I may be in the minority (haven't read the whole thread), but i think an "Up" themed version of Soarin' could be fun. Of course, it would have made more sense if it was ready now so that people enjoying the movie could go to the parks and check out the ride. I know Lasseter was talking about the possibility of developing park attractions or rethemes alongside of new movies so that the ride would be there when the movie opens, but I guess the bad economy and the business of getting Disney's animation department back into shape have put that idea on the back burner. Anyway, I just saw the movie and liked it very much and while I kind of agree that not every ride needs to be character themed, I wouldn't mind seeing some kind of ride based on "Up," even if it isn't a reworking of Soarin'.
Whether or not it gets turned into "Soarin' with Carl and Russell," I think Soarin' could use a little work. Because frankly, I think it's just a little overrated. I'm glad we did ride it, but doubly glad that we did so with Fastpasses, because I can't seem myself spending 90 minutes in line for it. In my opinion, there is a very simple thing they could do to improve the ride: make the transitions in the film seamless. The big problem for me (aside from enjoyment of the ride not quite making up for time spent in line) is that they spend so much time on the setting up the theme of a real flight and then ruin it by cutting from scene to scene, as if to say "Now don't forget, you're actually just watching a movie." How hard would it be to have clouds pass by to cover the transition from shot to shot so that it really feels like one continuous flight instead of a movie with motion effects?