Soarin' Expansion and new Soarin' Around the World film

[danlb_2000]

Has anyone explained why it is so difficult to clean the projection apparatus and/or film to get rid of the dirt marks that show up on every ride?

I believe someone mentioned that Soarin in DCA has a clean room for it's projector, but to save money they did not this route in Epcot.

 

[juniorthomas]

I believe someone mentioned that Soarin in DCA has a clean room for it's projector, but to save money they did not this route in Epcot.

That's interesting. I understand cost savings are important, especially if you're close to or over budget, but I'm somewhat surprised that TDO was comfortable moving forward without the expectation of a different ride experience in Florida.

 

[JEANYLASER]

I hope to have Single rider in Soarin' for 2016!

 

[GrumpyFan]

I believe someone mentioned that Soarin in DCA has a clean room for it's projector, but to save money they did not this route in Epcot.

I think that was Jim Hill who said that. However, I've never heard or seen confirmation on it.
@RSoxNo1 can you confirm this? Or, have you heard it as well?

 

[CTXRover]

I believe someone mentioned that Soarin in DCA has a clean room for it's projector, but to save money they did not this route in Epcot.

Not sure if the clean room story is true or not, but Soarin in DCA this past May had just as many dirt spots and scratch marks as I've seen at Epcot's in recent past. In fact, I thought it was worse, so that can't be the only reason for the film's quality at times.

The semi-good news, at least for now, is that on my recent ride last week on Soarin' at Epcot, the film quality was quite good. I didn't see or notice any floating dust particles.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I think that was Jim Hill who said that. However, I've never heard or seen confirmation on it.
@RSoxNo1 can you confirm this? Or, have you heard it as well?

The clean room has been discussed on here before, but I don't remember the source. Perhaps @marni1971 or @Lee recall?

 

[msteel]

The semi-good news, at least for now, is that on my recent ride last week on Soarin' at Epcot, the film quality was quite good. I didn't see or notice any floating dust particles.

I rode Epcot's Soarin' multiple (5?) times across two different days in Jan 2014 and I noticed that one theater had a significantly cleaner image than the other.

 

[OliveMcFly]

When they say new film does that mean a clean film or different version?

 

[hokielutz]

When they say new film does that mean a clean film or different version?

Both, hopefully.

 

[OliveMcFly]

Could it possibly change to something other than CA?

 

[marni1971]

The clean room has been discussed on here before, but I don't remember the source. Perhaps @marni1971 or @Lee recall?

It was me.

As I understand it both parks have IMAX spec air cleaning for the projector and film surface but WDW does not have an airtight clean room spec for the actual booth.

 

[Mawg]

I've lived in California off and on for 25 years over the last five decades, and travelled to every corner of the state and every location covered in the Soarin' film. I have never been able to hang glide over Yosemite or the Golden Gate Bridge or San Diego Bay, so Soarin' Over California is a real thrill.

That said, it's just one E Ticket attraction in a park that has 30 other attractions including four other E Ticket thrill rides. DCA has more rides than Epcot, and more than Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios combined. The two Anaheim parks, Disneyland and DCA, have a wealth of riches when it comes to ride counts, especially the big E Tickets. Thus, you get lower wait times overall for most rides when compared directly to their cousins in WDW parks.

It's not that Soarin' Over California is less popular with audiences in Anaheim, it's that there's also a heck of a lot of other stuff to do in that park.

More Park Ride Capacity = Lower Wait Times

it seems most people are overlooking the fact that there are 6000 more people a day visiting Epcot than DCA and this does not really figure in the people that just hop to Epcot in the evenings for dinning. Thus a ride at Epcot should be built with more capacity than a ride at DCA. Also DCA does have a lot more rides than Epcot and more rides at Epcot would cut down on some ride wait times. But Epcot was not really built to be a place crammed with rides. It's beauty, appeal and charm are really attained from it's innovative atmosphere and not it's ride type attractions. I'm all for adding the third theater. To build the number of rides that DCA has in Epcot means to litter World Showcase with kiddy rides.

 

[ILOVEDISNEY]

Hopefully, the new theatre will have provisions for wheelchair bound guests and those having fear of heights.

