New Soarin' A Little Scary?

[DisneyFive]

Not any scarier for us.

Soarin is my personal favorite ride in all of WDW.

LOVED the original, but I do like the new film too. My complaints are 1) The distortion if sitting to the sides. Like others said, it completely takes you out of any sense of reality. Unacceptable really. 2) The "surprises" they decided to throw in at every location transition. Takes the peacefulness out of the ride and just not needed.

Dan

 

[dismsn]

I was looking forward to trying the new Soaring in September until I read this thread. There is a Soaring-type ride in Seattle and I rode it a few months ago and it uses CGI and was a big let-down. I was hoping I'd have a taste of Disney near home. In my opinion, using CGI when the actual film could be shot (for the Seattle ride it was orcas which could easily be filmed--I just watched a group of them on the news last night) is a disappointment. Hopefully, I'll still enjoy Soaring but at least I'll have realistic expectations prior to riding.

 

[AngiTN]

No, not even remotely scary. Very slight thrill inducing maybe. Slight. Very. Slight.

 

[vikster1]

I sat front row center. I have to admit I was hanging on. I even used the little kid strap between the legs. The older man next to me got a good laugh.

How high is it off the floor?

 

[DisneyFive]

I was looking forward to trying the new Soaring in September until I read this thread. There is a Soaring-type ride in Seattle and I rode it a few months ago and it uses CGI and was a big let-down. I was hoping I'd have a taste of Disney near home. In my opinion, using CGI when the actual film could be shot (for the Seattle ride it was orcas which could easily be filmed--I just watched a group of them on the news last night) is a disappointment. Hopefully, I'll still enjoy Soaring but at least I'll have realistic expectations prior to riding.

Personally, I think the CGI that is used is pretty well done. For me it wasn't so blatantly obvious that it took much away from the overall experience. Still a great ride.

Dan

 

[DaisyJ]

The only thing that scared me even a little bit was the whale breaching, which made me scream a little and recoil from the screen. DH laughed and then I laughed at how much it startled me. Otherwise, I thought it was great and didn't find it scary at all. I'm a total ride wimp...like one ride on EE is about the limit of my ride tolerance.

 

[prettypatchesmsu]

I sat front row center. I have to admit I was hanging on. I even used the little kid strap between the legs. The older man next to me got a good laugh.

How high is it off the floor?

I always use the little kid strap haha! I am always worried I'll slide out of the seat, so it makes me feel better about it. It's funny, the last trip we took with my Mother was when it was the old Soarin' (which she absolutely loved). She looked over at me after she had buckled in and said, what is that while pointing at my belt with the strap, so I told her what it was and why I use it. And she said, well I want that!!! I laughed and told her it was too late as we were taking off and she was already buckled in.

 

[aviva5675]

I agree about the distortion being much worse on the new one. Rode off to the side but nearer to the middle section and it was really, really noticeable. I don't remember it being that bad on old one. I'm going to also wait for a section B, especially a row 1 in the future.

 

[North of Mouse]

Looking forward to trying it out later this year. Has the new 3rd screen helped with reducing wait times a lot?

Yes! We had a FP yest. AM (not rope drop), loved our first Soarin experience so much, immediately rode it SB - wait time 30min. (was slightly less) Third screen a definite help.

Never noticed any distortions at all - rode side (toward center) then rode center - both were excellent - still my favorite ride.

FP ed for TSM this AM, then rode SB 20min. This would have never happened before (not at 10AM). The third rail really made a difference.

 

[wfjeff]

FP ed for TSM this AM, then rode SB 20min. This would have never happened before (not at 10AM). The third rail really made a difference.

That sounds awesome!

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

I enjoy the new Soarin', some of the scenes are incredible, but I completely agree about the distortion. I just returned from a trip and was seated 2 seats from the end on the right side when I went on. The distortion of the Taj Mahal and the Eiffel Tower specifically was pretty horrible. The little girl sitting next to me even mentioned it out loud ("why is it crooked?" or something along those lines). It obviously didn't bother her, though, because she said multiple times both during the ride itself and on the way out that it was "so cool!"

 

[srwarden1928]

I always use the little kid strap haha! I am always worried I'll slide out of the seat, so it makes me feel better about it. It's funny, the last trip we took with my Mother was when it was the old Soarin' (which she absolutely loved). She looked over at me after she had buckled in and said, what is that while pointing at my belt with the strap, so I told her what it was and why I use it. And she said, well I want that!!! I laughed and told her it was too late as we were taking off and she was already buckled in.

I love roller coasters, but I do have a fear of heights. Until I got used to it, I said the old Soarin was the scariest ride in WDW. I enjoyed it, and rode it every trip, sometimes several times, but I am way too scared of it to not use that little kid strap. It does make me feel more secure.

 

[Jfine]

Looking forward to trying it out later this year. Has the new 3rd screen helped with reducing wait times a lot?

Quite a bit in my experience. It still gets longish lines, but less of the extremely long lines. We rode a few weeks ago. The line was outside of the entrance and wait time (actual and posted wait time) was still just under an hour.

 

[pitpat]

The only thing that scared me even a little bit was the whale breaching, which made me scream a little and recoil from the screen. DH laughed and then I laughed at how much it startled me. .

This part would be perfect if it spritzed you with water like Philharmagic or Muppets 3D.

 

[Lothlórien]

The ride itself...not scary...at least not for me.

The distortion on the screen if you're sitting on the far ends...now THAT is scary...

The Eiffel Tower is the worst. I was like, "is this Pisa"? LOL

 

[Lothlórien]

I loved the original opening - coming out of the clouds and gently dipping downward . . . but the new one starts out with you going upward toward a big-a** mountain! Like heading up, up, up before a rollercoaster. Too much for me, but now that I know that is how it starts, I will close my eyes for the first few minutes. After that is was fine, but I miss the golf ball coming at me!!!

I thought the EXACT same thing.

 

[Lothlórien]

Looking forward to trying it out later this year. Has the new 3rd screen helped with reducing wait times a lot?

Yes!!! Absolutely has in our experience.

 

[oceanmarina]

The only thing that scared me even a little bit was the whale breaching, which made me scream a little and recoil from the screen. DH laughed and then I laughed at how much it startled me. Otherwise, I thought it was great and didn't find it scary at all. I'm a total ride wimp...like one ride on EE is about the limit of my ride tolerance.

Give yourself more credit! - i'm such a ride wimp and am too scared to ride Everest. I think you can lose your ride wimp status just by riding Everest once

 

[EuropeanLiam]

It is so 'perfect'! Just love it! Scary? No! Much better than the old version. I take it you must not 'do' roller coasters?? I don't either, but this didn't bother me, knowing it I was not 'actually' 'doing' these things.

I love coasters. I just don't like feeling like I am going to fall out of my seat be be hurdled into the air or dropped from the sky. lol

 

[EuropeanLiam]

I wouldn't say that the new Soarin' is scary. The transitions are much more abrupt, as though they want to startle you every time they switch. I prefer the old Soarin' to the new, but I do like the part with the Great Wall of China. The distortion is ridiculous in this day and age. Considering how much of the movie is CGI, they should have been able to correct for the screen curvature.

I think that nails it perfectly.