Original Soarin’ Returns in February 2020!
Soarin’ Over California is returning to DCA for another limited run beginning on February 28, 2020. This will occur simultaneous with the new Magic Happens Parade across the Esplanade at Disneyland. It will return for at least the duration of DCA’s Food & Wine Festival, which runs through April 21, 2020. However, an end date has not yet been confirmed–meaning it could run through the summer, or even indefinitely.
The return of Soarin’ Over California returning makes sense and the timing would not be coincidental. The same thing happened last summer with OG Soarin’ returning to Disney California Adventure as counter-programming to draw people away from Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. In retrospect, that was unnecessary, but it was nonetheless a nice win for both locals (who are partial to the “Over California” version) and DCA, as it provided a nice boost to the park for the summer.
We had the chance to experience the OG Soarin’ several times last summer, even racing over to Disney California Adventure to rope drop and ride the attraction (and only Soarin’) one last time before heading home. I’m relieved that we’ll be able to experience it again, but the question a lot of Walt Disney World fans have been asking on social media is, “what about Epcot?!”
This might seem silly. After all, the original is Soarin’ Over California and Walt Disney World is located in Florida. Moreover, Epcot is a park celebrating the various cultures of the world, not a particular state. Fair points, but I think there are a couple of worthwhile counterpoints. (Note: the remainder of this article is simply our rehashed commentary from the return last summer–but nothing has changed and we’d love for the OG Soarin’ to return to WDW.)
First, Soarin’ at Epcot is located in Future World, not World Showcase. Moreover, it’s shoehorned into the Land, a pavilion that is ostensibly dedicated to human civilization’s interaction with the Earth. California is not just the most biodiverse state, it’s one of the most biodiverse places in the world. With such a range of ecosystems, it’s hard to believe California is a single state. (What a place!)
This range of ecosystems is on full display in Soarin’ Over California, which primarily highlights the Golden State’s natural wonders (few of which scream “this is in California!”). This is what made Soarin’ a sensible location for the Land pavilion in the first place. Its farm, desert, coastal, mountain, etc. scenery makes it a natural counterpart to Living with the Land.
On this note, it’s worth pointing out that most guests to Epcot during the time it ran the original Soarin’ (with “Over California” dropped from the name) didn’t even realize the locations were exclusively in California. Unless you’ve visited Anza-Borrego, Yosemite, Tahoe, Malibu, Camarillo, etc., you probably couldn’t identify where the footage was shot. You might’ve just assumed the desert, waterfall, rushing rapids, ocean, orange groves, etc. were simply generic–but stunning–locations.
Most of the places in Soarin’ Over California are not nearly as readily identifiable as those in Soarin’ Around the World. Orange groves and coastline tend to blend together. The Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal, and Great Wall of China…not so much. If Soarin’ returned to Epcot in exactly the same presentation as when it left, I’d hazard a guess that 90%+ of first-time guests would simply assume it’s a flyover of the United States.
While Soarin’ Around the World also highlights the natural world, it focuses more on landmarks. 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.
I’m not particularly averse to Soarin’ Around the World, but the CGI, cheesy animals, and distortion has worn on me over time. Moreover, I think Soarin’ Over California is not showing its age at all. If anything, it benefits from its footage being real, whereas the extensive CGI of the new version will inevitably date itself much sooner.
That’s pretty much my ‘case’ for bringing Soarin’ back to Epcot. (There’s also the third option of running OG Soarin’ in one theater, and figuring out a logistical way to let people choose.) Okay, let’s review: that is more on-theme to the Land pavilion, less distortion, no CGI, California > the World…anything else? Oh yeah, have a nice flight!
For those keeping score at home, we totally called the extension of Soarin’ Over California at DCA. From our update last month: “I wouldn’t be surprised if this run is extended ‘by popular demand’ beyond this summer…Most Californians recognize that the Golden State is better than the rest of the world. I’ll certainly be heading to Guest Services after riding to register my ‘vote’ in favor of retaining the Soarin’ Over California version of the attraction.”
It’s also worth noting that wait times for Soarin’ spiked last summer, which was an anomaly as compared to the rest of the attractions at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. The local audience went wild for the return of the OG Soarin’, with applause upon seeing the Golden Gate Bridge and at the end of the Disneyland flyover.
