Disney World Updates & Fixes Soarin’ at EPCOT!
Walt Disney World has refreshed and fixed scenes in Soarin’ Around the World with new finale footage reflecting the reimagined EPCOT and fixing distortion in another scene. This post offers details about the changes along with our commentary.
Let’s start at the end, with a new finale to one of EPCOT’s most popular attractions. Soarin’ Around the World now culminates in a flyover of World Celebration, complete with working in-ground lighting, replacing the former Future World finale that has been obsolete since late 2019.
The new grand finale gives guests a sweeping aerial view of the front of EPCOT, beginning with the outer ring of the monorail loop, and heading back towards the front of the park. The flyover passes CommuniCore Hall, World Celebration Gardens, Moana’s Journey of Water, Spaceship Earth with the Beacons of Magic, and fireworks overhead shooting off from the parking lot.
In addition to the finale, the infamous leaning Eiffel Tower is now a bit less bent. While distortion abounds in Soarin’ Around the World because of the decision to feature so much architecture and swooping scenes that get up close to landmarks, the Eiffel Tower was a punchline among fans. Guests who sat on the sides of the theater previously saw a ‘hooking’ tower.
This has been fixed, or rather, minimized, thanks to new footage of the Eiffel Tower that never brings guests quite as close to the Parisian landmark. It’s still likely that there’s distortion from off angles, but it shouldn’t be nearly as noticeable as before. The tradeoff is that the Eiffel Tower remains more in the distance, so the flyover is less intimate. To each their own, but it’s a compromise I’ll happily take. This looked embarrassingly bad from anywhere but dead center before.
At least, I assume it’s a compromise I’ll take based on the videos all over social media. We’ve yet to see the Soarin’ updates in person, but if those are representative of the in-person experience, it looks like Imagineering has incrementally improved the attraction.
Our Commentary
I have to admit that I’m surprised and impressed by these updates. Around this time last year when Soarin’ Over California returned for a limited engagement, there was speculation that Soarin’ Around the World wouldn’t return until a new finale had been filmed.
Frankly, I laughed. We didn’t even cover it here because I dismissed the possibility of Soarin’ updates out of hand as wishful thinking by fans. If someone would’ve tried to bet me on the film getting a new finale within the next year, they could’ve made themselves a lot of money! (Well, save for the fact that I don’t gamble. Minor detail.)
That was my reaction because we’ve been around the block with this kind of update—or lack thereof—before, and they generally just do not happen. Once the original budget is spent, it’s exceedingly difficult for Imagineering to get funding for little plussings. These are things that should happen in the interest of show quality and the guest experience, but usually don’t because they don’t meaningfully move the needle on any measurable metrics.
Soarin’ is a good example of this. The original was cloned from DCA and Walt Disney World didn’t even bother to spend the money to film a new finale. The argument could be made that it was Soarin’ Over California, so a different ending wouldn’t have made sense. (Similar story with the cloning of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, right down to the French.)
The difference here is that Walt Disney World purposefully dropped ‘Over California’ from the name. I’m guessing the vast majority of guests never realized it was all locations in the Golden State, as most of the locales were fairly nondescript. It just felt like a wide variety of United States environments—and nowhere has the range of California.
Then there’s Soarin’ Around the World. For those who are unfamiliar with the background on this attraction, it was created for the opening of Shanghai Disneyland, where it’s a tentpole attraction. I’m reasonably confident that the second incarnation of the attraction wouldn’t exist in the U.S. parks but for Shanghai Disneyland footing the bill.
Personally, what I’d really like to see is an entirely new film. Now that Soarin(g) has made its way to Tokyo Disney Resort, my suspicion is that it’s only a matter of time before OLC foots the bill for another new version. Of course, it could remain exclusive to Tokyo DisneySea for ~5 years, but that’s still probably the only way Walt Disney World gets a new Soarin’ film within the next decade. Understandably so, as EPCOT has bigger fish to fry.
