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Thread: Is Soarin' Scary?

  1. #1
    You could be a big pig too!
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    Is Soarin' Scary?

    My mom has decided to join us for a couple of days of our trip. She has not been to Disneyland in over 30 years! It will be so fun. She is not really a "rides" person, which is fine, but I do plan on taking her on the mild attractions. My question, if she is afraid of heights, do you think she would hate Soarin' over California? I am not a fan of heights but I am a "rides" person and I love it (and rollercoasters, just NOT ferris wheels). I just think I am a bad judge of whether she will like it or not. What do you think?

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  3. #2
    Tortoise Thief bennette's Avatar
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    I think it all has to do with how afraid of heights or flying she is. I have seen grown people freak out and have to be removed before the ride even goes up.

    Maybe if you get a youtube of it so she can she how low she is to the ground, relative to other rides, as well as what else to expect, it well help. You can also ride in the back row, which stays the lowest to the ground.

    The people I've seen who are in the most distress are not so much afraid of heights as afraid of flying. And you do have some sensation of flying. Not much to do about that, except ask yourself "Do I really want to go through my life missing this ride due to a fear I know to be completely irrational."

    Me, I don't push people to ride rides they aren't comfortable with. But I do ask them to think through what is the worst that could happen in this four minute ride...at Disneyland.

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  4. #3
    Tower of Terror is the best
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    Soarin is scary if you dont like height besides that it is fun ride u smell various things things thru the ride

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    I have a fear of falling not heights. I can do Soarin even sitting on the end seats because I am strapped in. IF she has trouble riding an ferris wheel then I would say no. My mother did not like the ride because of the height but did love the movie.

    Once you are on the ride you are there so make sure she can handle the Golden Zephyr or Jumpin Jellyfish or an old fashioned ferris wheel. It is a great ride but the way I feel is that I will skip the Orange Stinger as I freaked out on that and will skip Indiana Jones as I done hurt my back on that before. I want to ride Indy but have to say NO.

    If she is only mildly height sensitive then do not let her sit on the end seat and make sure her belt is snug so she feels safe. If you do not look down then you do not realize you are way in the rafters and it is more like being in a movie theater's top rows.


  6. #5

    I don't like ferris wheels and have no problem with Soarin'.


  7. #6

    too realistic

    Quote Originally Posted by MermaidHair View Post
    My question, if she is afraid of heights, do you think she would hate Soarin' over California? [...] I just think I am a bad judge of whether she will like it or not. What do you think?
    "Heights"?
    Then, correct, do not have her ride Soarin' Over California because its simulates being above the earth at 300 feet or so, at a speed of roughly 50 miles per hour.

    If she wouldn't parasail, and if she wouldn't parachute, and if she wouldn't bungie jump, then definitely she should stay away from Soarin'.
    It is too realistic of high-altitude, steep-banked, gliding.
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  8. #7
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    I am afraid of heights. I hate climbing ladders, standing on chairs, ferris wheels and flying makes me nervous (but I'll do it if I have too), etc. That said... I love Soarin'. I ask for the 3rd row when we are being lined up. I do hold on tightly for the take off and landing, however, when we are up there, the sights and smells are so wonderful that I forget I'm afraid. I never look down. The question isn't whether or not she's afraid of heights, it's how afraid of heights is she? Is her fear intense or can she rationalize that she'll be ok and get through it?

    Soarin' has to be on my top 3 attractions list for the resort, I have to ride it every time- even when I was pregnant with my youngest. It's an amazing ride. I hope your mom gets to experience it. Good luck.

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  9. #8
    Princess in hiding underthesea1987's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by potzbie View Post
    "Heights"?
    Then, correct, do not have her ride Soarin' Over California because its simulates being above the earth at 300 feet or so, at a speed of roughly 50 miles per hour.

    If she wouldn't parasail, and if she wouldn't parachute, and if she wouldn't bungie jump, then definitely she should stay away from Soarin'.
    It is too realistic of high-altitude, steep-banked, gliding.
    I dont know, I would not do ANY of that stuff and neither would my grandma, mom and stepdad and we all LOVE it
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  10. #9
    half pirate, half princess adikted2disney's Avatar
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    We took my mom last summer. She does not do roller coasters. She does not like heights. She is not an adventurous person. Period. I put her on Matterhorn and the look on her face when she got off was horrifying... and priceless Nevertheless, we took her to Soarin... she loved it! She wanted to go again! Like I said, she hates heights and all that but in my opinion, I don't think Soarin is scary and she would tell you the same. It's such an amazing experience that you forget that you are up high at all.

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  11. #10

    Who knows....

    Yes, it is true....only you and your Ma will be able to figure this out but hope ALL of this is informative and doesn't prove to confuse....here is my story...

    Last time my Mom and Dad went with me and my sis (Tracemountain) they got to ride SOARIN' for the first time. Now my Dad dissects the rides (with pure awe and appreciation as he is a mechanic) and my Mom acts like a 6 year old and believes that we escaped fire and almost got attacked by hippos. So........

    We are waiting in line for Soarin' and they clearly show people going up on the video with their feet dangling. We all watched without talking. Then we were ushered into the room and we got on the front row which is the highest height. After we were all strapped in my Mom turns to me and says "As long as my feet don't dangle I have no problem with this" Just then on cue the hoods go down and the chair lifts go up and she started saying "get me off this" (but was laughing too mind you). Once we got up there I started trying to point out where I lived in SF and she did that MOM THING with the arm and wouldn't let me lean forward. We all were laughing and the more the ride went on the more she loved it. When we got off she said, "Oh we have to ride that again!"

    The moral of the story I guess is as long as they know what they are getting into then the better they will be. Knowledge is power.

    Of course I am mad.......(and apparently my Mom is too.....)


