My personal opinion here too - I have done TSM 3 or 4 times now, and I have to agree that I don't see why anyone would wait that long for it, but to each his own. I do think though that there are probably a couple of reasons why people do:
Spend 7K and go someplace else. The seashore, the mountains, a cruise... the list is endless.
It's simple really, I don't line up for parades or fireworks. I have always been able to find a place, maybe three rows back for parades in places where most don't want to go too. Don't know why, they are perfectly good spots, just not popular. Fireworks? Just stand anywhere and look up. Shows more of a matter of timing. Not intentional but I always seem to go to them when the crowds are light. Fantasmic, I've been to it once and liked it but not enough to do it again. I spent about 30 minutes in line and then sat on those rock hard benches for another 45 minutes. Glad I saw it once, but, I find no need to ever do it again. And, foremost, you are absolutely correct. I only go during off season. You couldn't force me at gunpoint to be there in the summer. Yes, my children are all grown up, but even when they weren't we went during the extended break for mid-winter. (end of February, early March). The weather has always been great and the crowds are quite manageable. However, that still follows suit. Nothing in my mind, is worth waiting for, that is why I go during off-season.
I have been finding airfare to LAX that is only slightly more than to Orlando, so I've spent most of the last two years taking trips to DLR rather than WDW. If I recall, they started transitioning in February...still accepting FPs past their time, but giving warnings that they aren't accepted late (they had signs above the FP distribution machines). When I went in June, it had completely transitioned to no late FPs...though I think they implemented it earlier than that (I can't remember).Sorry, looks like I was behind. It was rumored numerous times since WDW did it and didn't come to be.. but looks like this spring they finally 'took the plunge'. And look.. the world didn't implode! Maybe that should be a sign for people that think 'this will never work at DLR!' - they said the same thing about return times
Epcot has a capacity and demand issue, but a third Soarin' theater isn't the ideal answer. New D and E-tickets that they should have been building all this time is.
I wouldn't exactly say overrated nor would, judging by the lines, I say that the majority feel that way. Overrated in your personal opinion, OK, but it is fun, breezy and different then other rides at WDW. A third theater is needed even if they added new attractions. It is a very popular, must see, ride for many, many people, yourself excluded.
Two theaters are more than enough in a park with other high demand things to do, you need look no further than DCA
In DCA it was dead from the beginning. Why stand in line to see something that can be seen driving down the road. It would be like standing in line to see pictures of the inside of your house. In Florida, it is a novelty and the only thing really keeping Epcot alive right now.
If Soarin' had been part of the EPCOT Center lineup from '83 - '98 it would have had similar lines as DCA. Compared to the roster of high quality attractions it would have been a filler attraction similar to the other 'film-based' attractions like circle-vison. I still find it hard to believe people wait 90+ minutes for it. Then again - I also find it hard to believe what a mess the current state of EPCOT's attraction lineup is.
Its a fine ride, but I meant that the consistently ridiculous lines in no way correlate to it's quality. At DCA, where there are many big draw attractions, Soarin' is almost an afterthought. I would love to see the rumored HD upgrades or the rumored "around the world" film replace the California film. A third theater would help lines, but I can't think of a logical way to add it to the existing building, and that would only be a band-aid fix on Epcot's crowd demand issue.
