Soarin'.......does it seem "Un-Disney" to you?

[mylightshines]

I grew up in Southern California and going to Disneyland. So for me, it was seeing all the things I grew up seeing. My grandfather lived a block away from Disneyland and on the way to his house, all we ever saw was Orange trees. I love it when you're over the orange grove and you can smell the oranges.

We are leaving for DW next week, and I can't wait to ride it again. I don't like roller coasters. So Soarin' for me is a great ride. I can live with a few dangling feet.

 

[goofyernmost]

The first time I rode Sourin' I was in the number 1 row...the second time, in number three. I have to admit that the feet did distract me. I wasn't sure why because I wasn't missing anything really but I kept waiting for someones shoe to fall off.

I think they could solve the problem by putting a drop shield under the rows so it blocked out everything heal height up. If you can't see it's there you won't miss it and the distraction will be gone. Seems like a simple solution to me. and it would put every row on a basically equal standing. Even the way it is isn't really that bad.

I love the ride, incidentally. It is a really great idea.

 

[melomouse]

You have raised a good point, and though I loved Soarin', I agree that the queueing area is minimalist and compared to most other WDW queues - definitely lacking and un-Disney!!! Would love to check out the DL version someday - and hope, as othere have suggested, that once it's made permanent at WDW, we'' see that part improved. We FP's it on our 2nd attempt, so we by-passed lots.

I found Soarin' to be exhilarating and I felt actually "high" for several hours!It was magical for me and I cannot wait to hopefully do it several times on my next trip!!!

I hear you on the feet issue - didn't bother me, but I can see where some folks would feel the "magic" disrupted by that.

 

[cheerful chickadee]

I don't think I'd call it "un-disney" but I do think it wasn't as great as it was hyped up to be. My ds (9) loved it, dh and I both thought it was just ok". We were especially glad we had fastpasses fo it because it wasn't worth waiting in the stand by line for. We were in the front row and still it was just kind of boring to me. After reading the replies here I guess I'm in the minority though.

 

[dibey]

We loved it! We were able to ride in all three rows and the top row is the best. I didn't notice the queue too much because we had fast past all three times. It is one of the few attractions that when it is over, people actually clap for it. The only other attraction I noticed that on was Mickey's Philharmagic.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

If you look down slightly, you don't notice the feet as much and still get a great veiw. Next time look at the very bottom during the river scene. Whoa!!!

We thought it was great. We never stand in the cue that much because we always fastpass. I just don't wait 2.5 hours for a ride no matter how good.

It's a great Disney Attraction. A little thrill, but one the whole family can ride.

 

[Momto8]

I liked the ride but thought that it wasn't as great as I had heard it to be. My DH didn't like it all. He was very disappointed with it. Maybe it's because we had heard so much hype about it and then it didn't live up to our expectations. I guess we're in the minority here. However, we were in the front row and maybe that had something to do with it. When we go back in September, I'm probably going to have a little trouble convincing him to go back on it. I know we'll definitely have to get fastpasses as he won't wait 2 hours to go on this again.

JMHO

 

[TinyLolitaBunny]

Actually I was EXTREMELY impressed by Soarin' and I even waited two hours in line for it! To still be impressed after all that is quite a feat. I thought it was just incredible. to me, it really felt like we were flying right through the clouds(enoguh to make me start wheezing a bit... ). I was on the top row so I did not see any feet and prehaps this helped... Not only did I love the ride itself but I thoguht the actaul mechanism of it was incredible- of course most people do not think about these things as I am a hopeful to work for imagineering one day it's a little more important to me than most people

But no. I didn't feel it was un-Disney at all. I raved about it for quite some time after we got back and I am so thrilled that my family will get to experience it this time as they are coming with us this year.

(one banana for each of us. I am a banana lover.)

EDIT: one more thing- you are right that the que was a little boring but I liked the little trivia screens we actaully payed attention to that and had some fun with it.

 

[allegracristina]

We loved Soarin'. It was the only ride that we waited on line for 60 mins for during the entire week we were in WDW. I do think that the queue could be set up better, and themed better. But the attraction itself made up for it all!

 

[CinderBelle]

Have to disagree too- Soarin' was my favorite on my last trip! I don't think it is "Undisney" at all. Feet weren't a problem for me either!

 

[santonucci]

Having visit to many of the "featured" areas within Soarin, I get chills everytime I ride it. I love the smell of the orange groves (which is dead on), the GGB, Redwood forests, and the AB desert. Yosemite gives you a sense of the grandeur, but it's not the same thing as being there (I'm hiking Half Dome in 6 weeks!)

