Sensory Over-load
It's the kinetic and perceived sensation of motion, however, that's most remarkable. Soarin' takes the concept of a flight simulator attraction, pioneered in rides such as Disney's Star Tours, and gooses it to a new level by using its innovative flying motion bases to conjure hang gliding.
Need for Speed
While it represents a next-generation Imagineering feat, Soarin' Over California also borrows from "speed room" technology used in Disney attractions such as Disneyland's PeopleMover and Epcot's Horizons and World of Motion. In these relatively low-tech rides, vehicles on a track would travel toward a screen projecting images that suggested forward movement. Riders felt as if they were accelerating into the screens. The only remaining Disney speed room, I believe, is in Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. It holds over the effect from If You had Wings, the attraction that once occupied its Tomorrowland building.
Soarin's motion bases, however, offer greater freedom of movement than speed room vehicles and are more adept at tricking passengers into believing they are immersed in the screened imagery. The IMAX film is projected at 48 frames per second, twice as fast as a normal movie, which renders it amazingly lifelike and helps reinforce the illusion.
Disney has built a clone of the attraction at Epcot. While it is dazzling Florida audiences, it's intriguing to think of the ways Imagineers could use Soarin' Over California's ride technology to develop new experiences. Instead of a travelogue, how about a fantasy-based flight into a dream world? The possibilities send park fans' imaginations soarin'.
