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 makes it amazingly lifelike and helps reinforce the illusion.
I don't think it's any accident that the Florida version of the attraction is called simply "Soarin'," instead of the longer "Soarin' Over California" that graces the West-coast original. While all of the attractions at Disney's California Adventure need to hew to a Golden state theme, Epcot, with its World Showcase, has a much broader palette.
Indeed, Don Winton, VP of Creative Imagineering for Walt Disney World, says that the great thing about the attraction is that it is relatively simple to reprogram. "The infrastructure is already built. All we have to change is the media," he says. "Everyone will want to know where we'll be soarin' next." While he adds that there is no timetable, he states that the destination will definitely be changed at some point. With its airline terminal theme, perhaps Disney could someday include multiple locales for the attraction, and guests could use the /cs/disneyparks/a/fastpass.htmFastpass system to "book" flights to the destination of their choosing. The possibilities send park fans' imaginations soarin'.
