Cosmic Rewind Is Getting Holiday Songs Again — Here’s the Lineup

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is getting a holiday overlay again — and Disney learned something from the last attempt.

From November 25 through January 6, 2027, the attraction swaps its regular six-song soundtrack for a rotation of three seasonal tracks. The key difference from 2022: these are actual recorded songs by actual artists, not original arrangements written for the ride.

Quick Summary

• The holiday overlay runs November 25 through January 6, 2027
• The regular six-song lineup is replaced by three holiday tracks
• Tracks are shuffled randomly, so repeat riders can hear something different each time
• The songs: “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” (Andy Williams), “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24” (Trans-Siberian Orchestra), and “Christmas Wrapping” (The Waitresses)
• Disney tried a holiday overlay here in 2022, guests disliked it, and it was pulled for 2023
• The overlay runs alongside the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays (November 27 – December 30)

The Three Songs

Here is the full holiday lineup, shuffled randomly across rides:

• “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” — Andy Williams
• “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24” — Trans-Siberian Orchestra
• “Christmas Wrapping” — The Waitresses

Three is fewer than the regular six, which means less variety across a trip. But the random shuffle gives repeat riders a reason to get back in line, and with only three in rotation you have a decent chance of catching all of them in a single visit.

Why This Lineup Actually Works

Look at what these three songs have in common with the regular soundtrack: they are all commercially released records with strong hooks and recognizable production.

“Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24” is the standout pick. Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s arrangement is essentially a rock instrumental with an orchestra attached — heavy guitars, driving tempo, enormous dynamics. On a reverse-launch coaster that spins to face the action, that is close to ideal. It is the one track here that was practically built for a roller coaster.

“Christmas Wrapping” is the clever one. The Waitresses released it in 1981, which puts it squarely in the same era as the regular soundtrack’s Blondie, Tears for Fears, and A Flock of Seagulls. It is a new wave record that happens to be about Christmas, and it is the song on this list most likely to make a rider think “Star-Lord would own this on cassette.”

“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” is the odd one out. Andy Williams recorded it in 1963, and it is pure easy-listening orchestral pop. On a coaster that launches backwards, it will either read as a wonderfully deadpan joke or as a tonal mismatch. There is no middle outcome.

The 2022 Version Was a Mess

This is the context that makes the new lineup look like a deliberate correction.

When Cosmic Rewind debuted in 2022, Disney added a holiday overlay that replaced the signature soundtrack with an original music arrangement. That version reworked “Run Run Rudolph” into “Run Run Rocket” and wove in traditional songs including “Jingle Bells,” “Deck the Halls,” “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

No changes were made to the pre-show or the projections inside the ride — only the music.

Guest reaction was largely negative. Riders said they preferred the original songs and felt the holiday arrangements did not fit the experience. Disney pulled the overlay for the 2023 holiday season and ran the standard soundtrack that year.

What Changed, and Why It Matters

The 2022 approach and the 2026 approach are different in a way that explains the earlier failure.

Cosmic Rewind’s entire premise is that you are hearing a rotating set of classic tracks chosen by Star-Lord himself. The songs are not background music — they are a character detail. Replacing them with generic holiday arrangements broke that premise, and a rework of “Run Run Rudolph” into “Run Run Rocket” is exactly the kind of theme-park-original medley that signals “this is a seasonal substitute” rather than “this is a song Star-Lord loves.”

Swapping in three real records keeps the conceit intact. Star-Lord having a Trans-Siberian Orchestra track and a Waitresses single on his mixtape is entirely believable. Star-Lord having a Disney-commissioned Rudolph medley is not.

Whether guests buy it is another question, but the diagnosis looks correct.

The Regular Soundtrack, for Reference

Outside the holiday season, the rotating lineup is:

• “September” — Earth, Wind & Fire
• “Disco Inferno” — The Trammps
• “Conga” — Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine
• “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” — Tears for Fears
• “I Ran (So Far Away)” — A Flock of Seagulls
• “One Way or Another” — Blondie

If one of those is your favorite and the reason you ride, note that it is gone for six weeks. “September” in particular has a lot of defenders.

Dates and Planning Notes

• Overlay: November 25 – January 6, 2027
• EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays: November 27 – December 30

The overlay starts two days before the festival and runs a week past it. That tail end — December 31 through January 6 — is the stretch to target if you want the holiday version without festival-level crowds in World Showcase.

Worth noting the overlay is music only, as far as Disney has said. No announced changes to the pre-show or the in-ride projections, same as 2022.

Cosmic Rewind sits in the World Discovery neighborhood at EPCOT, inside the Wonders of Xandar pavilion.

Also on the holiday overlay list this year: <a href=”https://dismornings.com/?p=22984″>Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is getting a Muppets holiday treatment</a> from November 4 through January 6.

The Bottom Line

Three real holiday records instead of a commissioned medley, shuffled randomly, running November 25 through January 6.

The 2022 overlay failed because it broke the premise. This one tries to work inside it. Trans-Siberian Orchestra on a reverse-launch coaster is a genuinely good idea — Andy Williams is the gamble.

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