Can we please get old Soarin back???

[BabybetterDisney]

At this moment 3/10/2019, 12:24AM EST I am checking wait time in Epcot. It says Soarin - 45 minutes. The Sea with Nemo and Friends - 45 minutes. Test Track - 100 minutes.

Can you believe this? Soarin having the same wait time as Nemo? But that's nothing. Last September (2018) when I was there one afternoon, Soarin's wait time was 10 minutes. This would never have happened with the old Soarin! The old Soarin had a wait time of 60 minutes on a slow day in September! It would never have been beaten by Test Track!

It's been 3 years. Is Disney just going to be stubborn about Soarin forever and not admit their mistake in making the new Soarin? Cut your losses, man!

 

[Disneylover99]

They added an extra theatre. That’s why the wait times are lower then a few years back. I like the new Soarin.

 

[OB1]

I like both. It would be neat to have a choice, but that is more to keep up with.

What I really liked about the older Soarin' is that every seat had a good view. Middle was still better, but you did not have the CURVE effect that you have now. Basically if you are on anything but the middle section, your do not have the same experience. Disney should be able to figure out how to make this work.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

At this moment 3/10/2019, 12:24AM EST I am checking wait time in Epcot. It says Soarin - 45 minutes. The Sea with Nemo and Friends - 45 minutes. Test Track - 100 minutes.

Can you believe this? Soarin having the same wait time as Nemo? But that's nothing. Last September (2018) when I was there one afternoon, Soarin's wait time was 10 minutes. This would never have happened with the old Soarin! The old Soarin had a wait time of 60 minutes on a slow day in September! It would never have been beaten by Test Track!

It's been 3 years. Is Disney just going to be stubborn about Soarin forever and not admit their mistake in making the new Soarin? Cut your losses, man!

You're having a problem that Soarin' has a LOWER wait time than it did last year in September? I'm not understanding that. And as another poster said, the third theater has helped to shorten the wait time. They aren't being stubborn about anything. YOU'RE not happy with the new Soarin' and that's your right. However, I've heard others that have had a problem with it. You seem to be bothered by it a little more than the norm.

 

[BK2014]

It's been 3 years. Is Disney just going to be stubborn about Soarin forever and not admit their mistake in making the new Soarin? Cut your losses, man!

What loss is Disney suffering? They don't make more money by having longer lines on one particular attraction, the park admission is already paid for. There are good arguments to be made that the longer guests spend in line, the less they are spending on food and/or souvenirs. Most guests are generally happier with shorter wait times.

 

[FCDub]

I like them both equally. I also don’t feel particularly troubled about the Eiffel Tower situation. I certainly understand people might have a preference. It’s hard to lose something you really like. I miss things like Maelstrom. But what’s done is done. Eyes to the future, not the past.

 

[Ben E N]

If we insist looking towards the future, could we possibly consider fixing the fake CGI tragedy that this new Soarin' is? The wait times are not just lower due to the extra theater. That would take 60 minute wait times down to 40 minutes. Its because people like me saw it once, hated it, saw it again, hated it even more, and now it falls below Nemo in terms of what I want to see.
The first time seeing a polar bear jump into the water, an orca jump out of it, and a glacier break off all within 10 seconds of each other, my "this is fake and stupid" alarm went off well and clear.
If we are going to continue to go down the fake path, why not just upgrade it to Soarin' around the solar system? Then at least the fakeness of it could be more easily tolerated.

 

[GoingSince1990]

We first did the old one in 2002 in DCA and it has many special memories for us, and I still miss the orange groves in particular. The new one is still a great ride but I can only assume that the Imagineers testing it only ever sat in the middle, as the bendy Eiffel Tower looks terrible from the side sections. For the new one I won’t hesitate to ask to wait for the center section if we are not in a hurry.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

First its PM not AM.
Also the reason for the lower wait times is the addition of the 3rd theater not that Soarin' is not popular.
The reason for why Test Track always has a long line is that is breaks down often and shuts down due to weather.
Personally I found the old Soarin' to just be "ok" but love the new version and its a must do several times while I'm there.
Test Track on the other hand used to be a favorite and now is not worth the wait in my opinion.
You can have your own opinion about Soarin' but you have to deal with facts when it comes to wait times.

 

[GoingSince1990]

Test Track on the other hand used to be a favorite and now is not worth the wait in my opinion.

I LOVED the old Test Track with its sense of humor (the “surprise” test and “did you remember to turn those robots off”) and the fun queuing area. The new one was a definite downgrade for me.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

BTW its now 1:10PM EDT and Nemo is 10 minutes and Soarin' is 50 minutes...

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I LOVED the old Test Track with its sense of humor (the “surprise” test and “did you remember to turn those robots off”) and the fun queuing area. The new one was a definite downgrade for me.

A couple of trips ago we got into a 70 minute line and it broke down.
We opted to leave. I never would have left that line if it were the old one.
Anymore if we don't do it at RD or have a FP for it we will skip it.

 

[georgina]

Once we discovered you could just walk into the aquarium through the gift shop we were done with Nemo forever.

I liked the old Soarin, I like the new Soarin.

 

[Peppeperoni]

The ONLY issue I have is the curve effect. It’s almost as if they were lazy figuring that one out. But I still enjoy the ride just as much as the old! The older I get the less I worry about first world problems and am thankful I can afford to be there

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

And for whomever cares... 1:37pm Soarin' is 70 minutes and Nemo is still 10 minutes.
Pretty sure its still popular lol.

 

[FSU Girl]

We love Soarin and always make a point of going on it at least once a trip if not more. I personally prefer the new show over the old one. The extra theater definitely helped with wait times, not peoples dislikes of the ride

 

[cmwade77]

I like both versions, the thing I don't understand though is at DCA, how does the new one fit into the California theme? So why not out back the old version at DCA and keep the new one at EPCOT? We don't need identical rides at every park, let each have their own unique rides. Of course I think the same thing with Galaxy's Edge, etc.


As to why the lower wait times, as others have said, they added more capacity, which has resulted in lower wait times, as expected. I would imagine that if you compared riders per day to the ok'd version, the new version gets more per hour/per day.

 

[Tim Holcomb]

The ONLY issue I have is the curve effect. It’s almost as if they were lazy figuring that one out. But I still enjoy the ride just as much as the old! The older I get the less I worry about first world problems and am thankful I can afford to be there

Definitely agree. You think they put it in the theater, watched and said "oops, well too late now, guess we'll roll with it." It bothers me to no end that a place that "pays attention to the little details" messed this up so bad.

 

[tinkerhon]

The ONLY issue I have is the curve effect. It’s almost as if they were lazy figuring that one out. But I still enjoy the ride just as much as the old! The older I get the less I worry about first world problems and am thankful I can afford to be there

Well said ! I tell my kids that before every trip and we appreciate every second ! So blessed just to be there !

 

[Justplainchy]

I LOVED the old Test Track with its sense of humor (the “surprise” test and “did you remember to turn those robots off”) and the fun queuing area. The new one was a definite downgrade for me.

I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only one who misses the old test track! Everyone in my group was talking about how much of an "upgrade" it got but I miss the campy fun of the old one! The hot and cold testing! The robots! Sigh...the good old days. But I don't expect Disney to go back to a previous version because little ole me is grumpy. It's weird, it's like they're a multi-billion dollar corporation and I am one guest who keeps paying them money to attend their parks....