Credit: ITMOut with the old, in with the new.
Related: DeSantis Disney District Implements Progressive Sexual Harassment Policy
One of EPCOT’s most popular rides and attractions just changed significantly, with Soarin’ Over California officially ending at Walt Disney World. Soarin’ Over California is the original version of Soarin’, taking guests across the state of California as they fly by numerous iconic landmarks. It was brought back for a limited time, allowing guests to once again experience the original ride. However, Soarin’ Around the World returned on February 27, marking the end of this limited-time overlay.
Soarin’ Over California first opened in 2001 at Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort. Eventually, due to the ride’s popularity, it slowly made its way to other Disney theme park resorts like EPCOT at Walt Disney World, Tokyo DisneySea, and Shanghai Disney. After several years of operations, Walt Disney Imagineering decided to “plus” the attraction up, developing a brand new film to accompany the ride.
This new version of Soarin’ would be titled Soarin’ Around the World, and instead of solely focusing on California, it would instead take guests to various locations around the world. The new version of the ride has been debated and criticized since it first premiered, with many fans calling out the abundance of CGI in the new film.
Related: Universal Offers Major Discounts on Annual Passes, Limited Time Only
One of the major problems with Soarin’ Around the World is that the new film focuses on large and incredibly tall objects, such as the Eiffel Tower. With the massive screens being curved, tall shapes tend to bend if you are not sitting directly in the middle of the attraction.
Soarin’ Over California focused more on wide landscapes, providing more immersion than spectacle. Both attractions are incredibly fun and feature what is arguably one of Walt Disney Imagineering’s most creative and impressive ride systems, but it’s hard not to prefer the original version of the ride to the new one.
To make matters worse, the grand finale of Soarin’ Around the World takes guests over EPCOT at night during a spectacular firework extravaganza. The only problem is that EPCOT looks nothing like what is shown in the video anymore, with the park undergoing massive refurbishment since Soarin’ Around the World first premiered in 2016.
Soarin’ Around the World takes guests right over EPCOT’s old Future World and the iconic Fountain of Nations and Innoventions, neither of which still exists. Modern-day EPCOT is broken up into four distinct areas known as World Showcase, World Celebration, World Discovery, and World Nature, and features a plethora of new experiences at the center of the park, like Connections Eatery, Creations Shop, and the new Club Cool.
Several new rides and attractions have also debuted at EPCOT since 2016, like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, and Journey of Water Inspired by Moana.
Check out Soarin’ Around the World in a YouTube video linked below from 4K WDW.
Do you prefer the new version or the old version of Soarin’?