Soarin' is a multi-sensory attraction for big kids, teens and adults in Epcot theme park that simulates a peaceful hang-gliding flight over the Golden State of California.
Fasten your seat belt on the multi-passenger glider and be lifted 40 feet into the air. Swoop up and soar towards the clouds and spectacular California panoramas. An IMAX projection dome wraps 180 degrees around you, so you're engulfed by the impressive scenery. Feel the wind in your hair. The air fills with the scent of orange groves, evergreens and the sea breeze. Your feet dangle free. Dip down so close to the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean, you think your toes will get wet. Then return to the sky and continue on Soarin' to a fantastic finale where fireworks burst into sensational colors around you.
The attraction, which lasts about four minutes and 51 seconds, takes 87 guests at a time on a simulated hang glider tour of California, flying over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Redwood Creek in Humboldt County, Napa Valley, Monterey, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park (including Yosemite Falls and Half Dome), the PGA West golf course in La Quinta (credited in the queue video presentation as Palm Springs), Camarillo, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, San Diego, Malibu, Los Angeles, and Disneyland itself during the Christmas season. The last few scenes transition from daytime to dusk and then to night, culminating in Disneyland's Holiday fireworks surrounding the riders in the nighttime sky. In addition to the state's various landscapes, the ride also highlights its diverse recreation, including snow skiing, river rafting, kayaking, golf, horseback riding, hot air ballooning and of course, hang gliding. The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) at San Diego's Naval Air Station North Island are also featured. An original score by film composer Jerry Goldsmith accompanies the imagery, and appropriate scents (citrus, pine, sagebrush, ocean mist) fill the air as the ride vehicles themselves move gently to simulate the sensations of flight.
Touring Tips
- Soarin' is a FASTPASS attraction! Be sure to get one as the lines and wait times for this attraction tend to be very long! The good news is the entire queue is located indoors.
- Soarin' is infamous for its lengthy standby wait times. Disney has introduced new technology to make the wait in the standby line enjoyable. There are large overhead screens with interactive 'video games'. Similar to the Nintendo Wii, the players physical movements dictate the direction of the game. One game has guests directing a bird through a forest. You'll hear "lean left, lean right" as everyone tries to help. At times the group becomes so engrossed that they don't realize the line has moved.
- Folks with motion issues take caution. Although it is a gentle ride, you will be lifted off the ground and there is movement of the seating. In addition, you are right in front of a huge IMax movie screen.
Facts
- Opened on May 5, 2005.
- Both versions of the ride use the same orchestral score by composer Jerry Goldsmith, who is said to have come down from his first ride in tears. In addition to finding the ride visually beautiful and magical, he said that his father was a pilot who loved all things Californian. Inspirational music from a variety of films, many of them war- or flight-themed, is played outside the ride building at the California Adventure version and in the queue hallways in both versions.
- Each ride vehicle within consists of three rows of seats under a wing-like canopy. After guests have been safely restrained in the vehicle using standard lap belts, the canopy descends slightly and a cantilever system lifts the chairs forward and into the air with the guests' feet dangling freely. The vehicle is lifted forward so that guests look into a large, concave movie screen onto which aerial views of California are projected. The scenes were shot with an IMAX HD frame rate - 48 frames per second, twice the conventional output for regular films. Since the vehicle is moved forward toward the center of the dome, guests can only see the images projected on the screen and experience the sensation of flight. The ride structure contains about one million pounds of steel, and 37 tons are lifted during each ride cycle.
- To enhance the illusion of flight, subtle vertical movements of the seats are synchronized to the film. According to cast members who operate this attraction, the carriages do not move horizontally. Sensations of horizontal motion are created using a combination of vertical carriage movement and then turning image on the screen. In addition, scents complementing the various scenes are injected into the air streams blowing on riders. In the Ventura orange field scene, for example, guests are treated to the scent of orange blossoms. The mountain scenes are accompanied by the aroma of evergreens. The Monterey and Malibu scenes have the scent of a sea breeze.
History
Soarin' officially opened inside The Land pavilion on May 5, 2005. Its cast members wear costumes that resemble flight attendant costumes, whereas the Disney California Adventure Park version uses airfield crew costumes. The idea is that guests are taking flights to California, rather than already being there. This is further reinforced in the theming that you are loaded into "gates" and with airport-themed spiels which include that you are aboard "Flight 5505" which is a homage to the opening day of the attraction.
The Epcot standby queue originally featured pictures of natural wonders from around the world, not just California. There was (and still is) very little reference to the fact that the ride only features California. The queue currently utilizes a new infrared technology that allows guests to participate in interactive games. In 2009, this interactive game technology appeared in the Magic Kingdom as part of a seven month overhaul of Space Mountain.
Hidden Mickey
- There is a Mickey Mouse Ears hat in the preshow.
- During the preshow video there is a little aviator that they use as an example. If you look at his shirt and shorts you will surely be able to identify the two hidden characters on our little friends clothing. Grumpy is looking rather himself across the little fellows chest and our old pal Mickey seems at home on the small child's shorts.
- During the Soarin' Over California attraction your hang-glider flys over a golf course, a golf ball flys past the screen to the right that has a black Mickey shadow on it.