Anyone Else Disappointed by Soarin Around the World?

[chaysmom]

I was actually not very fond of the old one...and loved this one!

 

[Aladora]

You got three of the four-- the golf ball, the fireworks, and the hang glider are CGI. I'll hold off for a bit on revealing the fourth one to see if anyone can get it. It's a tough one.

Does Tink at the end count?

 

[goooof1]

You got three of the four-- the golf ball, the fireworks, and the hang glider are CGI. I'll hold off for a bit on revealing the fourth one to see if anyone can get it. It's a tough one.

skier??

 

[trinerd]

You got three of the four-- the golf ball, the fireworks, and the hang glider are CGI. I'll hold off for a bit on revealing the fourth one to see if anyone can get it. It's a tough one.

The "oranges" in the "orange grove" are actually avocados in an avocado grove colored orange through some Disney magic.

 

[WonkaKid]

My thoughts: For some time, I've thought that Soarin' could do with an upgrade. What they gave us was OK -- nothing earth-shaking. It would be nice if they'd vary the two: sometimes give us the world, other times CA. Not sure if that presents technical problems but it might solve the problem of satisfying all parties.

 

[Mousequake]

The "oranges" in the "orange grove" are actually avocados in an avocado grove colored orange through some Disney magic.

You got it! The orange grove isn't an orange grove at all!

 

[Chiomaca]

We were there that same time period. We only rode Soarin' once...on Sunday the 13th (at night). only the left and center section of seats were working..the right side was closed. We were lucky and ended up in the center. I didn't notice any other issues with it other than the one section not working.

Yes, that's the same problem they had the day before. I'd have gone again but I ran Sunday and then we had other family obligations and by the time we got home, all I wanted to do was go to bed! Sad, because it might have been my last DLR trip for a couple of years.

 

[closetmickey]

I rode it for the second time today. Still didn't notice the GCI! Untrained eyes, I guess. How can you tell?

 

[wongck]

Only seen original Soarin less than 10 times... and the new Soarin around the world twice.
I felt that the continuity between different landmarks was rather predictable and was looking out for it rather than enjoying the scenery and smells.

Normally when one gets exposed to more than one experience, it is most likely the 1st one is the best... just like Stars Wars 4 is the best and most memorable.
So I am not surprised that the Original Soarin would score the most votes.

 

[OldPyrate]

I don't mind the new version...but it doesn't elicit the emotional response for me that the original did. I think the reason is that at the end of the original the film built up to getting to DLR, i.e. flying along the L.A. freeway...this one just starts right on Main Street...it doesn't look natural, probably more CG. If they replaced the current ending with the old one, that would go a long way to improving the current version.

 

[goodeats]

I really loved the old one. The new one doesn't offer the same emotional response. Maybe I'm a proud Californian, but the CGI pyramids and Taj Mahal just feel cheap compared with the beauty of Big Sur and other California landmarks.

 

[OKW Lover]

If they are able to digitally remaster films that were never meant for big TV's and such couldn't they just remaster the original?

They actually did so. Before the new movie opened in California they showed the digital version of the old one.

Part of the supposed "magic" of the new Soarin is that is it was shot in 4K resolution and the projectors were upgraded to 4K projectors. Unfortunately they focused too much on what they could do with technology and CG rather than telling a story which is the inspiration.

Digital resolution improvements are nice, but analog (i.e. the actual film original) has an even greater resolution.

Yes, like someone else said, the CGI is just too fake looking. I miss all the California landmarks and scents.

I don't find CGI objectionable at all. In fact, I can't tell the difference.

So the middle is the best place to see it? We are going in two weeks and will see the new one for the first time. I usually dont care where I sit on this ride but if its much better in the middle then I will try and request that.

Yes, the middle is the best if you don't want to see curved vertical elements.

The Eiffel Tower isn't centered in the video, It distorts no matter where you sit. There are other places, like Kilimanjaro where the peak distorts as you pass it, but since most people don't know the exact shape and it's a natural object it's not as jarring.

We were on this today (12/23) in B3 and saw no distortion of the Eiffel Tower.