The attraction itself is largely unchanged. The film was updated to a digital projection shortly before being retired, and it still looks crisp and clean. (DCA never had the problem with dust and debris on its film that plagued the Florida version.) The scents, including a new one, are as delightful as ever.
Personally, I hope the run of Soarin’ Over California continues indefinitely. Like Impressions de France, this is one film that simply stands the test of time. Actually, unlike Impressions de France, you never get an up-close look at any people (and their dated attire), so there’s not much to date the footage. Basically just the Los Angeles skyline, which has grown tremendously since ~2000. To my knowledge, almost everything else is virtually unchanged (actually, I think the particular orange grove is now a housing development–but you wouldn’t know from looking at it), which is the beauty of filming the natural world.
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Your Thoughts
Are you excited about the extended run of Soarin’ Over California? Do you hope that it returns indefinitely? What about at Epcot? Would you prefer to see Soarin’ 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!
Soarin Around the World is best. Seeing places around the world up close that you likely won’t see in real life is amazing. I know my son loved it and asked lots of questions about the places he saw on the ride. I mean, it’s a ride. You don’t need to study the cinematic effects for distortion. Just experience the joy in the ride and you don’t even notice any distortion. If you want to get into little details I see distortion when riding the Avatar ride lol. It still doesn’t bother me from enjoying the ride at all and it’s one of my favorite at Disney.
We LOVE Soarin’ Around the World at Epcot. Maybe it depends on where you sit in the ride, but when we went, the only distortion was on the Eiffel Tower. We sat top and center.
“Maybe it depends on where you sit in the ride, but when we went, the only distortion was on the Eiffel Tower. We sat top and center.”
Yeah, it absolutely depends. The farther to the sides you get, the worse the distortion is. There’s virtually no distortion when you’re in the center section.
I like the original Soarin much better than the “world” version. It’s nothing to do with which is a better thematic fit for Epcot or DCA; in neither location does it much matter to me exactly what the film is flying over. Rather it’s the illusion of flying itself that is the attraction. Original Soarin delivered that feeling much better: it felt like it had more dynamic moves (whether it was actual moves in ride mechanic, or was just the film, it had that feeling), plus the CGI and the intrusively obvious distortions in the newer version ruin the illusion.
I agree Soarin’ over California is the best. And all things Disney began in California, so offering it in EPCOT, in a sense, also pays homage to that. (I don’t live anywhere close to California.)
Wouldn’t it be great, though, if they offered Soarin’ adventures for each country that has a pavilion in EPCOT?
As a side note, I’ve also done Flyover Canada, and it is crazy what that cost for one short ride (which I would rank behind the CA version but before the World version) compares to a single day Disney ticket.
Love your blog!
I love Soarin over California. I think it fits perfectly at Disneyland and they should keep it there for good. Soarin Round the World is a better fit for Epcot at Disneyworld. Having the two at the two different locations gives people another reason to visit both, Disneyland and Disneyworld. We visit one of the two places almost every year, and that is my two cents.
I personally enjoy Soarin’ over the World much more than CA and I would think that would be the popular vote for anyone outside of the US or even the west coast.
I loved Soarin over CA. It was a rare good attraction replacement at Epcot (Since Food Rocks was abysmal in comparison to Kitchen Kabaret). With the exception of the LA scenes, the footage fit perfectly into the Land Pavilion. I wish it was brought back permanently to both DCA and Epcot. Soarin over World is such a downgrade. Unless Soarin over World is walk-on or I have MaxPass avalibility at DCA, I skip it since its not worth wasting a Tier 1 Fastpass at Epcot.
I Love totally OG version! We took our family to WDW for the first time about a year and a half ago and I was so excited to experience Soarin’ around the world. We all couldn’t wait to see how Disney would interpret a world stage. Holy cow! Was I disappointed! As a former WDW cast member, I have always felt one of the things the makes Disney parks so special and distinct is the “realness”. While other theme parks have begun to lean heavily on CGI, Disney brings the wow in the real! More and more I see that special quality disappearing. I mean really, Soarin’ around the world, looks eerily similar in images and storyline to Flights of passage! Which, for the record, I did enjoy and expected CGI because it’s NOT THE REALLY WORLD! I sincerely hope that this is not the wave of the Disney future. All of that bringing said… I’m so happy that Soarin’ over California is back at DCA, I hope they extend its stay past summer so we can ride it on our trip in November!
