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thamnarestan
08-19-2001, 12:04 AM
From reading the posts on this message board I get the impression that most people hold Soarin' Over California in high regard. While I'll admit that the first time I rode (or watched) it, I was entertained, but I wasn't very impressed. Each subsequent visit to this attraction has been less exciting and now, after three visits, I have decided not to ride it anymore.

The ride system is innovative, but not especially thrilling. It certainly doesn't come close to matching the innovation evident in the Indiana Jones attraction.

The movie, in my opinon, was too brief and too shallow. It could have explored much more of California and given some personality to the areas it visited. Instead, guests are given a quick flyover of a couple landmarks and a couple unrecognizable places.

It really says a lot about DCA if Soarin' is considered the park's crown jewel.

Personally, I thought that the best part of the attraction was the aviation hall of fame in the queue.

I would rather watch the America the Beatiful film (was that its name?) in the old Circlevision theater. Is anyone here of a similar opinion?

DisneylandKid
08-19-2001, 08:58 AM
While it definitely is not Indiana Jones, I think Soarin' (even after riding it about 15 times) is a definite E-ticket attraction. The music - the sights - the smells (for the most part) always flow so nicely together. And I think that it does give you a bit of a thrill, but maybe that is just because I have a minor fear of heights.

disneyhead
08-19-2001, 09:47 AM
Just think how cool it would have been if they used a 3-D projection system.

eric
08-19-2001, 10:10 AM
.....and digitally projected.

Kuzcotopia
08-19-2001, 10:30 AM
Yeah, Soarin is a let-down for me. Although there is a great sensation when I ride it, it doesn't touch the imagination like Indiana Jones or Star Tours.

Mostly because there is no story and no theme, and a minor upgrade to existing technology.

This is basically a low-budget Back to the Future rip-off, done 10 years later.

Think about it. Imax projection dome, simulator motion base.

But Back to the future is still so much more than that.

The first time I rode back to the future I was blown away by the sensation that I had my OWN deLorian. There weren't a line of Delorians each taking guests, there was just one (as far as you knew) and it was waiting in a garage for you.

The simulator in BTTF is a great one, with internal video displays and (though this is not upkept well anymore) individual CO2 fog machines for the transition effect when travelling back in time and returning.

INDIVIDUAL FOG MACHINES for each simulator!!! Take THAT, smell-o-vision!

The movie isn't just an Imax camera hanging out of a helicopter either! (cheap cheap cheap) Douglas Trumbull (the visual effects legend) directed the whole ridefilm which was the first Imax ridefilm and also the most visual effects ever created for Imax (they had to build their own optical printers, since none existed for Imax format!). This was in the pre-digital era, so all of the elements were hand-made miniatures.

The individual simulators are beautifully constructed replicas of the Delorian with increased seating capacity (each one seats 6 people) and GULL WING DOORS!

Soarin is a bench type simulator with very limited motion, a smell-system, a fan blowing on you, and an Imax film running at 48 frames per second rather than 24.


So to sum up.

Soarin is just like back to the future, except there's no Doc Brown, no Delorian and you don't go back in time.


-Kuzcotopia

DisneylandKid
08-19-2001, 10:43 AM
You guys complain about everything! :)

How many rides, though, do people clap for?

Kuzcotopia
08-19-2001, 11:29 AM
Originally posted by DisneylandKid
You guys complain about everything! :)

How many rides, though, do people clap for?

Ahh... they're clapping for the Imax. They clap for the same thing in every museum in the country.

Hardly worth travelling to California for. And not something to credit Disney for.

The great things about great Disney attractions were that they were UNLIKE anything anywhere else in the world.

Matterhorn, the first steel-tube roller-coaster in the world. Star Tours, the first simulator ride in the world. Indiana Jones, the first simulator dark ride in the world. Submarine Voyage, Pirates, Tiki Room... nothing like them anywhere in the world.

Soarin' Nothing like it, unless you went to Universal in the last ten years. Or went to Vegas and rode Race For Atlantis or Star Trek The Experience.

Of course Star Trek is in the middle of the greatest immersive story environment EVER BUILT. Real Actors, and you are really on-board the Starship Enterprise. You walk the halls of the ship, you are on the bridge, you take turbolifts, you ride in a shuttlecraft, you use the transporter....

And it's not a themed cue. It's really happening to you. No animatronic Geordi pushing buttons. Real actors interacting with you. No line, no ropes, no stay-behind-the rail and watch c3p0.

And then there's race for Atlantis. A terrible storyline that would make Ed Wood want his money back. But way better technology than soarin. Stereo-3D Imax with a motion-simulator. The only one in the world.

But Soarin' isn't that ambitious either. So really I would have to say that Soarin' is the best simulator ride in Orange County. Back to the Future is better, and Star Trek is better still.

Hardly a reason to stay a second day in Disney.

-Kuzcotopia

Ralph Wiggum
08-19-2001, 02:49 PM
I started a topic on this way back. And you can't accuse me of complaining about everything either, I usually defend. I also felt Soarin' was a good ride but not the best in the park like everyone else was sayin. I wouldn't wait for more than 30 or 40 mins for it. Thats all.

JRob2k1
08-19-2001, 04:55 PM
Originally posted by Ralph Wiggum
I started a topic on this way back. And you can't accuse me of complaining about everything either, I usually defend. I also felt Soarin' was a good ride but not the best in the park like everyone else was sayin. I wouldn't wait for more than 30 or 40 mins for it. Thats all.

Agreed!! I had a lot of expectations when I first when on the ride. I heard is was "incredible!" Granted it was an ok ride, I just think my expectations were to high. It's REALLY fun when you just walk onto the ride too, I have always used FastPass for it...

