soarin' soft openings!

[Siege898]

SOME SPOILERS!

i made it to EPCOT to ride soarin' and got on to my surprise.we had escorts lead us back stage in through a side door. we walked through the actual entrance to the ride through the VERY LONG queue into the ride. the queue is extremely long and the building is huge, must have had alot of room. we entered the theater and we got front row -_-, the highest one. the seats are comforting and the video is great. the smells are great and the effects are perfect. however, having not been on the one in DCA, i thought it was short, and the ending was a little abrupt. i thought it was a little cheesy, because, it seemed like a slideshow of pictures and not like an actual ride like i had pictured. also, the voice told us to exit the wrong way, and we pointed it out to a cast member. however, regardless, i thought it was great and they do an excellent land of tying it in with the land pavilion.

 

[Narthex]

I went to Epcot on 3-18-05 and got to preview Soarin as well. You were lucky that you got to be on the top row becuase I was on the bottom row. While I thought the ride was pretty neat I think the experience would be better if you are on the top row because the illusion was partially ruined for me with people's feet hanging above you as well as being able to see past the bottom of the Imax screen. While there are warnings that are posted before you ride (like many of Disney's other thrill rides). Soarin has got to be one of the most gentle rides at Epcot. Very smooth and relaxing. Before you ride the ride (pre-show) they split the line into three small queues. Make sure you are in the far left one (I think it was numbered #1). That will put you on the highest seating bench. Yeah you were not kidding about how long the queue was...Has to be the longest in the entire park (excluding any weaving back and forth---like the Jungle Cruise). While I only had to wait about 10 minutes outside the side gate. Everyone just walks through the queue. Hardly anyone in the park notices the small line right next to Journey Into Imagination for the Soarin' preview. I was the only person I talked to that day that previewed it in the park.

 

[charliez]

How does one get to preview Soarin'?

While I only had to wait about 10 minutes outside the side gate. Everyone just walks through the queue. Hardly anyone in the park notices the small line right next to Journey Into Imagination for the Soarin' preview.

So - how does one get to preview it? Just walk back to the line? Is it running all day? I have heard conflicting reports -- one that it was only running aroung 3 PM, another that preview passes were being handed out at the main entrance ticket windows to every "Xth" person. I realize that it can all change w/o notice, but we're going a week from this Thursday so am looking for all the info I can get.

Rode the original at DCA in 2001 - can't wait to do it in EPCOT!

 

[Disney_Belle]

It sounds fun I will keep in mind to get into the top row when I go. I am glad to hear it is a smooth ride. That always helps. thanks for the updates :sohappy:

 

[MysteryJames]

Just so everybody knows, SOARIN' HAS NOT SOFT OPENED FOR GUESTS! It is still being previewed! Soarin WILL NOT Soft open for guests until the Land Pavillion opens again!

So if you manage to make it into a line for Soarin, know that its NOT a soft opening. You are in a testing group.

 

[MrNonacho]

Reminds me of M:S's early days:

CM to guests waiting outside construction wall: "You are waiting for the possibility that there will be a chance that we might do some very limited guest testing. There are no guarantees that we will open up today so I suggest you go do something else."

crowd thins a bit and a couple minutes pass

CM: "OK, everyone, come on in!"

 

[GymLeaderPhil]

Reminds me of M:S's early days:

CM to guests waiting outside construction wall: "You are waiting for the possibility that there will be a chance that we might do some very limited guest testing. There are no guarantees that we will open up today so I suggest you go do something else."

crowd thins a bit and a couple minutes pass

CM: "OK, everyone, come on in!"

Wow, you've got the spiel down. I'm impressed...

 

[Narthex]

As I posted before I went to Epcot this past Friday 3-18-05. I got to Epcot at around 2:00PM and I walked over to Journey Into Imagination where I saw a small queue of people with several CMs dressed in the new blue Soarin' uniforms. I just got in line like any line at Epcot so no special tickets or passes were needed....anyone could get in the line. They took large groups of people at a time (about 50 I would say) where you proceeded to go behind the temporary wood door where a CM gave some short instructions before going into the building. He said that we were testing the ride and that the ride was not going to officially open until early May. He warned us that we would here some fire alarm buzzers as we walked through the ride queue (yes there were a few tests) and that all photography and video was not allowed of any kind until the ride was offically opened. We walked into a side door of the building as another group was exiting (yes they all had big smiles on thier faces). The side entrance door took you right to the very front of the queue of Soarin (right where The Land (which was closed off)) and Soarin meet. So we were able to walk all along and see the entire queue of the ride. The queue was pretty nice.....a mock up of a airport terminal...sorta like Orlando International Airport. The queue was probably the longest I have seen at Epcot---Very similar to the Pirates queue line---i.e. no weaving back and forth. There were several high def television monitors as you walked through the queue that had a bunch of trivia questions on them. I did not get a chance to really get to look at em as our group was quickly moving towards the ride. There were several warning signs on the ride similiar to what is found of many of the other thrill rides at Disney--mostly involving the fact that the ride take you up in the air (50 feet for the first seating bench)---more like (20 feet for the third and bottom section). You come to a long hallway which on the right side feeds into three different sections that were behind fencing if I remember correctly. Our big group was split into these three sections. In each section there is a CM who does the usual "How many in your party" routine and places you again in one of three smaller single queue lines. **Tip** if it all possible try to get in the far left line if possible. More on this later... Patrick...Warsomething I cant remember his last name but you will recognize him...does a very funny pre-show. After the pre-show the doors opened up into this enormous room where CM's directed us to our seats. Think of an Imax theatre. I think there was a total of three or four sets of ride "benches" Each set had three seperate benches. Remember the people in the left line....they got to get in the front section. The front section is the one that gets to go the highest with no obstructions... The other two are directly below the prevous one--so you are not as high. I was not as lucky as I was in the far right line so I was in the lowest section. This meant I saw other guests feet above and in front of me...and the bottom of the screen. While the ride was great--this did diminish the effect for me. I wont go into any details about the ride since Im sure you want to experience it yourself. Yes this will be a Fast-Pass ride. I dont recall seeing any single rider lines for it though. Though I mentioned the ride had several "thrill-ride" type warning signs for Soarin', ignore em. This is got to be the most gentle, relaxing simulator ride I have ever been on. No drops, slight tilting, and no fast speed sections.