Soarin’ Across America Opens Early at EPCOT!

Ahead of its official opening on May 26, 2026, Soarin’ Across America has soft opened at EPCOT. Here’s the latest info, what to expect from the technical rehearsals, and what you need to know if you’re visiting Walt Disney World for Memorial Day weekend and beyond!

As a quick refresher, Soarin’ Across America is an all-new airborne adventure for America250. The new bi-coastal attraction showcases the United States from sea to shining sea, highlighting some of the country’s natural beauty, including the Grand Canyon and Denali, along with iconic cityscapes like New York City, Washington DC, and Los Angeles.

Soarin’ Across America is the marquee addition during “Disney Celebrates America,” which continues through the July 4th weekend in Summer 2026. While more is expected, the other big thing Walt Disney World has announced is the Bonus Nights of Independence Day 2026 Fireworks at Magic Kingdom & EPCOT!

Although the soft openings are a surprise in the sense that they’re happening ahead of the official opening of Soarin’ Across America on May 26, 2026…they were very much expected.

Soarin’s soft opening follows Annual Passholder previews on May 19 and 20, and DVC member previews that wrapped up yesterday. I was honestly slightly surprised that Soarin’ Across America didn’t soft open last night (although technical difficulties that grounded flights in the afternoon might’ve nixed those plans), as I looped it several times towards closing and it was a walk-on.

Either way, the conclusion of the preview period left a window that clearly existed for soft openings of Soarin’ Across America. There was also the fact that Walt Disney World originally announced that Soarin’ Across America would open “by” Memorial Day 2026 at Walt Disney World. In consulting a calendar, that would mean on or before May 25, 2026. Not one day later.

It’s usually the case that new attractions opening for Memorial Day debut on the Thursday or Friday beforehand, which is why we assumed the “by Memorial Day” verbiage was used in an earlier announcement about Soarin’ Across America.

Accordingly, we’ve predicted in several posts over the last few months that Soarin’ Across America actually would debut on or around May 22, 2026 as a ‘surprise and delight’ treat for guests visiting over Memorial Day weekend. And now, it has! Here’s what to know before you go to EPCOT to experience the fresh flights aboard Soarin’ Across America.

For starters, if you’re unfamiliar with soft openings, they’re also known as trial operations or technical rehearsals, and are an unannounced and controlled test period. They provide an opportunity for theme parks to open an attraction prior to its official opening and conduct operations and Cast Member training in a more forgiving and lower stress environment.

Typically, soft openings are not publicized. They are a ‘surprise & delight’ experience that draw significantly fewer crowds than official openings as a result. They’re a nice perk for guests who are already in the park and the most plugged-in Walt Disney World fans.

Walt Disney World had moved away from soft openings in the last few years, before bringing them back with TRON Lightcycle Run. That was the last big attraction to offer soft openings, although Test Track 3.0, Disney Starlight Night Parade, and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin all did more recently.

As of 2 pm on May 22, 2026, Soarin’ Across America is posting a 25 minute wait time. This wasn’t appearing in the My Disney Experience app when I first checked (and still isn’t on one version of the tip board), but now is.

Soft openings usually have a YMMV quality with availability, both in terms of downtime and operating hours (or lack thereof). Don’t expect that here. For all intents and purposes, this is better categorized as an early opening as opposed to a soft opening.

Our expectation is that Soarin’ Across America remains available for the holiday weekend for all guests during normal operating hours and potentially extra hours. I would imagine that wait times will spike (hardly a bold prediction above the current 25 minute posted time) once locals are off work and over the weekend. Even though there were already open-access AP previews, many locals and out-of-state fans visit on weekends as opposed to weekdays.

My guess is that this early opening for Soarin’ Across America was the plan all along, but that someone wanted to have the official date align with the kickoff of Cool Kids’ Summer. That would explain the shift from “by” Memorial Day to after, but now with soft openings ahead of Memorial Day, leaving us right back where we started.

Not to get too in the weeds, but there are operational upsides to this approach for Walt Disney World. One is having companion or counterprogramming to Smugglers Run. Another is having this not be an official opening for the first week or so in order to keep it off Lightning Lane Multi-Pass and allocate all of that capacity to standby over what could be a popular holiday weekend with fans.

Speaking of which, Walt Disney World has already confirmed that Soarin’ Across America will be open for all extra hours at EPCOT…

Soarin’ Across America Extra Hours

Officially, Soarin’ Across America will participate in Early Entry beginning with its opening day, May 26, 2026, opening to on-site hotel guests starting at 8:30 am. It will then be available to everyone else for regular rope drop at 9 am. Aside from that one day (and maybe even then), it’s expected that Cosmic Rewind and Test Track will remain the top priorities for Early Entry. You might want to make it over to Soarin’ earlier than normal, but it’s not going to be the #1 rope drop priority for summer.

Starting Monday, June 1, 2026, Soarin’ Across America will also be available during Extended Evening Hours (ExEH) from 9 pm to 11 pm. Note that ExEH is only available to guests of select on-site resorts, which excludes Values and Moderates but includes a couple of third party hotels, plus all Deluxes and DVC. June 1st is the first ExEH after Soarin’ Across America officially opens, so there’s no gap in the schedule here.

Finally, Soarin’ Across America will be available for After Hours at EPCOT starting June 11, 2026. As with ExEH, this is the first After Hours following the debut of Soarin’ Across America, so there’s no delay in the new-look attraction joining the ride roster for this hard ticket event.

Now that Soarin’ Across America has soft opened, there’s the possibility that it’ll be open for both Early Entry and Extended Evening Hours before those dates. It’s really hard to say. It’s dependent upon how Disney staffed the attraction for the soft opening; they often just do regular park hours to save the operating expenses (I assume there’s internal accounting and politics involved with the extra hours).

I wouldn’t prioritize it during either, regardless. For more about the all-new airborne adventure for America250, see our Review: Soarin’ Across America is a Distinctly Patriotic Salute to One Nation. Here’s the Good, Bad & Ugly.

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!

Your Thoughts

Thoughts on Soarin’ Across America quietly opening ahead of schedule? Surprised by the soft openings or did you expect them? Did you already experience Soarin’ Across America during AP or DVC previews? 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!