Soarin over America...

[Goofyernmost]

Well, I still think it should be Soarin over Florida instead of California. It's a great experience, and we do love Soarin, but it needs a change.

I cannot imagine a more boring movie then Soarin over Florida would be. It would have four scenes...Swamp, highways, beaches and WDW. Florida is a place that is scenic from ground level only. I could, however, envision a cool segment where the glider is flying low over the everglades and alligators are jumping up trying to snap at your feet as you fly over. Yea, that would be good.

I do agree that it should have been updated at least at the end to include WDW instead of Disneyland, but honestly California does contain a lot of what you would see in random spots across the country. The only scenes, that I remember, that screamed California is the Golden Gate Bridge and DL. The rest could be anywhere. In a Soarin over the US film, it is possible, if you allow for liberal thinking, to feel that California might be represented as a part of the US. It's a stretch, but it would pass legal muster.

 

[rle4lunch]

Well, that escalated quickly. Back to the point of the thread, yes, there should be an update. Or at least SOMETHING different than the DL version at Epcot. When we visit Florida from San Diego, we never see the reason to go onto that ride; 1. RIDICULOUS wait time 2. SAME EXACT ride as DCA.

Dumb, cheap, phoned in way to run a ride. Hell, all the copied DL rides at WDW have their own iteration and uniqueness to them, why not Soarin'? Makes no sense.

 

[Genie of the Lamp]

While a Soarin over Florida would be cool and well approved of by Florida locals, I think Soarin if and when they decide to update it should be as many have suggested to be Soarin over the World. I like this because it fits well to the theme of EPCOT and would be cool going over lets just say the Eiffel tower. They could include elements representing the current countries in EPCOT but they could also go to different places like the Amazon. One of the main peeves of mine with Soarin is in order to fully experience this attraction, you need to get a front row seat which really brings out the greatness this attraction offers. So what I would suggest TDO does is one, upgrade the fricking projection screens and make them HD High Res quality on an LED Screen since Disney is now behind the "Go for Green bandwagon". Next I would make and turn the ride into a dare I say 3-D experience so that way if your in the second or third row you don't have those dangling cars up over you and can get the same full experience that way just like what you can in the first row of the current ride version. Finally, since this is one of WDW's most popular and visited rides, I agree with the notion/statement that WDI needs to construct another theater for this ride since this ride is in high demand and if they were to increase supply into this attraction by adding another theater, then at least (and I'm just eyeballing here using no math skills whatsoever here) wait times even in standby could drop by an average of at least 10-15 minutes on the readers. Fill free to correct or touch on my statement here anyone.

 

[Donald96]

I forget who, but someone on these boards told me that it should be all the world's greatest natural landmarks and I thought that sounded cool! They could use Mt. Everest, Grand Cayon, Angel Falls, Everglades, a beach somewhere not sure which one, Amazon Rainforest, Sahara, Hawii (volcano scene? Hopefully they wouldn't sneak Aluani in there ), Pine Forest in Canada, Fijord somewhere in Scandanvia, a Florida orange grove (they have to keep that smell somehow...), and it should end with Iluminations in Epcot. Then they could call it Soarin Over the Land?

 

[MarkTwain]

Well, that escalated quickly. Back to the point of the thread, yes, there should be an update. Or at least SOMETHING different than the DL version at Epcot. When we visit Florida from San Diego, we never see the reason to go onto that ride; 1. RIDICULOUS wait time 2. SAME EXACT ride as DCA.

Dumb, cheap, phoned in way to run a ride. Hell, all the copied DL rides at WDW have their own iteration and uniqueness to them, why not Soarin'? Makes no sense.

Used to. The attractions that were brought to WDW from Disneyland used to be unique takes on those attractions - Splash Mountain, Small World, Pirates, Peter Pan, the Jungle Cruise, etc. All the attractions of the past 10 years - including Mermaid, Midway Mania, and Soarin' - are all, queues/exterior land theming aside, direct duplicates of the originals in Anaheim.

Also interesting that all 3 of those attractions were designed and built to help make DCA a more unique and creatively individual park, and yet they all got cloned anyway. With Radiator Springs Racers on the horizon, WDW can't leave that poor park alone, can they?

 

[MarkTwain]

I forget who, but someone on these boards told me that it should be all the world's greatest natural landmarks and I thought that sounded cool! They could use Mt. Everest, Grand Cayon, Angel Falls, Everglades, a beach somewhere not sure which one, Amazon Rainforest, Sahara, Hawii (volcano scene? Hopefully they wouldn't sneak Aluani in there ), Pine Forest in Canada, Fijord somewhere in Scandanvia, a Florida orange grove (they have to keep that smell somehow...), and it should end with Iluminations in Epcot. Then they could call it Soarin Over the Land?

That was me! I'm flattered you remembered that.

Original post

Here's what I wrote:

I think it'd be more appropriate to redo the film to be exclusively about the natural wonders of the earth - the Grand Canyon, Utah's arches, Iguacu Falls, the Alps/the Himalayas, China's Guilin hills... etc. I don't think it's the Californian theme that feels "off" about Soarin', I feel it's more how it's theme of flight fits into a building called "The Land." If the film were centered entirely around scenery of natural landscapes and land features, then it could be titled something like "Soarin' over the Land" which would fit more nicely along Living with the Land and make more sense in the overall theme of the pavilion. But maybe that's just me.

