So that was Soarin'...

[Super 27]

I have no complaints about the ride, but I wasn't jumping up and down either. It was worth a 20-30 minute wait, but not a moment more.

I agree for the most part. Soarin' is definitely something that I have to do once on every trip, but beyond that I'm not willing to wait in line for it over and over again.

 

[sophie832]

Soarin' is fun, but being from CA, I can say that the smells are more "novelty" than reality. The smell of the redwoods in NorCal or the beach in L.A. is nothing like the ride. It's all about the fun, though, and the idea of flying. It was amazing to DH and I when it first opened in DCA. We still like riding it, but only if we have a FP or there's a short line (20 mins. or less).

 

[Grammie3]

Soarin is one of my fav rides as well as my mother's most favorite, but then again, we are originally from Cali and love everything about it. I always smell all of the smells... the beach one is amazing!! Love the music, the breeze, the ending fireworks, etc. I even love the preshow. Like the PP - we always wait for the top row!

My sister wanted me to try riding on that top row with no one in front of us but the screen. We had a crabby CM that would not let us wait. We were willing to let people go ahead of us so we could bet on the next time for those seats. He would have nothing to do with it, even though my sister had done it on a previous trip that way!

 

[jess20k]

Yes, the scent machines must have not been working, because you can definitely detect the smells when everything is working properly. I love Soarin, I still clap every time the ride ends. I would love to see another version though replace the current one.

 

[twokids0204]

During our vacation to the World last week we finally got a chance to ride some of the 'new' things (new to us having been away for 6 years). I have to say that I don't see the fascination with Soarin'. We got our fastpass and still waited for maybe 20 minutes. We rode and it was nice. I have no complaints about the ride, but I wasn't jumping up and down either. It was worth a 20-30 minute wait, but not a moment more. Can't even begin to imagine a 2 hour wait for this. I would walk away so steamed! The flying sensation was ok. I waited for the smells that people talk about, but never smelled them. No one in my group did either. As an overall I'd give this ride a B-. Pretty good, but not a lot of repeatability.

I felt the same way the first time I rode Soarin'; it was a bit anti-climactic.

But on my next trip we rode it again, and I really appreciated it a lot more. I guess it has to do with the expectations, and build up people advertise. I also tried from different seats - and found the front row, center section really is the best.

As for the Orange smell, you may have had a seat where the mister was not working, because it is quite a strong sharp scent.

 

[belle118]

Everyone loved it, young and old! Rode it for the first time last week on our first family trip! It was right up there with mission:space, dinosaur, fantasmic, MK fireworks and parade, disney fairies, the mushroom risotto at le cellier, and the ohana best friends breakfast.

IMHO, over-hyped WDW experiences included the Candlelight Processional (why ruin perfectly good music by blaring it through speaker when everyone was right there?), Toy story mania (i love video games..), and the cheese soup at le cellier. (which I like to refer to as beer soup) different strokes...

 

[Micca]

Our first Soarin' experience was a DCA and we were euphoric over the ride.
We still love it, but we wouldn't wait more than 20-25 minutes for any attraction.

 

[mikat]

The orange scent literally took my breath away. I tapped my husband's shoulders and yelled "oranges!" and he smiled. It's one of my fondest, most purely joyful memories from the world. Isn't it weird how little moments like that get fixed into your brain?

 

[sazzifrazz]

I love soarin'...actually did it 4 times this past trip. I have probably done it over 20 times total and have NEVER noticed the smell of the ocean. I get the oranges and pine though. Hmmm, I'll have to ask DH if he has noticed it.

I don't get the hype for the toy story ride. It was really good, and I'm glad I did it but afterwards i was like, "Really? Thats it?!" lol

 

[aceswild]

I felt the same way. Soarin' was fun but not a 2 hour wait time fun! EE was my favorite ride too. I convinced DH to go do dinoland with the kids so I could single rider EE 5 times in a row. I could've stayed there all day.

I also really liked the chocolate "moose" at Le Cellier. Well worth the hype!

 

[Agri]

I only smelled oranges my first time. Then I smelled the pine the second time as well. This trip, it was my fourth time on the ride and the first time I smelled the beach. We got on early in the day, which might have had something to do with it. All other times we used fast passes for later in the day.

I have the same feelings about the ride - I've very 'meh' on it. The smell of oranges isn't new - they did the same thing on Horizons.

But...I also felt 'meh' about EE. Its just a bigger version of Big Thunder Mountain and was not worth the wait in line.

 

[Rigaudon]

I totally agree with the OP and that's what makes Disney great. There is something for everyone. We did standby for Soarin' as we were late to Epcot that day and the posted wait time was 50 minutes. It took about 70 to ride. I had heard the queue was great, but the practice screens only did their thing once during our wait and we weren't in front of them. The ride was very enjoyable, and I faintly smelled the oranges, but I'll plan ahead next time and use fast passes. No ride is worth 70 minutes. My guess is the standby queue was full of first timers like me who just had to experience it to see what all the "buzz" is about.

