com. Want more theme park news? Subscribe to the Theme Park Rangers newsletter at orlandosentinel.com/newsletters or the Theme Park Rangers podcast at orlandosentinel.com/ travel/attractions/theme-parkrangers-podcast