  12. #11
    Blow me to Bermuda! wvnative's Avatar
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    I'm afraid there's no way to really know how she will react. You'll have to explain it to her fully and, as someone else mentioned, maybe a youtube video would help.

    I couldn't pay my mom enough money to bribe her to ride anything but the carousel and even that is questionable. She has motion sickness.

    I am afraid of heights and falling. I don't ride ferris wheels and have ablsolutely no interest in skydiving, hangliding, bungee jumping or parasailing and I can't do ToT. That said, Soarin' is one of my favorites. I prefer the third row although I've done o.k the first and second as well.

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  13. #12

    I recently noticed that I always feel a little insecure on Soarin when I am wearing sandals that might fall off, but I don't feel that way when I am wearing sneakers. Strange but true.


  14. #13
    CL--DLR Trip Planning and DVC Toocherie's Avatar
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    Just fyi, I have seen people take off their sandals and leave them on the ground by their seats.

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  15. #14
    Happiness is that smile MammaSilva's Avatar
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    Riding barefoot 'thru the fireplace' as my daughter calls them is her favorite part! We always slip her sandles off and leave them on the floor before take off, she LOVES swinging her bare feet as we ride.

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  16. #15

    I have seen people freak right out on Soarin'. I think pre-prep helps, and asking for a seat in the back row (lower, and you can see the feet above you so you stay in touch with reality a little bit) would be a good move. I am pretty sure that having the feet dangle is a big fear for some people.

    It's really hard to predict, everyone's fears are unique. I feel secure on Soarin' because the angle of the seat (and the belt) keeps me from feeling like I am going to fall out, and the hood keeps me from seeing how close I am to the ceiling. The ride is really well-designed to remove any touchstones of the room, so you feel like you are flying, and not thinking about how high you actually are. but if she's the kind of person who needs to see those things to feel secure, then yeah, she might be better off skipping it.

    Maybe you could explain the ride to her a little bit, that it is a suspended motion-simulator -- basically a glorified swing.


  17. #16
    You could be a big pig too!
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    Thanks for all of your advice - it is clear that there are many out there who are like me, afraid of ladders and ferris wheels but not Soarin'. I would think Ma could do it - the woman used to ski, after all, but she had to focus to not freak out about the chair lifts. I will give her as much info as I can and let her decide. I will report back on what she did.

    About the no shoes thing, I wrote in a trip report a couple of years back that the first time DH and I went on Soarin' the girls next to us took off their sandals. I was wearing mules so I took them off too. DH thought that sounded nice so he took off his tennis shoes and boy did he have stinky feet!! Of course it was too late to put them back on and we remarked that the ride was now Stinkin' over California! He has never done that again!!!

    Disneyland trips: '72, '77' 78 '79, '80, '86, '99, '06, '07, '08, '09 , '11, '13, '14, '15 and '16
    WDW solo trips: '13, '14, and '16

    "My favorite part of Disneyland is spending time with my family" -- DD, age 10

  18. #17

    The first time I rode Soaring I really didnt think I was going to like it. I was really getting nervous before we got on. I dont like the ferris wheel (I did it once and will NEVER again!), I dont like roller coasters, I am even afraid on the little roller coaster in toon town.
    But I love Soaring!!! I think she should give it a try, I bet she will like it! Have a great time on your trip.

    Off to Neverland!!!!

  19. #18
    Waiting impatiently for next trip quackinup's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MermaidHair View Post
    About the no shoes thing, I wrote in a trip report a couple of years back that the first time DH and I went on Soarin' the girls next to us took off their sandals. I was wearing mules so I took them off too. DH thought that sounded nice so he took off his tennis shoes and boy did he have stinky feet!! Of course it was too late to put them back on and we remarked that the ride was now Stinkin' over California! He has never done that again!!!
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  20. #19
    You could be a big pig too!
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    Quote Originally Posted by quackinup View Post
    That was you?!?!?! I thought they had just fertilized the orange grove!
    Heh Heh Heh
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    "My favorite part of Disneyland is spending time with my family" -- DD, age 10

  21. #20

    My daughter is scared of heights but she loves soarin. As said before, just ask for the 3rd row and you will be fine.


  22. #21
    Deluxe AP holder!! disney4iv's Avatar
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    We are taking my mom and dad (who have not been there in 23 years), and I too wonder what they might be fightened on. I really want them to experience everything just once. If they don't like it then they don't ever have to ride it again. ( I am not so sure I can get them on Tower of Terror though) We shall see what happens.

    "I only hope we never lose sight of one thing-that it was all started by a mouse." -Walt Disney

  23. #22

    I also LOVE Soarin. I 'hate' to be in tall buildings,but I love to fly. Go figure.


  24. #23
    Did I read somewhere that they are going to replace the current movie on Soarin' with a new one soon?
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  25. #24
    Disney Dreamer
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    I am not a heights person at all, I cant even handles watching someone bungee jump when I am on the ground. I rode a gondola in high school and hung on so tight I was white knuckled. I was yelling at my kids on the jelleyfish ride to hang on. They were laughing at me and putting their hands up. I was clutching to that darn jelleyfish for dear life.

    I LOVE LOVE LOVE Soaring, I will single ridered it both trips when rest of family was on scary rides, and I prefer first row ( I dont like seeing other peoples feet)

    I hang on (but am not 'scared') when going up and down and I dont lean forward when I'm up there, but I would never ask for the 3rd row

    Been on about 4-5 times and lucked out with first row all but once ( never ask ) that one other time was 2nd row. The shoes are so distracting.


  26. #25
    Ready for MA World Explorers! Drince88's Avatar
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    I have heard that they're working on a new movie for Epcot, but I don't know if they're going to show that in DCA or not, once it becomes available. (It IS Soarin' Over California - Epcot is just Soarin')

    Cathy

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