Welcome to my first post of 2020! On the penultimate day of 2020 no less!
This was written early this year at the start of quarantine. I didn't know if I'd have the motivation to actually post it, but I have realized that these blogs are more therapeutic than anything. I actually started this post al the way back in March in honor of Soarin' Over California returning at Disney California Adventure for their Food and Wine festival, but that unfortunately was cut short. I hope everyone is safe, and I hope this entertains you for a 10 min read!
Soarin' Over California
Mark Sumner an imagineer on the Disney's California Adventure project, had an idea for the ride mechanism of a planned flight simulator in the Condor Flats section of the park. Using an old an erector set. While playing around with the set, he had designed the basic ride mechanism for Soarin' Over California. This design allowed for guest to be seated on the ground floor and lifted into an OMNIMAX screen, to give them the sensation of flight, and illusion that they were being transported to each location.
(Image from: wdwthemeparks.com)
The Condor Flats section of the park, while lacking theming, would pay homage to California's love of aviation. What better way to pay homage than to fly guests through California's beautiful landscapes and national parks? Some locations included the Golden Gate Bridge, Malibu, Napa Valley, Monterey Bay, Los Angeles, Yosemite, and Disneyland, just to name a few. The queue line would match the theming to Condor Flats and be a tribute to California aviation.
Disney approached longtime Hollywood composer Jerry Goldsmith about composing the ride score and loading music. You might recognize his name or some of his works which include Planet of the Apes, Mulan, The Mummy, Air Force One, Alien, and of course the iconic theme of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Do you know the theme song of Star Trek: The Motion Picture? Yup, he wrote that. After riding the vehicle test, Goldsmith came off the ride crying, telling the Imagineers that he wanted to be a part of this experience so much that he would score this attraction at no cost. Disney still compensated him for his work. This would be one of the last projects he ever worked on before his death in 2004.
Jerry Goldsmith (bottom center) with some space guys. (Photo: CBS)
The ride opened with the park on February 8th, 2001. While the opening of Disney's California Adventure was lackluster to say the least, some park guests said that Soarin' Over California was one of, if not perhaps, Disney's best rides.
Fun fact: Did you know that there is a hidden Mickey on the golf ball that is shot at you when you fly over the golf course?
Really hard to make it out, but there is a Hidden Mickey on the golf ball that is hit at Palm Springs (Photo: findmickeys.com)
Soarin'
Now how did this attraction soar over to Epcot? At that time, Epcot needed more attractions to draw crowds, like the Tower of Terror and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster did for MGM in the mid to late 1990's. Soarin' Over California was so well received by guests that Disney executives almost immediately wanted to make a clone of the ride at Epcot. At this point in the history of Epcot, around 2004, the park itself really did not know what it wanted to be thematically. For example, the Living Seas would become the Seas with Nemo and Friends, while you still had the Wonders of Life operating in its unchanged state teaching about the human body from 1989. However, Disney saw a good opportunity to tie the ride into an already existing Future World pavilion.
The Land pavilion was selected to receive the new ride, along with an update of the interior of the building itself. The show Food Rocks! (formerly Kitchen Cabaret) closed in January of 2004 in order to accommodate space needed for the queue line and the 2 new theaters.
The Soarin' exit takes up where the entrance to Food Rocks was (most notably: same area where the fastpass kiosks were). Also look at those sick Land trashcans.
Construction began almost immediately after the closure in order to make the expected opening date of May 5th, 2005. This was to coincide with the Happiest Celebration on Earth event, celebrating Disneyland's 50th anniversary. The ride's name was shortened from Soarin' Over California, to Soarin'. Since the ride experience took place in California, the queue line would be themed to an airport, and now you would be "catching a flight" to California.
Now, I have many stories about my time at Walt Disney World, but this one memory is one that will stick out. One day, in March of 2005 on our annual family vacation, my cousins and I were headed to Journey into Imagination when a cast member approached and asked us "would you like to test a new experience out?" Before he had time to finish his sentence, I excitedly told him, "YES!". I immediately knew what we were being asked to test. We were then directed to wait by the restrooms behind Journey into Imagination for a cast member to take the group of about 20 park guests backstage to the Land. When he opened the doors, the queue line was still filled with tarp and painting was still being finished. We were told to go all the way down to the next cast member. When we got to the front of the line the cast member greeted us and welcomed us to Soarin'! At that time, he instructed us to go to Concourse B, as Concourse A was not operational that day. Once we were given our seating assignments, I saw the now iconic Patrick Warburton preflight instructional video for the very first time.
