Soarin Status

[Helena123]

Something quite interesting from the Disney and more blog:

But what about the "Soarin'over the World" movie itself, you ask? Well, the last two years WDI imagineers were scouting locations around the world, and once the locations are choosen they need government's authorizations to film from an helicopter. Part of the shooting itself - for instance in France - was scheduled for last summer but it may have changed. Now, may be it don't looks like, but this "Soaring over the World movie" is going to be a real challenge for WDI imagineers. Why? Well, as in this new "Soarin'" movie we will soar "over and around the world" it means different filming in different locations, and here comes the question of the best season. Very probably the best time for filming should be in spring or early summer to avoid landscapes with no leaves on the trees of winter or summer monsoon rains in other locations. Not to mention that for other countries, it will be another season than spring which may be the right one for filming.

Before i go further, a little warning as there will be some spoilers ahead.

Now, the big question is : over which location will we "soar" in this new movie? Well, WDI imagineers have chosen some countries and if they don't change their plans, prepare yourself to soar over England, France, Italy, Egypt, India, China, Japan, and for the U.S.A: the Grand Canyon and New York.

Although there is no South America country in the list above it doesn't mean it's not part of Imagineers plans. They have the choice: Brasil and Rio de Janeiro's bay or Iguaçu Falls, The Amazonia forest, The old Inca Machu-Pichu fortress in Peru, all these would be spectacular locations to soar above...

However, the other part of the Imagineers challenge will be probably to avoid filming a too "obvious" Travelogue. It's not going to be easy, as each country have its own iconic place/city/monument and it's a little bit everyone's dream to fly above them.

But in each country there is also plenty of natural wonders like, for instance, the Grand Canyon. And WDI imagineers may prefer to film them instead of cities or historical landmark like the Forbidden City in Beijing. Or may be they will do a mix of both to help the audience to identify instantly the "country".

Once the filming will be done WDI Imagineers still have to do the editing, add the music score and fix everything right which always takes some months... One last wish and i'm sure that most of you who've ride the first "Soarin'" will agree with me: please try to do a longer movie - which should be the case anyway as a roundtrip around the world in less than 5 minutes would be reaaally short - 7-8 minutes would be fine, it's never too long when you soar above all these wonders even if we must keep in mind the attraction hour capacity. Also: pleaaaase keep - or adapt - the original and fantastic Jerry Goldsmith original music score, no need to have a new one, really!

To come back to the WDS, it will be interesting to see if they will use only the new Soarin' over the World movie or also the first one, Soarin' over California. After all, as the attraction have two theaters guests could have the choice between the two movies... Personally i think they will use only Soarin' over the World at the opening and might keep Soarin over California for a re-boost of the attraction some years later.

....

Whether Soarin' will come at the WDS in the future or not - personally i think it will and that WDS guests will love it - let's all be patient and wait with confidence. Soarin over the World should arrive in 2013 at DCA and Epcot and hopefully later at the WDS. The sooner will be the better as i'm sure that Soarin' over the World will be an awesome experience!

 

[Vyrus]

I hope they keep it to 5 minutes, the lines are long enough with a 5 minute movie, imagine just adding 2 or 3 minutes to that, it would make the line exponentially longer the farther down the line you go. 2 minutes for the next groups, 4, then 6, etc....until someone at the end of the line is adding an hour to thei wait cause of a new film.

If they build a 3rd screen, then maybe, but otherwise, heck no to a longer movie.

 

[gannonsmovieworld]

They shouldn't bring it to DCA. I think it should just be for Epcot. After all, They have no other parks themed to different countries around the world!

 

[rewster]

They shouldn't bring it to DCA. I think it should just be for Epcot. After all, They have no other parks themed to different countries around the world!

I agree. It kinda defeats the purpose.... :shrug:

And it would be nice to keep different experiences exclusive to the different parks.

 

[Helena123]

I agree would be nice to have a different film in Epcot.
Although I think they'res rumours of it coming to the Studios park in Paris too as part of their next expansion.

 

[gannonsmovieworld]

I was thinking and something came to my mind about Soarin' Around the World. Will it resemble BGW's Europe in the Air attraction? I know it's a motion simulator like Star Tours but will Soarin's new video resemble it too much even though it will be based on countries in all continents?

 

[Andy]

This news is very late but I wanted to share it.

This past Thursday at Epcot a guest was able to unbuckle their seat belt and exit the hang glider just before take off. This "defect" forced the attraction closed immediately on both coasts. Disney worked round the clock and reopened both attractions by early Friday afternoon. Very good to hear that no one was hurt and Disney really dodged a bullet with this one. Apparently the poop hit the fan in guest services since Soarin and Test Track were out of service for most of Thursday and part of Friday at Epcot.