Although I don’t dislike Soarin’ Around the World as much as some of its detractors, the CGI, cheesy animals, and distortion has worn on me over time. Even though it’s not even a decade old, I think Soarin’ Around the World has aged worse than the much older, but also more natural Soarin’ Over California. The latter benefits from its footage being real, whereas the extensive CGI of the new version has dated itself much sooner.
There’s a lot of CGI in Soarin’ Around the World, and it mostly isn’t too distracting. Unfortunately, there are also several places where it or the distortion is a problem. Save for one glaring exception that I doubt was even filmed on location at all, this isn’t entire scenes. It is due to the addition of little details to the scene, such as people, boats, balloons, or–mostly–animals. The CGI animals don’t necessarily look fake. They don’t have that early 2000s Scorpion King kinda cheesiness, but you do get the feeling that someone at WDI learned CGI and got a little carried away.
Distortion is also a problem in several scenes aside from the now-fixed Eiffel Tower segment. There’s a reason distortion isn’t as pronounced in the original Soarin–because instead of architecture and linear elements, the attraction primarily features geography that can mask distortion better. It also tended to keep the framing wider to avoid curvature issues with off-center seats.
Ultimately, I’m pleased to see Imagineering get the chance to fix and update Soarin’ Around the World. I’m also somewhat surprised Walt Disney World even gave them the opportunity. This really doesn’t strike me as the kind of thing that normally happens at the Florida parks, so kudos where it’s due–this is precisely the type of plussing that should be occurring on a regular basis. Even if I’d far prefer this version of Soarin’ to be replaced, I’m happy to see steps in the right direction.
Beyond an all-new film, I wouldn’t mind seeing Soarin’ Over California return to EPCOT again. The attraction itself is largely unchanged and still looks modern. The film was updated to a digital projection shortly before being retired, and it still looks crisp and clean. The scents, including a new one, are as delightful as ever. The original Soarin’ is one film that stands the test of time, just like Impressions de France, which is still shown in EPCOT over 40 years later.
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Your Thoughts
Are you excited for these new scenes in Soarin’ Around the World at EPCOT? Pleased to see Imagineering have the chance to enhance existing attractions? Would you prefer to see Soarin’ Over California or Soarin’ Around the World…or both? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I wouldn’t mind a return to Over California if only for the restoration of the original, unaltered Jerry Goldsmith score. TNG and VOY themes, Mulan, The Mummy – the man does not miss!
We love Impressions de France, especially for the music, but I do wish they would change the price stickers in the market scene from French francs to Euros. They switched to euros in 1999!
Actually, the Euro came in 2002. But I can see your point. When seeing the clothes and cars in the film, one can figure out that it is a bit older. Although the image and sound quality is exceptional!
I saw the update Soarin’ around the World recently. Didn’t notice that the Epcot shown in front of Spaceship Earth had changed–it’s a nighttime scene and things are pretty dark, after all.
Also, the new Paris/Eiffel Tower scene is at night. I could’ve sworn it was a daytime scene before? But maybe I’m misremembering things.
Soarin’ around the World is a very Epcot-y attraction even though it wasn’t around back in the classic days of World of Motion and Horizons. My DCR (Disney Crying Reflex) was kicking in this latest time & I got the sniffles during the ride, thinking of the beauty of the world and the wonderfulness of my favorite place on Earth other than my room, that is, Epcot.
I heard they replaced Soarin’ Over California in Disney’s California Adventure with Soarin’ around the World. This doesn’t make sense given the original California-celebration theme of the park. But it sounds like it’s grown to be less of a celebration of the state than another IP park for attractions that don’t fit into Disneyland, with things like San Fransokyo and a Marvel land. I thought a lot of Marvel stories like Spider-Man took place in NYC anyway. So how is celebrating the MCU celebrating California? I think they should keep playing Soarin’ over California at DCA, and Soarin’ over the World at Epcot.
We did Soarin’ for the first time ever on our most recent trip Disneyland Resort trip. I’ll admit I was blown away. However we also lucked out and got front row dead center so we had the best and least distorted view possible. I’m thrilled they made this fix and hope they bring it to the DCA version, although that feels less likely. Unless they do an update for the changes to the Esplanade at Disneyland resort.
