Wierd Soarin' question

[jann1033]

One of our "trips" on Soarin' was the first trip for one member of our party, a kind of macho looking guy - 6 feet tall and about 220 pounds. After we finished he confided that during the takeoff, he realized he and the stranger next to him (another macho looking guy about the same size) were holding hands. Once we took off, they were both OK (but a little embarrased).

girly men

 

[SueM in MN]

girly men

Actually, it was even funnier.
The guy we were with had told my DD that she could hold his hand if she was scared. She didn't get scared, but he apparently did.

 

[Jackmonkey]

Although I have never been to the WDW Version of Soarin', I do have experience with the original out at DCA. Now lets start with an admission: I am terrified of heights. There is no rational reasoning for this fear, I have never fallen and been injured, or had any ill effects from being up high. Another oddity is that it is isn't very predictable as to when it will present itself. In the Army, I had no problems sliding down a 90' rope dangleing beneath a helocopter (it was fun, I loved it). However climbing 5' up a ladder has me shakeing like a leaf.

Now, on to my experience with Soarin'. I love airplanes, so of course I wanted to experience an attraction that simulates flight. So when DCA opened I pretty much ran to Soarin' as eager as could be dragging my wife behind. Through the que everything was fine, very interesting stuff until I came bee-boping around the corner and was suddenly face to face with a monster worthy of my nightmares. As my throat tightened, and my heart raced, my morale broke. If I had a tail, it would have been firmly between my legs as I slunk out the door with the riders who had just exited the attraction while my wife (who, by the way, won't even discuss going on anything that even looks like a roller coaster) had a great time seated in the highest row. I was pretty much crushed, but that's the way phobias are I suppose.

Just a few months ago I had a second chance to visit DCA and this time I actually forced myself to ride Soarin'. Of course, God has a keen sense of irony, so I wound up in the highest row of seats. It was awesome. I don't want to downplay the fear; I was downright scared, but the experience was well worth the fear. The sensation of flight is simply unbelieveable. I would reccomend that you try to get seated on the bottom row if you fear heights as I doubt that row gets more that 5 or 6 feet off the loading floor. The top row goes a long way up and you really feel the rise at the beginning of the ride.
So a couple of tidbits of advice:
Do it. it is worth the experience, even if it scares you a bit. (or like me, a lot)
Try for the 3rd/lowest row of seats. (They really aren't that high)
Do it without thinking about it. (Harder to do than say, I know, but find a time when the line is short, and head in.)
And finnaly, If it is really that bad, don't do it. nobody will thnk any less of you. (You couldn't get me on Tower of Terror if I was in a coma.)

 

[Kristina]

Hi! I just want to say thank you for all your really wonderful replys . I'm sorry I didn't get back to post quicker but it's been a crazy week over here. Actually I have read most of them earlier but felt I didn't have the time to post a worthy reply, however now when I think of it the fact is that somehow reading your replys made my heart actually race a bit quicker. I think it's because I felt that perhaps one of you would say something that would convince me to ride, well of course that was what I was hoping for when I posted, right? But even that thought made me uncomfortable (!) so I stayed away from this thread on purpose!

Hopefully there will come a day when I just won't care and I'll be able to ride. I was like that with TOT, and now it's my favorite ride, not scary at all! Well not to scary! It's the dang line that gets to me, still. With Tower, at least my feet have something under them, even if it's constantly dropping! I know, it's nuts, makes no sense ! I'm thinking with Soarin, maybe a CM will let me stay in and watch while it goes up. Or maybe not. Renin are you a CM? Your information is very helpful and I will certainly keep it in mind!

Thanks for all your efforts !

 

[kaytieeldr]

Seat height during ride:
Row 1 = 40 feet
Row 2 = 25 feet
Row 3 = 10 feet

If the OP chooses to ride, she should request row 3 - but remember, you ARE seat-belted in (the CMs check before the lights go out) so if you 'fall' it's your own fault.

And Krsitina - no, you cannot stay in the room if you're not buckled into a seat, i.e. you can't watch the film from the floor.