Walt Disney World Parks - Epcot

 

SOARIN' - IS IT MY EYES OR IS IT THE SCREEN?

Soarin' has been one of our favorite rides at Disney, but unfortunately there's a problem with the film or projector (we're not sure which), and it's getting worse. We've noticed that over the last year or more there's been a lot dirt or damage on the screen.  For us this negatively impacts the illusion that we're really flying.

When we saw the beginnings of this quite a while ago, we asked cast members about it.  Each time they said that it would be taken care of. Instead it's gotten much, much worse. In addition to the smudges and gook on the screen, lately we've noticed on several visits that the film is soft focused. The images are just not as crisp as they were. 

Here's what we've discovered that may minimize the impact for you.  Our experience is that the screen problem seems to be much worse on the left side. We prefer to ride in the center or right side of the theater. This enables us to focus on cleaner sections of the images. Also, we've found that if we ride on the far left or far right, the focus is worse.  We prefer not to sit in the seats that are all the way over to the sides.

We really hope that Disney will maintain this ride better, but until they do, we suggest that our readers stay in the center or right, without being on the ends. Ask a cast member to help you with this when you're being placed in your riding position in the queue.  If they tell you they can't do it, you may wish to ask to wait for the next ride so you can ride in a better position.

The film image is a huge part of making this ride seem realistic, and that's the thrill!  When everything is working right, this ride really makes us feel like we're flying. When it's not, we find that it's not worth the wait.

Enjoy!

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