Soarin' Thrill Factor

[daannzzz]

For those prone to motion sickness...
I can get motion sickness very easy, even on a ferris wheel or carousel. Simulators and spinners are usually the worst but I can hardly even do roller coasters anymore.
Soaring is, in general, fairly mellow but there are some scenes that can cause a little trouble and one scene that I usually close my eyes in. There are a couplse spots where the feeling is similar to some of the more radical movements in a CircleVision film. The worst part for me is near the end when you are flying over the miltary ships in San Diego.
As far as thrills go the best part is sitting in the front row when lift off occurs. This is very exhilerating. Landing is fun too but not quite the same as take off. We had one person with is who was unaware that we were up in the air!

 

[quadaunt]

Soarin' Over California is my most favorite attraction of all time. When I'm traveling on business to southern California (I always stay in Anaheim) I make sure to ride Soarin' Over California as often as I can, even if I have only a little bit of time to spend at the Disneyland Resort (I live in Michigan, but am a premium passholder at DL). There is nothing like it to end a long, stressful day. As may have been mentioned here, it is an IMAX film that gives you the feeling of hang-gliding. There are a few "Whooooooooo" moments as you skim over the top of mountains or dip your feet into the Pacific, but it is not scary at all. I do not have a fear of heights, but I do have severe motion sickness (inner ear problem). This ride doesn't make me have even a twinge of motion sickness, even though they do the customary warning about it, fear of heights and fear of flying in the pre-show. The wind in your face, the smell of orange groves and pine...ahhhhhhh...makes me want to be there right now. The DCA soundtrack CD has the Soarin' Over California theme on it and I close my eyes while listening and imagine I'm there... I told my nephew and niece that they were going to love it when I took them to DL this past June, and I was right. My nephew ended up riding it eight times in a row by using the Single Rider line (each row seats 10 and they make sure to fill up each row). Tip: Best view is from Section B, Row 1. You don't see the edges of the domed screen or feet dangling above you in that row.

 

[Okiemom]

Will this have a Single Rider line at it in WDW?

 

[safetymom]

There is a single rider line in CA so probably WDW will have one.

Soarin is in a completely new building behind the Land. Only the queue area is in the Land Pavilion.

 

[mom2threeboys]

Okay, I have to just ask again. (sorry!) If I can fly in an airplane will this bother me? I do get motion sick/scared of heights, but I can fly, and I made it through Dumbo with my 5 yr old driving last year! LOL
This ride sounds so cool, I'd like to try it. I'm more worried about the heights than the motion - how high off the floor are you really?

 

[daannzzz]

Depending what row you are in you are 15 - 30 feet in the air. If you sit back in your seat and don't look down you won't know you are up in the air. The feeling of flying is still there to some degree though!

 

[ganggreen4jc]

To those of you who have never riden it, but are curious as to "where" and "what" you soar over, this is for you:

Golden Gate Bridge towards San Francisco
Monterey Peninsula
Aircraft carrier in San Diego Naval Station
Heavenly Valley Ski Resort in Lake Tahoe
Malibu coastline
Camarillo orange groves near Ventura
Anzo-Borrego Desert
River in Redwood National Park
Yosemite Falls in Yosemite Valley
PGA West golf course near Palm Springs
Harbor Freeway at "rush hour" towards DT Los Angeles

and...

I'll give you one guess where you end up!!!

Enjoy!

 

[sodaseller]

Passholder Preview starting 4/15 to commence with the opening of F&G - we're going 4/16!

 

[Jillpie]

And its just been announced over on the DVC forum that its open to us DVC members on that same weekend!!! I can't wait, I can't believe the timing of us going to be there.

 

[QUACKHEAD]

Soarin is such a really neat ride! It will appeal to so many people (over 40") that it just has to be a really monster addition!

 

[jimmiej]

DW doesn't like "thrill" rides, but loved Soarin' in DCA. We both agree Soarin' is the best attraction we've experienced at a Disney park.

 

[alicenwonder99]

I rode this in June 2003 at DL and I felt like I was going to fall out! I was in the top row and it seemed like I was too high up. The kids loved it! I didn't want my 4 year old on it because I thought if she got scared and tried to climb out of her seat onto our laps, she would fall to the ground!! So, dh took her on it alone (just dh and dd4). Dd4 loved it!!! OK, so I'm probably the only person who feels this way about this ride. If I never ride it again, I wouldn't be upset. It is pretty cool. But if you are someone who is afraid of heights or gets vertigo easily, make sure you get the seat that doesn't go all the way to the top. The scary feeling isn't that bad at all (not anything like Star Tours or ToT). I just kept on thinking I was going to slip out of the seat and fall to the ground.

Mary