 

[jtsalien]

At least they're still able to do something right. Yes, it never should have happened in the first place. But they handled it the right way.

 

[UNIrd]

Test Track AND Soarin' down at Epcot? No acappella group on Earth is strong enough to withstand that.

 

[Sideshow Mike]

From Screamscape:

(5/7/12) I’ve heard a couple of interesting Soarin’ stories this weekend. For starters, I’m not sure of the reason, but I’m hearing it said that for some reason Soarin’ at Epcot is staying open for guests until about 10pm. This is a bit unusual, as I believe Soarin’ usually closed it’s line at 9pm nightly with the start of Illuminations. One rumored reason is that with Test Track now closed for the next several months, they may have quietly extended the hours to help get more guests on board. Again… this is not on an Extra Magic Hour night, nor just running the ride after 9pm which happens anyway, but this is leaving the queue open for up to an extra hour. Can anyone confirm this?

The other weird Soarin’ story involves the rides on both coasts, as both Soarin’ rides were apparently closed fairly early in the day on May 3rd and remained closed for the rest of the day. The inside word is that on one of the rides (not sure which just yet) a man and his daughter got on board, had their belts checked, and somehow just before take-off changed their minds about riding and both freed themselves from the ride. They at least had the good sense to get clear of the ride as it went into motion, and a CM spotted them immediately and E-Stopped the ride.

All the loading and safety systems and procedures were put under the microscope to determine not only what happened, but also how to prevent it from happening again. While the rides did reopen the following day, word is there are new belt checking procedures, security camera angles have been changed, more cameras are on the way, and unfortunately, the belt straps are going to be changed in the near future. From what is being said, the new version of the belts will feature a redesigned center strap (the one normally only used for small children) in which every single rider will now be required to use it. Look for the new straps to arrive in about a month or so on both coasts.

 

[TSSD]

a man and his daughter got on board, had their belts checked, and somehow just before take-off changed their minds about riding and both freed themselves from the ride.

:doh: Really? My god, how have people gotten so stupid?!

 

[Teebin]

Are the belts on Soarin supposed to auto-lock so that people cannot unbuckle them?

 

[JungleSkip]

They did autolock. These people somehow climbed out of them.

 

[Vyrus]

Wow, talk about the stupidity of people, how the hell would someone this moronic try to do this, unless if was on purpose, and hoping to possibly sue and get free money.

 

[NashvilleTrio]

I was on Soarin' a couple of weeks back and had pulled a lot of slack to buckle the restraint. The belt tensioner wasn't working and didn't pull up the slack. I could have easily gotten out of the seat if I had wanted to.

 

[batsmouth]

That is so stupid of people to do, surely they could just wait a few minutes until the ride ended. And not only is it stupid it's selfish as well.

 

[shiekra38]

That is so stupid of people to do, surely they could just wait a few minutes until the ride ended. And not only is it stupid it's selfish as well.

Wait I just remembered I have a fastpass for Spaceship Earth *unbuckles seat belt and jumps off Sorin*

I wonder about people sometimes, their motivation and thought process before they do...things...I would be terrified to jump out of my seat during any attraction especially Sorin, optical illusion or not, that thing goes very high up.

p.s. can someone please make a theme park meme out of this event, thank you

 

[batsmouth]

Wait I just remembered I have a fastpass for Spaceship Earth *unbuckles seat belt and jumps off Sorin*

I wonder about people sometimes, their motivation and thought process before they do...things...I would be terrified to jump out of my seat during any attraction especially Sorin, optical illusion or not, that thing goes very high up.

p.s. can someone please make a theme park meme out of this event, thank you

This story reminds me of the carousel of progress me and my fiancée went on it as people claimed it was a must see Disney ride, 5 minutes later we wanted to kill ourselves. Well people kept trying to get out and they had to keep repeating scenes I actually wanted to scratch my eyes out with a rusty spoon. Where as if those people stopped being selfish and sat it out we would have got out twenty minutes earlier.

 

[BJCool]

All I keep thinking is that this whole incident must have started when the guests said.........................

[video=youtube;zDT-hBEx-Gw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDT-hBEx-Gw[/video]

 

[ShiftyPig]

I was on Soarin' a couple of weeks back and had pulled a lot of slack to buckle the restraint. The belt tensioner wasn't working and didn't pull up the slack. I could have easily gotten out of the seat if I had wanted to.

I experienced the same the past few times I've ridden, both concourses.

When I rode Friday, it appeared that they had installed rubber pads on the back/bottom of the seats that created more of a firm surface underneath the rider. I do not remember these being there before (sitting felt immediately awkward) and they looked new. Think of it as a wedge that goes in between back, rear, and seat.