We buckled in and proceeded with our first flights aboard Soarin'. Now I have experienced many rides in my life, but this was the first time I experienced a ride where people started clapping, cheering, some crying. It was the first time I realized that other people had the potential to think of attractions the way I viewed them, as unique and an art from much like film or shows. Rides can be beautiful because they are experienced with other people. The thing I remember most is seeing not only my cousins enjoy Soarin', but to see my grandparents enjoy themselves, and my Grandpa asking if we can ride it again.
Soarin' would continue to be soft opened for park guests until grand opening. Just like it's opening at DCA, it was a hit at Epcot.
Here's a little trivia for you: When cast members refer to your flight number 5505, that's a direct reference to the month, day and year that Soarin' opened in Walt Disney World. They still refer to that flight number to this day.
Soarin' Around the World
At some point during the construction of the Walt Disney World's Soarin', it was brought up that a film that fit better in Epcot was an option, but was decided that it would wait. In 2015 at the D23 Expo it was announced that Soarin' Around the World would open at both Epcot and Disney California Adventure, as well as opening at Shanghai Disneyland in Spring of 2016.
Like the title implies, we visit locations from all over the world like Paris, Fiji, Monument Valley, Neuschwanstein Castle as well as many others. You will notice more CGI were used in the film, as well as a very familiar score. The score was written/arranged by Bruce Broughton but used the same melody and just adapted Jerry Goldsmith's wonderful score.
Did you know: Bruce Broughton has written some of your favorite Disney Parks, Epcot, and Disney films scores and music? I've bet that you've heard some of his works which include: Le Visionarium (The Timekeeper theme), Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, Spaceship Earth (2008), The Rescuers Down Under, Ellen's Energy Adventure (Universe of Energy 1996-2017) as well as many others heard around the parks!
From January 2016 up until June 2016, the Disney California Adventure converted the original film to digital 4k, while Epcot's Soarin' remained under refurbishment until the reopening date.
Finally, on June 17th, Soarin' Around the World opened at Disney California Adventure and at Epcot. The Shanghai Disneyland version of the ride, named "Soarin' Over the Horizon" opened on June 16th. Unlike the original, the ending actually matched the location you were seeing the film in, instead of always ending in Disneyland. For example when watching the film at Epcot, the ride will end flying over Epcot (minus the construction walls).
(Photo: BuzzFeed)
But like the original, the ride was again an instant hit. Guests loved that there was a new film to refresh the attraction.
In 2016, a version at Tokyo DisneySea was announced, and finally opened in 2019. This time it was renamed as "Soaring: Fantastic Flight". This version had a minor change to the film, which saw the replacement of the Eiffel Tower scene with a Tokyo Tower scene.
Soaring Fantastic Flight at Tokyo DisneySea (Photo: japan.travel)
In a surprising but not unwelcome announcement, the Disney Parks Blog announced that in July 2019, Disney California Adventure would be showing the original Soarin' Over California for the month. Due to wait times and popular demand, this showing was actually extended a month into August 2019.
Again, Disney Parks Blog announced that for the DCA Food and Wine festival, Soarin' Over California would return, and did briefly, but was cut short unfortunately due to the current Covid-19 pandemic.
The impact of Soarin' Over California
Soarin' was revolutionary in the amusement park industry. While there were similar rides to Soarin' like Back to the Future the ride, none have had the industry wide effect that Soarin' Over California had. Not only did it spawn numerous knock-offs at other parks and locations, it made the industry rethink what a thrilling attraction could be. No longer did a thrill ride need to be fast or have over 3 inversions to be thrilling. The best examples of such attractions at Disney Parks are Flight of Passage and Rise of the Resistance.
Personally, this ride has had a profound effect on me, something I wasn't aware of until I became an adult.
Seeing and hearing people clap and cheer at the end of each ride cycle made me realize that other people see the beauty in this unique multimedia experience that we call rides. Soarin' made me want to be serious about pursuing a career in the Amusement/Hospitality industry. Especially in 2020, I thank God that I am still able to have a job that makes family's happy everyday.
Ironically, in January of 2016 I was in Anaheim for a work conference, and I was lucky enough to catch the Soarin' Over California one last time. Since Soarin' Around the World was announced in 2015, I had thought that the last time I would see the original in Nov 2015. So to my surprise, I got to see the original one last time at Disney California Adventure and it was quite an emotional experience. I remember when I exited the ride, I had that same feeling of joy and wonder when I first rode it as a teenager, 10 years prior.