In DCA, if you stay at the GC, you can get early access to Soarin'. During that time, the whole park is empty, and the CM explains a lot about the "special features" in the ride.

For instance, Yosemite is a no-fly zone, and Disney obtained special permission to film the glider sequence. They also had to get permission from the Navy for the fly over in San Diego. For those of you who like hidden mickeys, there are two in the film (won't say where, you'll have to look).

I think the ride means so much more in California, because it is a celebration of that states rich diversity. In WDW, it seems out of place to me. I'd rather see them do a US version, or a Florida version.

Steve

Soarin' is SWEEEETTT!

 

[laura001]

Soarin is one of my favourite attractions and I think they did a tremendous job on it. I was only able to ride it once last year because it was a soft opening, but can't wait to do it again next year. I was on the top row, from what I understand you can request to be up there.

 

[PocahontasLookALike]

I'm sorry to have to disagree.

Soarin' is one of my favorites. I've been on both at WDW and DL and I like the queue at DL SOOOOOOOOOOOO much better. It really helps pass the time reading and looking at all the stuff on the walls. The one at WDW reminded me of a cafeteria. But at least it's all indoors...the one at DL is partly outdoors.

The dangling feet don't bother me...infact I hardly notice them because they are so far above. I think the experience is just as good no matter where you sit.

 

[NewJersey]

i rode it once last august and LOVED it. i didn't think the feet were annoying or a distraction at all. it just added to the fun i think because it's funny seeing what people do with their feet (rocking them, kicking, etc).

i think the queue line was a bit boring but the trivia screens were fun and informative about the earth. but i do agree more could be done.

 

[lawyergirl]

I agree with many of the posters here with respect to the dangling feet. I first rode Soarin in the bottom right hand row. I was impressed, but I wasn't blown away... but when I finally got to ride in the top, middle row... doesn't even begin to describe it!!

As for the queue - I absolutely love it, but not for its visual punch. I could stand for hours in the Soarin queue in order to listen to the music that they play!!!! I think that the compilation works incredibly well, combines nicely with the colours and other "impressionistic" visual elements of the queue and actually gives me a feeling of grandeur and peace every time I hear it... (I even hunted down the mp3 and play it in my office whenever I'm having a bad day!! )

 

[snowwite]

I just got back from my 29th trip to WDW and had a great time. Last year we only had one day in the parks and got to Soarin' too late for a FP and the standby line was 2 1/2 hours long. We were SO excited to get to ride it this year, but both me and my friend were a little disappointed. I had heard that if you aren't on the top row of seats that you would have feet dangling practically in front of you. Well, we were on the bottom and it's definitely true. Actually, a little distracting if you have people kicking their legs back and forth when you're trying to really get into the attraction. Anway, we noticed the following when we got off:

1) The queuing isn't like other Disney attractions at all. It seems like at all of the
others there are things to keep you occupied while in line. Do you think that
Soarin' will only be a temporary attraction and that's why this is the case?

2) Two words..........dangling feet! Actually, with all of the Disney
"magic" involved with most other attractions, I was a little suprised that
they didn't do something about this problem.

3) When my friend got off the first thing he said was that he felt that it was
more on par with a Universal or Six Flags attraction because of the way
the film literally jumped from one scene immediately to the next.

I hope that I haven't offended all of you Soarin' fans out there, but I was a little disappointed in this attraction. I still love it simply because it's a Disney ride, but I didn't feel like it was on par with their other attractions. Did anyone else feel this way? Please don't flame me for my opinion!

I just rode for the first time in April after DH and DD convinced me how awesome it was. We were in back row and all I could concentrate on were peoples dangling legs. It made it hard to feel like you were flying. It was ok but we have been to better IMAX films at a local furniture store. I dont get what all the hype is about.DD and DH had rode in front before and felt it was a completely different experience.

 

[roe]

Our family loves soarin! Does anyone know if there is a height requirement though? It wasn't an issue before, but now I'm wondering if my 3 year old can ride.

 

[Skylarr29]

I love Soarin'. I do find the feet annoying but mostly I have ridden in the front row. My dbf and I just rode it last week. It was his first time. The first time we rode we were in row 3 and the feet and being "low" was distracting to him but the next night we did it again and got in row 1 and then he really enjoyed it. I think Soarin' is amazing and is here to stay. With the popularity of it (and the cost associated) I can't see Disney getting rid of it.