 

[Donald96]

That was me! I'm flattered you remembered that.

Original post

Here's what I wrote:

​

Ha ha! I remembered someone saying that and I didn't want to take credit but really wanted to share it!

 

[MarkTwain]

Ha ha! I remembered someone saying that and I didn't want to take credit but really wanted to share it!

Doesn't bother me any. Maybe if it gets posted enough, someone at Disney will read it...

 

[alissafalco]

All of these suggestions would be really cool if executed correctly,
Florida, natural wonders, America, Europe etc. my only pet peeve it having to see people's feet dangling and that its not digital. It totally kills the ride for me when I see that. Couldn't they lift the seats just a little more so each row gets their own clear view of the screen? Also, the fuzzy picture needs to be digital ASAP!

 

[Figments Friend]

-
Somewhat related...for those interested...perhaps this is already old news...

Rode two days ago..and the film looks to be a new print.
Same old film, but a new print..at least it seemed to be.
It was a much better print then when i last rode Soarin' about a year ago. At that time there were flecks, dirt, spots, and hair particles all over the place on the screen as regular fans know about. It was quite distracting ...but this now seems to have been addressed.

Now it seems much better, at least the film was in better shape in the theatre i was in.
I was in the back row, so could not see the top of the screen ( the real test as to how new a print is..) but from what i did see it was a huge improvement.

 

[Goofyernmost]

-
Somewhat related...for those interested...perhaps this is already old news...

Rode two days ago..and the film looks to be a new print.
Same old film, but a new print..at least it seemed to be.
It was a much better print then when i last rode Soarin' about a year ago. At that time there were flecks, dirt, spots, and hair particles all over the place on the screen as regular fans know about. It was quite distracting ...but this now seems to have been addressed.

Now it seems much better, at least the film was in better shape in the theatre i was in.
I was in the back row, so could not see the top of the screen ( the real test as to how new a print is..) but from what i did see it was a huge improvement.

Well, that cannot be possible. We all know that Disney doesn't care about stuff like that and maintenance is completely in shambles. Must be your imagination or you might have cleaned your glasses before entering.

 

[Figments Friend]

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Heh heh....nah, i had clean glasses.
I rode Malestrom after Soarin, man !

 

[MarkTwain]

-
Somewhat related...for those interested...perhaps this is already old news...

Rode two days ago..and the film looks to be a new print.
Same old film, but a new print..at least it seemed to be.
It was a much better print then when i last rode Soarin' about a year ago. At that time there were flecks, dirt, spots, and hair particles all over the place on the screen as regular fans know about. It was quite distracting ...but this now seems to have been addressed.

Now it seems much better, at least the film was in better shape in the theatre i was in.
I was in the back row, so could not see the top of the screen ( the real test as to how new a print is..) but from what i did see it was a huge improvement.

I think it may vary heavily by theater. It seemed to me like Concourse B was always in better shape than Concourse A, but maybe that's just me.

 

[captainkidd]

Disney has no reason to change Soarin as long as it is constantly pulling 45-60 minute waits 365 days a year.

Which goes to show some people really could care less about quality. The film (at least in the theater we were in last week) is currently in such abysmal quality, it completely ruins the ride. If I were at the movies and the picture looked that bad, I'd leave and ask for my money back. Of course, that doesn't happen since the majority of theaters went all digital years ago.

 

[NoChesterHester]

Is the Soarin in Disneyland digital projection?

 

[Figments Friend]

I think it may vary heavily by theater. It seemed to me like Concourse B was always in better shape than Concourse A, but maybe that's just me.

-
Yes, that could very well be true.
I am sure that if the film(s) were indeed officially new prints i would have read about it here on WDWMagic. This site always has the insider edge...thanks to many posters in this very Forum who know what they are talking about. Seriously, i love you guys...you know who you are!

 

[Master Yoda]

Which goes to show some people really could care less about quality. The film (at least in the theater we were in last week) is currently in such abysmal quality, it completely ruins the ride. If I were at the movies and the picture looked that bad, I'd leave and ask for my money back. Of course, that doesn't happen since the majority of theaters went all digital years ago.

Soarin currently can't just go digital. A digital projector compatible with Soarin's film projector does not exist.

 

[captainkidd]

Soarin currently can't just go digital. A digital projector compatible with Soarin's film projector does not exist.

What's so special about it? IMAX digital projectors exist. Just change the type of the projector.

 

[Master Yoda]

What's so special about it? IMAX digital projectors exist. Just change the type of the projector.

It is not that simple as it is not an off the shelf IMAX projector. @marni1971 has gone into ita number of times. I am sure he will be along to explain the details better than I can.

 

[captainkidd]

It is not that simple as it is not an off the shelf IMAX projector. @marni1971 has gone into ita number of times. I am sure he will be along to explain the details better than I can.

I'm sure it's not "simple", but I mean, we're talking arguably the most popular attraction at WDW. From a technical standpoint, Spiderman at IoA is much more complex, yet the were able to digitize that. It's not simple, but it is. Disney is simply to cheap to do what needs to be done.