Disney just announced that changes are coming to Soarin’ at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland starting in summer 2026. To coincide with the celebration of America’s 250th birthday, Soarin’ will become Soarin’ Across America. We’ll take a look at what that means, and speculate on how long this might be in effect for.
If you’re unfamiliar (though you’re probably not, if you’re
reading this blog), Soarin’ is a motion simulator ride that makes it feel as if
you are flying (or soaring!) over various beautiful locales. This is done by lifting the rows of seats
inside a theater into the air and leaving your legs to dangle freely below you
as you are immersed in a large screen in front of you. This also includes the feel of wind and
smells related to each location. If I
haven’t mentioned it previously, Soarin’ is one of my absolute favorite
attractions in any Disney park. I try to
do it multiple times per trip whenever we’re there.
Soarin’ debuted in 2001 in Disney California Adventure as
Soarin’ Over California. Epcot got their
own version of this ride in 2005. Both
coasts ran the California version until 2016, when Soarin’ Around the World
debuted. Epcot has basically kept this
version from here on, while California occasionally brings back the original
version for special events. But Soarin’
Around the World is the standard now, which includes such locations at the Eiffel
Tower, the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China.
The announcement of Soarin’ Across America even featured
everyone’s favorite chief flight attendant, David Puddy himself, Patrick
Warburton. I don’t know if he filmed (or
will film) a new version of his iconic safety speech, but it was nice to see
him reprise this character that has become something of a cult favorite among
Disney parks fans. What can I say? We
love a good quotable pre-show video.
Soarin’ Across America will be the first new version of the
film in ten years. This appears to be
part of a larger celebration of America’s 250th birthday, as Disney
also announced festivities that will take place starting on Veterans Day 2025
and run through July 4, 2026, culminating in a 24 hour broadcast across all of
Disney’s platforms, Disney Celebrates America, which will end with a live look
at fireworks at Walt Disney World and Disneyland.
Disney parks have always had a component of American
patriotism, as that was something that Walt himself was very passionate
about. The Hall of Presidents (and
Liberty Square as a whole), the American Adventure at Epcot, and even the
Carousel of Progress represent America well.
I don’t think it’s any real surprise that Soarin’ will now get a similar
treatment, given the natural beauty of the country that would be showcased.
The dates above are interesting, and this is where it gets
dicey to predict how long Soarin’ Across America will run. It’s possible that this is the new
“permanent” (in quotes, because nothing is really permanent at Disney) replacement
for Soarin’ Around the World. I don’t
know if I buy this, as it is being treated as a special event in this
celebration of America.
What’s interesting to me is that Soarin’ Across America is
supposed to debut in “summer 2026”, while the platform-wide Disney celebration
of America only runs through July 4, 2026.
Summer is an amorphous term at Disney parks, often meaning Memorial Day
weekend through mid-August, when Halloween season begins in earnest. I would expect the new Soarin’ to debut on
the early end of that spectrum, mostly to capitalize on the ongoing celebration
that will already be in effect.
Of course, in order for this to open, Soarin’ Around the
World also has to close. But given the
nature of this attraction, I doubt there would be a lot of – if any –
downtime. It should be as simple as
switching out one film for another, unless they need to upgrade some of the
infrastructure to accommodate the new film.
In any case, there would be no reason to push back or delay the start
date here.
The end date is harder to pin down, if indeed this is a
temporary change. Usually a Disney parks
celebration takes place over a long period of time; the 50th
anniversary of Walt Disney World, for example, really ran for about eighteen
months. But considering this is coming
at the tail end of the existing celebration, I truly don’t know what the plan
is here.
The new film has to have some time to breathe, if not for
any other reason than to justify the cost of actually filming and putting it in
the parks. It doesn’t make sense to me
to have it only run for a few weeks or months as many possible guests would not
ever have a chance to experience it. To
that end, I would predict that Soarin’ Across America runs for at least a year,
from May 2026 through August 2027.
That’s just a guess as of now.
I love Soarin’ Around the World, but I really love the ride
system for Soarin’ in general. As much
as I’ll miss the current version, I’m open to seeing this new one, and see if
the technology has improved the experience.
I’m sure Disney will do a great job with the scenes, as they have in the
past. Given the nature of this
attraction, it really should be pretty easy to swap out the films whenever
Disney wants to; this is one reason that I wonder why Soarin’ Over California
hasn’t returned to Epcot, even on a limited basis.
Soarin’ is one of the best attractions at any Disney park
where it resides, and is possibly the last major attraction that didn’t include
pre-existing Disney IP. As long as it
runs, I look forward to seeing whatever version Disney is currently
running. I look forward to seeing this
new film and getting some new memories out of it.
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