Difference between revisions of "Soarin' Around the World"

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Soarin (also known as Soarin' Over California) is an attraction located with The Land pavilion in Epcot.

Soarin' Around the World
Guests riding Soarin' over the Golden Gate Bridge.
Epcot
Land	Future World
Theme	Flight
Opening date	May 5, 2005
Ride duration	5:00 minutes
Type	Motion simulator
Fastpass Available	Yes

Attraction History

Construction in Disneyland

The concept of Soarin' began in 1996, when Disney Imagineers began work on a new Disneyland attraction. The attraction was a motion simulator type attraction known as Ultraflight. The idea of the attraction was to hoist vehicles over a large IMAX screen, giving them the sensataion that they were hang-gliding. Imagineers however, could not figure out a ride mechanism that would achieve this sensation. Originally, they wanted to use the "Dry cleaning idea", which would have consisted of "a series of little hang gliders on a conveyor belt system that went around". This ride mechanism as well as others, proved unsuccessful, and the attraction was eventually stalled. It was not until Imagineer Mark Sumner came up with a system that would allow guests to board at the same place, and then be raised forward into the screen, that the attraction became a reality. Sumner was working on the issue one weekend when the idea came to him, he then went upstairs to his attic and built a model using an erector set.

Although the ride vehicle issue was solved, it still took Imagineers two years of preparations and filming before the attraction was built. Disney filmed the video used in the ride from a helicopter using a 48 frames per second camera. The filming was difficult, due to some of the sensitive locations that are included in the film. In fact, Disney had to receive special permission from the state of California to film Yosemite National Park. The attraction opened in Disney's California Adventure as Soarin’ Over California, on February 8, 2001.

Construction in Walt Disney World

Due to the overwhelming success of Soarin' Over California, Disney executives decided to make a copy of the attraction in Walt Disney World. Although Soarin' was initially going to be located in World Showcase, Disney eventually decided to put the attraction in The Land pavilion. The decision was due to the fact that their was no real tie in for the attraction in World Showcase, and also Food Rocks which was located in The Land had seen a decrease in popularity. With the location determined, Disney began construction for the attraction on October 10, 2003.

Mark Sumner with his Soarin' ride model.

In order to fit Soarin' into The Land pavilion, a new show building was created. The old Food Rocks theater was walled, off to create a hallway through which guests could reach the show building. The show building was designed to blend in with the nearby Imagination! pavilion, so that it would not take away from the pavilion architecture. The addition of Soarin' added 58,895 sq feet to The Land, already the largest pavilion in Epcot. On January 3, 2004, Food Rocks closed, and later in the year programming and testing of Soarin' began. In January of 2005, the entire The Land pavilion closed in order to facilitate the addition of Soarin'. During this time, changes were also made to Living With the Land, the food court, and the color scheme of the pavilion. Finally on, May 5, 2005 Soarin' opened to the public.

Attraction Plot

Soarin' is a motion simulator attraction that allows guests to take a trip to California, on flight 5505 (a references to the attractions opening date). Cast members wear airline costumes to help set the theme of the attraction.

Queue

The queue for Soarin' was the first Disney queue to become interactive. While in line for Soarin' guests can play video games which include a bird racing game, and "Pop the Blob". Guests move through the queue after playing each game, making the movements less frequent but more drastic. When guests reach the loading area, they watch as safety spiel before being led to their terminal.

The Ride

The actual begins with guests boarding the ride vehicles and being lifted into the air. The vehicles then "travel" to various locations in California including:

• San Francisco- Here guests fly over the Golden Gate Bridge.

• The Redwood Creek-Where guests see various boaters and wildlife.

• The Napa Valley- Here guests see various Hot Air Balloons an

• The Monterey Coast- Where guests can feel the ocean breeze and see boaters. Guests can also smell the sea breeze here.

• Yosemite National Park- Here guests fly over a giant waterfall. Guests also see another hang glider here.

• Lake Tahoe- Here guests can see various skiers.

• Palm Springs- Here guests fly over the La Quinta golf course. Here guests can smell sagebrush.

• Camarillo- Here guests fly over orange groves, and can even smell the oranges.

• San Diego- Here guests fly over the USS Stennis aircraft carrier

• The Anza Borrego Dessert State Park- Here guests see the Thunderbirds fly over horseback riders. Here guests can smell sagebrush.

• Malibu- Here guests can see various surfers, surfing in the ocean. Guests can also smell the sea breeze here.

• Los Angeles- Lit up at night, where guests swoop over a freeway.

• Disneyland- Here guests see fireworks go off and Tinkerbell fly by.

After seeing Disneyland, guests land back on the ground and exit.

Attraction Score

The score for Soarin' was written by Jerry Goldsmith who was reportedly in tears after riding the attraction for the first time. Goldsmith's father was a pilot who loved California, and the composer was quoted as saying, "I'd do anything to be part of this project...I'd even score the film for free". The official Disney website states that Goldsmith was "Inspired by the optimistic spirit California".

See the Movie

To see the movie shown in Soarin', click play below:

Fun Facts and Trivia

• If you look closely on the golf ball in the Palm Springs scene, you can see a hidden mickey.

• Because Monterey is considered marine sanctuary, it took a year to obtain all of the necessary permits to film that scene.

References

http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneys-california-adventure/soarin/

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/epcot/epfw-soarin.htm

http://allears.net/tp/ep/e_soar.htm

http://www.wdwmagic.com/Attractions/Soarin/News/16Apr2005-The-making-of-Soarin-facts-and-info.htm