Soarin - hidden meanings?

[Mitzicat]

Last week I was at DLR and while enjoying Soarin I saw a couple of things that made me wonder if they had a hidden meaning.

1. The scene where you see the hot air balloons. There is only one balloon that has writing on it and it says "75" in really big black letters. Does this mean anything?

2. Also I was wondering if there was a meaning to the flight formation the Thunderbirds flew in the movie? I don't think it was the missing man formation. Is it just a formation and no hidden meaning?

I figured someone on the board would know the answers to these questions!

 

[Robo]

Last week I was at DLR and while enjoying Soarin I saw a couple of things that made me wonder if they had a hidden meaning.

1. The scene where you see the hot air balloons. There is only one balloon that has writing on it and it says "75" in really big black letters. Does this mean anything?

2. Also I was wondering if there was a meaning to the flight formation the Thunderbirds flew in the movie? I don't think it was the missing man formation. Is it just a formation and no hidden meaning?

I figured someone on the board would know the answers to these questions!

1. Nope.

2. No hidden meaning.

 

[nytimez]

There's a secret message in Soarin' -- but you have to ride it backwards to see it.

 

[sissy_ib]

There's a secret message in Soarin' -- but you have to ride it backwards to see it.

OP-the 75 could mean anything. It's just what was on the balloon Disney filmed. And the Thunderbirds, like all aerial demonstrators have MANY different formations they fly.
Not everything has to have a hidden meaning.

 

[mattsdragon]

There's a secret message in Soarin' -- but you have to ride it backwards to see it.

Michael Eisner killed Paul McCartney.

 

[ashley0139]

Not on the ride, but when you are in the queue they announce that they are boarding flight 5505. The ride opened in Epcot on May 5, 2005.

My friend and I were there a few weeks ago and figured that one out.

 

[Disneykidsdad]

Last week I was at DLR and while enjoying Soarin I saw a couple of things that made me wonder if they had a hidden meaning.

1. The scene where you see the hot air balloons. There is only one balloon that has writing on it and it says "75" in really big black letters. Does this mean anything?

2. Also I was wondering if there was a meaning to the flight formation the Thunderbirds flew in the movie? I don't think it was the missing man formation. Is it just a formation and no hidden meaning?

I figured someone on the board would know the answers to these questions!

Yes...very secret hidden meanings. And yes...you are being followed.

 

[TDC Nala]

I don't recall the whole story or where I heard it (or even if it is really true) but the plane that pulls away from the Thunderbirds flight is apparently being flown by a pilot who was about to retire and it was his last flight. Not sure if that is any symbolism regarding Soarin' itself or any aspect of Disney though.

 

[supernova]

Michael Eisner killed Paul McCartney.

C'mon, Matt. If the balloon said "57" THEN it would have meant that Eisner killed McCartner. The OP said the balloon reads "75".

 

[mesaboy2]

The "75" indicates how many minutes of your life you just wasted in the standby queue so you could barely make out "75" in grainy video.

 

[Mitzicat]

You all are too funny. I have a had a good laugh this afternoon. I just thought the balloons were odd. Only one had writing on it. All the others were rainbow/striped colors. And it sits at the bottom left hand side away from the others.

Actually we only waited 10 minutes at CA for Soarin. No 70 minutes lost. I was shocked!

I knew about the Flight 5505....

I guess I have to stop trying to find hidden meanings in everything at Disney.

I was able to point the hidden mickey on the golf ball to my friend. She thought that was neat.

 

[mattsdragon]

C'mon, Matt. If the balloon said "57" THEN it would have meant that Eisner killed McCartner. The OP said the balloon reads "75".

Backwards, you have to watch it backwards.

 

[umichigan10]

The things you mentioned lead to the secret location of Jimmy Hoffa:

-The 75 can be broken into coordinates 7,5.
-The thunderbirds point to the direction.

According to my findings the two possible locations could either be Aiyetoro, Nigeria or somewhere in the Pacific Ocean

 

[jbschafer]

The "75" indicates how many minutes of your life you just wasted in the standby queue so you could barely make out "75" in grainy video.

 

[Quartermistress]

Does anyone know what ship is in Soarin after you fly over the aircraft carrier? I know the aircraft carrier is the USS Stennis, but what about the ship (I believe is a DDG-51) you see after you fly over the Stennis?

 

[OKW Lover]

That would be the USS Arleigh Burke

 

[Technosavant]

Does anyone know what ship is in Soarin after you fly over the aircraft carrier? I know the aircraft carrier is the USS Stennis, but what about the ship (I believe is a DDG-51) you see after you fly over the Stennis?

The carrier is indeed CVN-74, the Stennis. However, the ship you are asking about is not an Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) class destroyer. It is a Ticonderoga class (CG-47) cruiser. Check this video at about the 4:45 mark.

I haven't been able to make out the hull number, but it's definitely an Aegis cruiser, not a destroyer (even though there's not a huge size difference between them... the Ticonderoga class was built on the same hull as the Spruance class destroyer, which preceded the Burke class). The giveaway is that a Tico class cruiser superstructure, especially aft, is vertical and flush with the sides of the hull. On an Burke class, it isn't (the front superstructure is flush but not vertical); the superstructure sides are angled (it reduces the radar cross section somewhat; there's some stealth features on the Burke class) and the hull itself is wider. The Burke class also has a single mast from the forward superstructure, a Ticonderoga class has two masts, one from the forward superstructure and one from amidships.

Good heavens, I'm a huge geek.

 

[Quartermistress]

The carrier is indeed CVN-74, the Stennis. However, the ship you are asking about is not an Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) class destroyer. It is a Ticonderoga class (CG-47) cruiser. Check this video at about the 4:45 mark.

I haven't been able to make out the hull number, but it's definitely an Aegis cruiser, not a destroyer (even though there's not a huge size difference between them... the Ticonderoga class was built on the same hull as the Spruance class destroyer, which preceded the Burke class). The giveaway is that a Tico class cruiser superstructure, especially aft, is vertical and flush with the sides of the hull. On an Burke class, it isn't (the front superstructure is flush but not vertical); the superstructure sides are angled (it reduces the radar cross section somewhat; there's some stealth features on the Burke class) and the hull itself is wider. The Burke class also has a single mast from the forward superstructure, a Ticonderoga class has two masts, one from the forward superstructure and one from amidships.

Good heavens, I'm a huge geek.

Wow, thanks for all the detail, Technosavant!