My thoughts: For some time, I've thought that Soarin' could do with an upgrade. What they gave us was OK -- nothing earth-shaking. It would be nice if they'd vary the two: sometimes give us the world, other times CA. Not sure if that presents technical problems but it might solve the problem of satisfying all parties.

The technical problems are mostly easy to overcome. The movie itself is just digital projection so they simply need to load a different file. Similarly, the music/sound effects are digital files that can easily be swapped out. A bit more involved is the programing of the actual vehicle so it tilts/rocks/etc in the right spots. I'm sure this is also digitally controlled so it should be doable.

The real problem is the scents. You would have to completely clear out the old scent, which would require flushing out the reservoir the tubing and the fans before loading the new scent pellets.

 

[Sagginit]

I rode it 3-4 times on my trip. I was disappointed in this one a bit. For me the scents were not as specific and unless you travel the globe were not as easy to link to the scene or know what they were. I also disliked the distortion, I rode the original one at least a dozen times over a few trips to Epcot and for me it had a much more relaxed feel, this felt rushed. While the Eiffel tower is easily recognized I would have preferred them flying over a field of lavender in Provence or a pineapple field (dole whips anyone?) instead of the generic ocean scent near the island scene. It was like sniffing a bunch of yankee candles quickly without seeing the name. I will still ride it when I got back but I don't think it was a huge improvement considering the time they put into it.

Also my husband is from India and he noted that the Taj scene was just too perfect when he saw it, he said normally there would be mobs of people and I believe not too far outside it is some unpleasant scenery but they cleaned it up a lot for this scene.

 

[hsmamato2]

Nope- I've ridden the old one many many times, it was ok. Went on the new one with family who had never been.... we were all just wowed! went on it twice..... it was great!

 

[heybets30]

Thought it was so-so. I didn't really smell the scents, not like the old one. My hubby & kids said they really liked it, they just think it's cool, and not really looking at artistic factor or storyline, so to speak.

I DO MISS THE SINGLE RIDER LINE!!!!!! My hubby especially, it is his favorite ride, he'd always make that his last ride of our trip while I usually sit with a sleeping kid or two.

 

[Disney_traveler]

We rode it for the first time a week ago. I didn't mind the distortion or 3D look or the transitions. What I didn't like were the smells. Other than the elephant scene with the grass/dirt smell, they pretty much used "scent of old lady perfume" for everything else. I miss the orange Grove, pine trees and snow.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I liked it but I really did not like the bending effect on the buildings like the Eiffel tower. That looked awful. Either avoid straight structures on imax or build a way around it.

 

[coaches24]

We saw it today and I have to say I do not agree with any of the complaints! We LOVED the old Soarin over CA but this one was just as amazing. I did see some CGI effects but it did not take away from the show at all for us. Didn't notice any bending or distortion that some have seen and we were on the left side. I left very happy that an old favorite is still a must do for us and we will likely ride it a couple more times this week!

 

[gallandro]

Finally rode this for the first time since the change during our family Christmas trip. I wrote down some thoughts on Facebook:

Unfortunately Soarin Over the World gets a big "meh" from me. A lot of the magic of the ride is lost because of the absence of the great Jerry Goldsmith's brilliant score. It keeps the main Soarin theme but keeps using it over and over in variations... Gone is some of the wonderful transition music Mr. Goldsmith provided, and I really found myself missing the vineyard/desert western cue from the original.

Also unlike the California version which was about showing you grand vistas in California this version shows you grand vistas with large, tall objects encompassing the center of the screen, unfortunately because of the circular nature of the screen as you get closer to these objects they distort and the Eiffel Tower becomes the Melting Eiffel Tower... or the Leaning Taj Mahal. Also this version of the ride seems obsessed with randomly throwing objects into the field of view of the rider... the original did a much better job of being subtle about that (the one exception being the golf ball from Palm Springs).

Wasn't too bothered by the CGI critters...

Still fun but really lacks the magic of the original.

 

[Mel887]

I finally got to ride it a couple of weeks ago and I was not overly impressed. I really didn't like the CGI. We lucked out and got B1 so the distortion wasn't an issue. But I definitely preferred the California version much more. It seemed so much more real.