I love the take off though...Maybe they should just raise you up and down a few times!!!;)

-JRob

DisneylandKid
08-19-2001, 06:05 PM
Originally posted by JRob2k1

I love the take off though...Maybe they should just raise you up and down a few times!!!;)
I love the whole ride, but especially the take off as well. That would be a good idea to encorporate some more dips into the ride to add to the thrill.

:)

pullmyfinger.com
08-19-2001, 09:36 PM
I must agree. With each susbsequent ride, Soarin' becomes less and less desirable. It is especially an atrocious attraction when you sit on the back off to the sides. TERRIBLE SEATS!!!

STAR TREK, BACK TO THE FUTURE, ATLANTIS are all better. Spider Man is 1,000,000 times better. DCA has problems,.

Tink
08-20-2001, 07:05 AM
I mentioned this a while back and I still think that they should add earthquakes to the ride to 'shake it up' a bit and add some excitement.

Oh, and I'm glad that the film isn't in 3D or I'd be projectile vomiting all over the place - bad for the people below me.;)

P.S. why did they have to show San Diego with what looks like a layer of smog on the horizon!!!

Cadaverous Pallor
08-20-2001, 08:33 AM
Ok, I know I shouted a lot about how great this ride is, and here's why.....I've only ridden it once, and my seats were good. But still, DisneylandKid is right - you guys complain about everything!

Oh, and I rode Back to the Future relatively recently....that ride has aged pretty badly, IMO.

Ralph Wiggum
08-20-2001, 03:28 PM
I am not complaining about the ride...I think its a good ride..but i don't see it as the best ride and was wondering if i was the only person who felt that way, which obviously am not.

disneyhead
08-20-2001, 05:33 PM
I feel it is the best attraction in DCA, and I agree that it is overrated. It is a D-Ticket at best.

ralfrick
08-20-2001, 08:08 PM
We all liked it a lot, although there are a couple of minor tweaks I'd make. The cuts between scenes are a little jarring, maybe going through clouds before each would help. And I think they should blast you with hot air over Death Valley. Except for the orange, most of the smells were like a cheap cologne gift pack. But, these are all minor adjustments to a really good attraction.

Last week was my first time on Soarin' and BTTF, and we didn't even go on the latter again, despite having front of the line passes. It did seem alittle worn, not as desireable as Star Tours, for me anyway.

disneyhead
08-20-2001, 08:53 PM
Comparing Soarin' to BTTF isn't fair. BTTF is ten years old. It should be compared to Spiderman at IOA. There it really shows Disney's cheapness.

JeffG
08-21-2001, 08:46 AM
Originally posted by disneyhead
Comparing Soarin' to BTTF isn't fair. BTTF is ten years old. It should be compared to Spiderman at IOA. There it really shows Disney's cheapness.

Why should it be compared to anything at all instead of being judged on its own merits? While Soarin' and BTTF use some similar technologies, the overall content and purpose of the two attractions are as different as "Pirates of the Caribbean" is different from "It's a Small World".

The comparison to IOA's "Spiderman" attraction is even more ludicrous. Comparing those two would be like comparing "It's a Small World" to "Space Mountain"...

-Jeff

disneyhead
08-21-2001, 04:56 PM
Jeff you are right. One is a state of the art simulator ride and one is not.

Uncle Dick
02-25-2002, 10:11 AM
I'm with you all the way thamnarestan. I don't think people in this thread are criticizing the ride itself, because it is an enjoyable experience, but rather the degree to which the ride is hyped. I think it's a nice little D-ticket diversion but certainly not a showcase attraction for the park. For me, the soundtrack was definitely a highlight.

innerSpaceman
02-25-2002, 04:35 PM
Soarin' gets old fast. It's a movie. Same every time. Loved it the first time. Same the second time. Liked it the 3rd and 4th times. Tired of it now. Overrated? Way. Best ride in DCA. Most definitely. That says it all.

MonorailMan
02-25-2002, 07:50 PM
I've never been on Soarin' but wil in the # of days listed in my sig. :)

gwegowy
02-25-2002, 08:23 PM
The first time i road the ride I felt it was a fun attraction, but I was more excited about the potential it could have- to combine soarin' with a ride like star tours- some day when the public is ready that would be the unbelieveable

Fancy Pants
02-25-2002, 10:53 PM
Then don't ride it so often.

And BTTF ride is too hurtful and uninteresting. it'd be better if you weren't looking at just lava or ice through 75% of the movie.

TDS#1Disney Park
02-27-2002, 01:12 AM
"LOW BUDGET ATTRACTION"-who ever said that is on crack,if you think $ 89.4 millon is low budget your smoking some cheap stuff.so much money went into this attraction for one the ride system, theres no other attraction that comes close to it,the music is a original composed song from Jerry Goldsmith and soarin has two 85 foot screens,the projectors arent your everyday movie projectors they run twice as fast (72 mm) as a movie projection and from what i understand that soarin is the only attraction in the world that holds these kind of projectors,but i might be wrong,but that all adds up to some serious $ $ $ $.now if you compare back to the future to soarin it just doesnt compare,back to the future is like star tours without a top, flying in front of a imax screen.soarin gives you the sensation of handgliding, its no turbulent ride through the future, nor its a ride through the slums of new york fighting against super villans.soarin over california is a attraction for all ages from the young to the elderly.what makes soarin a true e-ticket attraction is that you could ride it with your loved ones instead of them waitingfor you at the exit.thats whats makes e-ticket attraction when everyone can ride and have fun.