We also loved EE way more. The queue detailing was amazing. We again did standby but a wait of only 10 minutes. I found the EE cars very comfortable to sit in and the ride very smooth. I'm not big into coasters and really did enjoy it.

What's nice about Disney is the variety of rides. we were there last week and feel like we just scratched the surface of what is there.

 

[walkdmc]

I have never been a fan of Soarin' and I don't care what anyone says, where you're seated makes a HUGE difference in the experience. IMO, anything lower than the top row isn't even worth a 20 minute wait.

And the first time I rode it, I didn't smell oranges. I was so focused on the dangling feet above me. I rode a second time, requesting a top row seat, and it was a much better ride and I smelled the oranges.

 

[mollybeasley]

Soarin was very nice, but I didn't have any desire to do it again. I did catch a bit of the orange smell, which was very nice. (I also get that every morning with my Satsuma soap.) I would have enjoyed the experience more if they had better transitions to make it feel more realistic.

I'm with you on Everest. I loved Everest so much I did it four times. The last three times were at closing time and we would have gone again if they let us. I read a lot about the yeti problem before, but he seemed fine to me. We raced by so fast, it was hard to tell. What is he supposed to do, sing and dance? AK was the highlight of our trip I think. It made my husband and I feel like little kids. It was great.

 

[elainesj]

he's supposed to reach out and grab you. i'm kind of glad he doesn;t actually. my dd hides in my shoulder for any possible yeti scenes as it is....she;s so glad he's broken LOL!

 

[MommytoaSweetie]

OP, that stinks the smells weren't working well for you! It's definitely my favorite ride, and I can't wait to share it with my oldest who just hit the 40" mark and can ride, too. We also have a huge love of flying, though, so it's an amazing ride for us.

 

[5fromsc]

During our vacation to the World last week we finally got a chance to ride some of the 'new' things (new to us having been away for 6 years). I have to say that I don't see the fascination with Soarin'. We got our fastpass and still waited for maybe 20 minutes. We rode and it was nice. I have no complaints about the ride, but I wasn't jumping up and down either. It was worth a 20-30 minute wait, but not a moment more. Can't even begin to imagine a 2 hour wait for this. I would walk away so steamed! The flying sensation was ok. I waited for the smells that people talk about, but never smelled them. No one in my group did either. As an overall I'd give this ride a B-. Pretty good, but not a lot of repeatability.

On the other hand, Expedition Everest at AK was outstanding! Even with the Yeti problems, I completely enjoyed myself. IMO, this is now the best coaster at Disney.

Obvously these are one man's opinion and I have no doubts that they contrast with others.

Totally agree, just a movie on a big screen.

 

[Albytaps]

It's all about the hype! I felt the same way as OP the first time I rode. I was hyped up by a friend telling me how it was the best ride bla bla bla,and after riding it I was like "Whaaaaat??"

Anyway, the next trip I rode it again and I was much more appreciative of it. It only got better and better the next few trips. However, this last trip I was let down again. We got the crappiest spot (the lower right corner) and was disappointed. We had fastpasses and had to wait 30 minutes anyway.

So: hype+bad seats= crappy experience

No hype+good seats= great ride

Either way I think you'll be waiting a minimum of 20 minutes for this ride.

 

[GBBTomorrow]

that stinks the smells weren't working

That made me chuckle.

I adore Soarin', and so does my entire family. We go on it at least twice every trip. In fact, just sitting here I can hear the wonderful musical score in my head.

 

[Maliki2]

During our vacation to the World last week we finally got a chance to ride some of the 'new' things (new to us having been away for 6 years). I have to say that I don't see the fascination with Soarin'. We got our fastpass and still waited for maybe 20 minutes. We rode and it was nice. I have no complaints about the ride, but I wasn't jumping up and down either. It was worth a 20-30 minute wait, but not a moment more. Can't even begin to imagine a 2 hour wait for this. I would walk away so steamed! The flying sensation was ok. I waited for the smells that people talk about, but never smelled them. No one in my group did either. As an overall I'd give this ride a B-. Pretty good, but not a lot of repeatability.

On the other hand, Expedition Everest at AK was outstanding! Even with the Yeti problems, I completely enjoyed myself. IMO, this is now the best coaster at Disney.

Obvously these are one man's opinion and I have no doubts that they contrast with others.

And you thought Everest was outstanding? As far as coasters goes thats not very exciting at all. Soarin is much more interesting to me. See this is what you have to learn, just because you didn't think it was that great don't think others don't. That's your preference and to be honest, I hate posts like this...but again that is my opinion. Your just asking for this type of reply.