Also, thanks Tom! I love your site it’s the best! best
I have no emotional attachment or preference either way. I think it would be cool to leave this California one up in DCA permanently and keep “…over the world” at Epcot permanently. I like the idea of them being unique to their respective parks, while being essentially the same ride.
Had they never switched DCA to the world version, it would have just looked like DCA was falling behind. With the way it’s now playing out, it will appear to be a deliberate choice or a preference.
“Had they never switched DCA to the world version, it would have just looked like DCA was falling behind. With the way it’s now playing out, it will appear to be a deliberate choice or a preference.”
Totally agree with this.
It also seems like opinions of Soarin’ Around the World have soured over time. When it was fresh and new, people (myself included) seemed to like it more.
Also agreed!
So excited to take my little girl to see the original Soarin!! She’s only ever seen the new one and was more excited that she was “flying” than what she was seeing. But with the original, we’ve been to/learned about some of the places so it more relevant.
Is the passholder extra hour just to experience the ride or is the entire park available during that time as well?
I don’t think I can agree with California being better than all the word. That seems like something a stereotypical Ugly American would say. And I just think people should be better than that.
I love the irony here, well done.
Haha. The hypocrisy just oozes, doesn’t it.
I have no issues with the CGI in Soarin’ around the World, but the distortion is horrible. How could they not see that this was going to be an issue?
The California version wins simply for not having this problem.
I would like if there was a choice, since there are 2 theaters in Florida. The CA version or the World version. Personally, I would go on each one during my visit. How cool would that be to go on Soarin and have a completely different experience on each one? It would be the best of both worlds!
People talk about the distortion and the cgi but the real killer of Soarin Around the World is that it’s slow, boring, and static. There’s a lot of just wide panoramas of monuments, and you rarely get that feeling of swooping around. The music is slower as well… The fast paced main theme is heard much more rarely. The world may be a better fit for Epcot thematic, but everything else was a downgrade.
at the very least, it would be nice if they kept the og soarin over ca in dca permanently, and around the world in fl, then people would at least be able to see both if they made the effort.
Soarin in Epcot is one of my favorite attractions in Disney World, but it would be even better if you didn’t have to see anyone’s shoes when you’re not in the 1st row.
Your arguments for why Soar’in over California fit into Epcot in the first place make sense, but Soarin’ over the World seemed like a much better fit. Unfortunately, the original was a much better attraction (and that’s the real reason it went into Epcot in the first place, fit be darned – it’s a great ride).
I’d hope they can fix the dirt/dust problems that truly detracted from the WDW version and perhaps put it back. It’s sad for those that toiled over the new film, but some times you try things and have to admit when they don’t work.
I’m not actually convinced Soarin’ Over California is a better fit for the theme park in Florida…just making what I think is a plausible argument that it does fit. (Arguably better, but if not, still “close enough.”)
My parents brought my then 7 year old niece to Disney World for the first time in May 2016 (her Mom, my cousin, had passed away the year prior so it was a significant trip for our family) and my brother and I were also lucky enough to tag along. It happened to be the weekend before the new Soarin was opening at Epcot so sadly we weren’t going to be able to ride it, but to our great surprise they brought back the original for the weekend and it was AMAZING to get to see it one last time! Marisa absolutely loved the ride and I would love a pop up return at Epcot again!!!
we hardly even ride the new Soarin at Epcot …..I hate it..so miss the old one..would love to see it again..just like losin the Red Head in Pirates..not the same anymore..magic was lost
I don’t mean to overuse the word, but the original Soarin truly was “magical.” You really felt like you were hangliding over such beautiful natural scenery. I cried just about every time I rode the attraction with the powerful music and visual combinations. If they brought it back to Epcot I would buy a ticket solely just to ride it again!
“If they brought it back to Epcot I would buy a ticket solely just to ride it again!”
That’s the kind of thing Disney likes to hear! 😉
Oh my gosh, I completely agree. The original was something I would get up early for and ride over and over until the lines got long and still have a fastpass for later. It was emotional and beautiful. The new one is fine, but there is just no comparison.