Interesting Soarin' Information, possible hints to future changes?

[kcnole]

Now I'm not sure how reliable of a columnist Peter Bell is, but for those of you who have not read his article on the Disney Studios in Paris today, there is some very interesting information contained in the article.

He is giving information on rides and attractions that should be coming to Disney Studios Paris over the next few years. One of them is an attraction called "Soarin Over The World". This is one of the things he had to say about it in his article:

By that time, construction on Soarin' Over The World would be well underway. The ride has already been given the provisional green light, which means the groundbreaking can take place as soon as visitor targets are met. I am told that the film is already in the can and, as the name suggests, constitutes a hang glider voyage across some of the world's most famous landscapes, including Manhattan Island, the Great Wall of China and the Serengeti Plains. If all goes well, the opening date would be 2009/2010.

Now allow me to extrapolate for a few moments on this quote. IF this information he presents is correct, then we can only truly assume that this version of the ride will probably replace the current Soarin' we have in Epcot. We've heard rumors over the past year of a possible soarin over the world which would fit much better in the theme of Epcot. If the film is already in the can as he suggests then it would be fairly simple for Epcot to switch to this version during their 25th.

Just some more fuel for the fire. Feel free to discuss or if you'd like to read the article, it can be found here:

http://www.miceage.com/guest/gu071806a.htm

[Stitchy]

Can someone tell me exactly what soarin is....they don't really take you 40 ft in the air, do they? My dauughter is 2 inches too short to ride...is it not safe or something?

[Taggart]

Soarin is pretty much just a giant hang-glider movie/simmulator. There is a huge screen which projects scenes of flying over California. You sit in these glider type seats and are hoisted up this 60ft mast which controls your slight movements to the left and right and also controls the artificial smells and temperature to elighten the senses which enhances the effect of the movie. It's pretty cool, but if you were too small and fell out, it would be a pretty big fall.... unless you're on the bottom row of gliders... then it would only be like 10 feet. HAHA.

[lazyboy97O]

Can someone tell me exactly what soarin is....they don't really take you 40 ft in the air, do they? My dauughter is 2 inches too short to ride...is it not safe or something?

Taggart got the premise of the attraction down. Height requirements are in no way an indication of the safety of an attraction. In many cases it has to do with being able to fit into a restraint designed to properly hold most visitors.

[Stitchy]

So, it really takes you 60 ft up???!!!! I thought that was what it felt like, not what it actually was....I might not want to get on that. I have a fear of heights. What do ya'll think?

[kcnole]

Well you only go up that high if you're in the top glider. I also say you won't even notice it. I was so captured with what was on the screen I didn't even notice how high up we were.

[lazyboy97O]

There are three rows: a front/top, middle, and back/bottom. At start the three rows are one in front of the other. During the ride they are one on top of the other. The back row is on the bottom and stays the closest to the ground.

The illusion is supposed to be that you are much higher than 60 feet. Phobias differ even in those who have the same ones.

[MMP]

It would be nice to get a new video eventually, sooner or later the one they're showing now will seem dated. Soarin' is the kind of attraction that I think will need an updated video every few years.

[kcnole]

I don't think we'll get a new video just because it is dated. WDW doesn't seem too concerned with that, take the O' Canada circlevision in World Showcase for example. I think we will get a new one because California just doesn't fit.

[WDW1974]

I just read the column and find the info dubious at best.

Knowing how cheap Disney is, I find it awfully difficult to believe the company paid for and produced a new film (which would have cost a whole lot more than the original) and then just stored it for future use.

There also have been no reliable rumors to substantiate it and no one I know at WDI has ever mentioned it.

So, I guess in my longwinded way, what I'm saying is it's a bunch of BS.

[Speedway]

So, I guess in my longwinded way, what I'm saying is it's a bunch of BS.

If BS means blue sky, yes.
If BS means what you meant it as, yes also.

The entire column didn't particuarly strike me as anything to get over-excited about.

[Taggart]

Keep in mind the film is shot in 72mm as well which is a pain in the *** to store dust/humidity free and takes a lot of room. You pretty much have to have a special room built for it once the film is made.

Or... actually now that I think about it, is Epcot's 72mm like DCA?

[danyoung]

So, it really takes you 60 ft up???!!!! I thought that was what it felt like, not what it actually was....I might not want to get on that. I have a fear of heights. What do ya'll think?

If you have a real fear of heights, this is not the ride for you. The 60 or so feet that they hoist you in the air is nothing compared to the feeling when the film starts and you are in mid-air OVER the Golden Gate Bridge! It's much more intense than looking out the window of a plane - you feel like you're really rushing over landscapes and swooping down into the surf. I love the thing, but I have no fear of heights. For you, I'd think twice!

And I think WDW1974's right (again, dangit!) - there's no way that there's a fully produced film in the can and Disney isn't putting it in Epcot.

[Taggart]

And I think WDW1974's right (again, dangit!) - there's no way that there's a fully produced film in the can and Disney isn't putting it in Epcot.

Well.. as much as I 90 percent-ly agree with you, I can somewhat see how Disney would milk what they have just to market a change that would cost nothing but just the price of marketing it to get a cheap return.

For instance, DCA is about to get a new version of Tower of Terror, but actually it's the same version from WDW. There is no extra expense but marketing costs... BTW, the whole Tower sequences are lame anyway.

If they did plan on building a Soarin in Paris, I can see how the budgets were split. In that case, Epcot would have a new marketing point for their sadly underimpressive Year of a Million Dreams at half the cost, but more importantly, half the effort..

The only thing in which I think this isn't the case is storage of the film being a hassle... unless it is stored on digital format, in which it is possible.

[JPTexan82]

When I was at DL in March we did the early entry tour of Sourin at DCA. Well the guide and I were talking and he did say for the 25th of epcot they were going to change the show to the world. just thought I would say