I think “blown away” is the more likely guest reaction, not the nitpicking from fans like me.
Last I knew, Soarin had the highest guest satisfaction score at EPCOT. This was pre-Cosmic Rewind, and I’m betting that surpassed it, but still. Guests love it. There’s a reason it routinely gets a round of applause at the end!
i’d personally love for them to take a page from star tours and randomize which movie you see, california or around the world.
The new Eiffel tower scene is much better, its no longer suffering from peyronie’s disease.
They could go one step further and give it the star-tours treatment so you get a random sampling of places. Each ride would be different.
You could have fun and have a segment for each state in the US, and so get a handful of them each ride.
When did the map disappear from the film, it was like the flight sequences in indiana jones?
“..complete with working in-ground lighting…”
It hurts.
Maybe I’m just a curmudgeon, but I thought that lighting package (as a whole) was rather underwhelming even when it worked, especially after hearing all the fan hype.
It felt very much like people grasping at straws trying to find the one good thing about World Celebration Gardens, which were/are just a massive letdown as a whole. Sure, it’s a silver lining as compared to the rest…but is (was) the lighting really any better than what was there in 2019?
Beacons of Magic on Spaceship Earth, on the other hand, remain fantastic. If fans want to point to anything as a ‘job well done’ from this whole project, it’s everything from Spaceship Earth to the front turnstiles. (Ironically, the simplest phase that was completed years before the rest!)
Totally fair, Tom. And if I’m being honest, I’ve only seen video/pictures. The one time I’ve been to EPCOT since the walls came down, my kids didn’t last until sunset so I haven’t seen it in person. Still, the enthusiasm for the lighting package from the online community has had me feeling optimistic about it. But somehow, it all reaching malfunction mode in a matter of months feels totally appropriate.
Fixing the Eifel tower is nice but I’m going to miss seeing Future World. Maybe they changed it so that it wasn’t as obvious that what is there now is just…less.
I mean, if I’m being honest, I also will miss seeing the former Future World. But it’s nevertheless an update I think they *should* have made for the sake of continuity.
Is this the best thing to come out the Great EPCOT Dirt Pit????
I have to believe that getting the end to match the current park is what prompted this, and someone in Imagineering managed to sweet talk them into some extra funding to fix the Eiffel Tower.
The dirt pit, at one time, also included what’s now Moana’s Journey of Water. To each their own, but I think that’s an excellent addition. Very much in the spirit of EPCOT Center.
As for the ‘core’ of the pit…yeah, I guess this might be the best thing? The new Walt statue has grown on me, I just wish it were attached to a project worthy of his name.
I love this! The curved Eiffel Tower was one of those things that was a step too far for me in terms of bad show. It got to the point where I would routinely skip the ride because of that scene and I’m so happy to hear that it’s fixed. There are still many issues with Around the World (like the music being a giant step down form the original Over California music, which isn’t talked about enough) and I agree the original film is much better but as you say Tom…it’s a step in the right direction.
I would go with “improves” instead of “fixes” in the title here, because as you say there is still a lot wrong with Soarin’ (namely the CGI). But since we can’t have the original movie back, I’ll be happy with incremental improvement.
Fun! Looking forward to checking it out this summer at WDW. I may have missed this, but did the change make it over to DCA too? In which case, I will se it sooner! Happily surprised the update was made but still prefer the OG Soarin’ Over California any day.
I can’t count how many times my extended family has been on Soarin’ at EPCOT, and yet I’m the only one who noticed that it was CGI. Personally, the CGI never bothered me used in conjunction with the mechanical aspects of the ride.
One would think that the cost of upgrading the graphics wouldn’t be too expensive and they’d have many more versions than just two. Like Star Tours, the ride has good bones and changing up the graphics would be a cheap way of keeping the park fresh.
This is one of those instances where I go full Goldblum in Jurassic Park– re: CGI in Soarin’….. Your Imagineers were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.
Honestly the perfect use of that quote.
I still can’t help but wonder whether WDI just got carried away, or whether market research (or whatever) showed this is what the Shanghai Disneyland audience wanted. Neither would surprise me.