 

[Brad Bishop]

so more or less will look like this when complete

I just assumed that they'd duplicate the entire building and you'd get 2 extra screens out of it.

 

[Travel Junkie]

it seems most people are overlooking the fact that there are 6000 more people a day visiting Epcot than DCA and this does not really figure in the people that just hop to Epcot in the evenings for dinning. Thus a ride at Epcot should be built with more capacity than a ride at DCA. Also DCA does have a lot more rides than Epcot and more rides at Epcot would cut down on some ride wait times. But Epcot was not really build to be a place crammed with rides. It's beauty, appeal and charm are really attained from it's innovative atmosphere and not it's ride type attractions. I'm all for adding the third theater. To build the number of rides that DCA has in Epcot means to litter World Showcase with kiddy rides.

It wouldn’t take them adding a bunch flat rides to Epcot to cut down Soarin’s wait times. Have a popular attraction in the Imagination pavilion and UOE along with re-opening the WOL pavilion with something that draws a crowd and you will see Soarin’s wait time go down. The problem is now there are so few attractions that draw people in. You have Soarin and TT with long wait times, occasionally SSE and Mission Space with moderate wait times and pretty much everything else is a walk on or under 15 minutes most of the time. Have more than 2 draws to the park and the crowds will spread out.

The comparison with DCA is that DCA has several draws that spread out the crowds, not just rides but popular rides. Epcot does not.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I think that the fact of the matter is that Soarin has large crowds because people like riding Soarin. Adding others or improving others will not stop the demand for Soarin. If there were large periods of time that Soarin was a walk on during the day, then I might agree, but, even with the lack of quantity of rides, Epcot is a full day+ park. There are plenty of other things to do. There are plenty of other rides and attractions. However, people choose to go to see Soarin, because that's what they want to see. Unless the specific demand drops, the only way to help the situation is to add to its capacity.

 

[Mike C]

I think that the fact of the matter is that Soarin has large crowds because people like riding Soarin. Adding others or improving others will not stop the demand for Soarin. If there were large periods of time that Soarin was a walk on during the day, then I might agree, but, even with the lack of quantity of rides, Epcot is a full day+ park. There are plenty of other things to do. There are plenty of other rides and attractions. However, people choose to go to see Soarin, because that's what they want to see. Unless the specific demand drops, the only way to help the situation is to add to its capacity.

IF that's the case then why is it much more dispersed at California Adventure, or why do wait times shoot up for other attractions, say if, Space Mountain were down. Less places for people to go, means longer waits, period.

 

[startraveler]

Hopefully, the new theatre will have provisions for wheelchair bound guests and those having fear of heights.

As a wheelchair user, Soarin is one of the few rides I can do. Plenty of room for a transfer. The problem is getting there. Push up a pretty steep hill. Roll down a pretty steep ramp. Roll around to a pretty small elevator and wait in line usually. I wish that they would make a separate entrance for Soarin right there at the "desk" near those bathrooms. I've used that exit before when the elevator was broken. Like a little parade of those on wheels being escorted out kinda to the side of Imagination.

 

[Figment2005]

IF that's the case then why is it much more dispersed at California Adventure, or why do wait times shoot up for other attractions, say if, Space Mountain were down. Less places for people to go, means longer waits, period.

Different demographic. I'm a local and can easily skip Soarin if the line is to long without feeling I missed something. However if a family from south america or Canada or anywhere else visits, they feel that Soarin cannot be missed. This would be the case even if there were a dozen E tickets in Epcot.

 

[doctornick]

IF that's the case then why is it much more dispersed at California Adventure, or why do wait times shoot up for other attractions, say if, Space Mountain were down. Less places for people to go, means longer waits, period.

1. Higher attendance at Epcot compared to DCA
2. Different demographics. DLR has a much higher percentage of frequent guests who don't go on every ride every time. WDW tends to have a greater percentage of one time or infrequent guests to try to hit every ride every time (especially the headliners). Most everyone who walks into the gates at Epcot seeks to ride Soarin' in a given day -- adding other great rides doesn't change that, it just meets that every person will want to ride Soarin', Test Track and whatever awesome Imagination or whatever ride is added.