Let's get one thing straight, Tower of Terror will always be better than Guardians of the Galaxy. The ride can not even compare itself to the Tower of Terror except in the way the actual ride works. I know the ride has been open for a long time now, but I haven't been able to actually ride it until the end of this summer. Now, I will make one thing clear. I am a hard core fan of the Tower of Terror. I loved its style and the way it felt. I loved stepping into the Twilight Zone like I was actually in one of the episodes. I was extremely sad, and a little disappointed at WDI, when I saw the Tower fade into the Twilight Zone forever. It was almost like losing a friend.
However, I was holding full judgement on the ride until I actually experienced it, and what an experience it was. I felt fully immersed in the universe of the Guardians of the Galaxy. I do have a few problems with the ride however, one being that I feel like I am watching most of my daring rescue mission rather than doing it, as well as watching more of the story behind the ride while I'm in line. I think some of the re-use of the building is kinda cheap and some of the themeing is a bit weak. That being said however, you can tell the imagineers had a ball designing this one. There is references upon references in this tower, weather its to the Tower of Terror or other MARVEL stories and movies. There is ceptors and tablets and books and shields, even the old yeti, harold, from the Matterhorn. Who ever thought they would see the day when the yeti from the Matterhorn was put in the Tower of Terror?
As I said, the theming is done extremely well. You can't really tell it was a 40's hotel to start with. It really fits the "old abandoned power plant museum prison" bill quite well. One major flaw with the tower is the fact that is was the Tower of Terror not too long ago, and 90% of people actually know that. However, only about 40% care that it was ever anything other than Guardians of the Galaxy. This ride is just the beginning of the MAREL expansion that may or may not consume Bug's Land.
But I digress. The ride is solid. The music they choose for the on ride experience is perfect, especially the "Burning Love" version with Elvis Presley. The ride system is now more random, like Walt Disney World's Tower of Terror, and the actual ride is a blast. The queue is very interesting and interactive, but I feel like it needs some fine tuning before it's complete. It is a well done ride to be sure. A solid 8/10, maybe even a 9. But it has one major flaw that out does all the others. It's not the Tower of Terror, but it's the shell of the Tower we loved, filled with junk and Starlord. And for that reason I think it's imperfect, it actually almost ruins it when you think about it too much. For what it is, it's pretty great, it is just no Tower of Terror. If the ride was built from scratch to be like it is now, I would love it. But it wasn't. It replaced one of the greatest imagineering masterpieces that was in Disneyland or California Adventure ever, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
This is where we have a problem. I am comparing this ride to its predecessor, the Tower of Terror. That's like comparing Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain. They are both great attractions. They are both themed fantastically. They are both loved by most everyone who rides them. But they aren't good for the same reasons. One is from outer space, the other from the old frontier. They are both excellent attractions, but for different reasons. The Tower of Terror was incredible, and the new ride is pretty close. They are both good, for different reasons. They are totally different stories and themes. They are the same ride system, but different dialogue.
So in short, the new ride is pretty good. I would recommend you ride it. Its themed amazingly, it's witty, and the details are incredible. However, I would more recommend you travel to the part of space and time that is the Twilight Zone, and ride the Tower of Terror if it were possible. Sadly it's not. This new attraction will do for now, and with time, it will become greater and loved by all. The new ride is really good, it's just no Tower, but its no slacker either.