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Skunker
10-16-2005, 06:23 AM
I haven't had time to write a trip report yet, but I have to say that I LOVED Soarin' Over California! What a great experience! My only regret is that we only got to ride it once. I still can't figure out how they make the ride so it feels like the rider is moving, do they blow air on you? Was I really moving? (sorry if this is obvious, but I was so absorbed in the ride, I forgot to pay attention to the mechanics!)

I really did enjoy DCA as a whole, in part because it was so much less crowded that DL the days we were there. My son loved GRR - we went on that 6 times. I also really liked Tower of Terror - I had to go it alone, no one else was brave enough. ha ha.

disneyhound
10-16-2005, 06:43 AM
One of our favorite rides as well!

geoffa
10-16-2005, 10:47 AM
I haven't had time to write a trip report yet, but I have to say that I LOVED Soarin' Over California! What a great experience! My only regret is that we only got to ride it once. I still can't figure out how they make the ride so it feels like the rider is moving, do they blow air on you? Was I really moving? (sorry if this is obvious, but I was so absorbed in the ride, I forgot to pay attention to the mechanics!)

I really did enjoy DCA as a whole, in part because it was so much less crowded that DL the days we were there. My son loved GRR - we went on that 6 times. I also really liked Tower of Terror - I had to go it alone, no one else was brave enough. ha ha.


Yes they do blow air on you. The "seats" tilt a few degrees from side to side but combined with what you see on the screen it fools your brain into thinking you're diving or rising - you probably thought you were flying down to the sea and up to meet the fireworks at DL at the end of the film- the same effect is used on Star Tours and Body Wars (WDW) but Soarin' is more effective because of the wrap around screen which is designed to fill your whole vision field.( Try the Star Trek Experience at Vegas for true wrap around effect.) The fact that your leg's are dangling down means they point to the ground but if your body is tilted slightly then your brain thinks you are moving to that side. You kinda get the same sort of effect visually in Imax theatres and it's why some people fall over watching "Oh! Canada" at EPCOT.(You are stood watching the film rather than sitting). The first major ride to use this effect was "Back to the Future" at Universal. They had real trouble because if the car movements weren't spot on with the film then people experienced motion sickness. Soarin' is somewhat more subtle.

Also as you flew over the orange groves you should have smelled oranges as they spray a citrus scent it into the air in front of you. It's a trick that supermarkets use in fruit and vegetable departments. SERIOUSLY! In "It's a Bug's world" they spray water on you and a smell into the air but because of what you're watching you're fooled into thinking it's a stink bug's spray. Clever, eh?

On Tower of Terror you are not dropping as fast as you think you are although it does employ the world's fastest winding gear. They blow air down on you to create a "faster" falling effect and although I can't confirm it there may also be taped screams to add to the effect. It's all about fooling those senses.

I'd like to know if Disney ever intend to create a ride where you're put into a cartoon world (I DON'T mean like Roger Rabbit's ride)- you need to have ridden "Spiderman" at Universal's Isles of Adventure to appreciate what I mean. If you've ridden Indiana Jones..then your senses are assailed by the being thrown around effect - the poisoned darts / spaers are in fact very fast jets of air shot across in front of your face.

Soarin' is terrific - we got to ride it twice. There is a National Geographic (?) or it could be a Travel Channel (?) program that goes behind the scenes at DL and DCA. The guy who came up with idea did so by constructing the seating model with an erector set!

Hope I haven't ruined your magic!:fez:

newportbeachbumz
10-16-2005, 01:10 PM
"Soarin" is my therapy session.

Vegitabeta
10-16-2005, 01:13 PM
Soarin' is like, the Tiki Room of DCA. You just kinda, go in for a little relax on a hot day. I love it!

potzbie
10-16-2005, 02:45 PM
There are so many effective scenes in SOARIN' that it is hard to pick one.

The one which makes me lift my feet from getting wet is the one that is very low over the surfers, as you sail out from the shore to deep sea, right over the surfers' heads.

The teed-off golf ball still gets me, too!

The sudden drop-off that you see on the other side of the mountain, after climing upward toward the snow skiiers, is impressive, too.

Hot air balloons scene is fabulous.

The four-jet desert fly-by is fabulous.

The "rear bumper view" of the hang glider ("Woo-hoo!" we hear him scream) is surprising.

Too many to choose from.

Did your group applaud at the end?
I sometimes am in a group that applauds, but not as often as the first year DCA opened.

Skunker
10-17-2005, 08:52 AM
So that's how they do it! Thanks for the explanation.