This Tuesday and Wednesday Passholders got a special preview of the new Soarin’ Across America! This is a special edition of the original Soarin’ that we know and love to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary. This is a beautiful flyover view of America and don’t worry, Captain Patrick is still giving you your safety brief! Soarin’ Across America opens to the public on May 26th. Let’s hop in a glider and fly from sea to shining sea in EPCOT!
How Previews Worked
The Soarin’ Across America passholder preview was pretty simple and easy. There was no virtual queue to join, just have valid entry into the park. They had the entrance to the ride walled off with large plants with signs up that said “event check-in”. From there you just joined a standby line where Cast Members scanned your pass to show eligibility. We went on Tuesday night after work, around 7ish. I was worried we would have to wait a long time since there was no virtual queue but it was essentially a walk on! We might have waited 10 minutes, tops, to get into the pre-show area. Not sure if it was more crowded earlier in the day but it was great in the evening! This is not how the other passholder previews will go this week, I’m afraid!
Entrance & Pre-Show
Not a lot has changed here. Out front where you see the big Soarin’ sign there is a large American flag banner hanging above. The coolest part to me is once you have come in past the Lightning Lane touch points there are three large eagles hanging from the ceiling leading to a huge Soarin’ Across America banner. All the posters for this are so pretty. Super simple but really nice! All the big screens have Soarin’ Across America on them and it the trivia will be themed to match as well. None of the destination posters in the queue have changed though, I thought that was a little strange and had expected to see destinations from the US on those.
Now it’s time for the pre-show! We all love Captain Patrick Warburton and I was so happy to see him reprising his role for this update. He comes on and does a special introduction for Soarin’ Across America and then throws it to his younger self to do the safety brief. It was a funny transition and also a reminder that he has aged like fine wine! Hahaha!
Let’s Go Soarin’ Across America!
It’s time for take off! Soarin’ Across America takes you to 13 different locations spanning from Alaska to Hawaii. We started right here in Florida watching a rocket launch at Kennedy Space Center!
The locations chosen really do show how beautiful and how different each part of this country are. We flew over New York Harbor, the Great Plaines, Hollywood, Mount Rushmore, Washington DC, the Louisiana Bayou and more!
With all these new sights come new smells! I don’t know about you but all the different smells for each location on Soarin’ is one of my favorite parts. You can smell the bayou, the fresh salt water air, sweet cherry blossoms, it’s the best! My oldest said as soon as we walked into the ride area that he wishes our whole house smelled like that room. Me too bud, me too! Of course we come in for a landing back in EPCOT, but with a patriotic twist. EPCOT is lit up like the American flag and all the fireworks are red, white and blue. Perfect ending!
Conclusion
We loved Soarin’ Across America! Don’t get me wrong, I love the original but this is really beautiful. Flying all over the world to places I will never get to see in real life has always been a huge part of why I love this ride. But let’s be honest, a lot of these places in the US I’ll never get to visit either. Plus it was kind of cool to say “hey I’ve been there” a couple of times.
It’s awesome to see America’s beauty celebrated in this way. No division, just a celebration of all the different, amazing places across the country. This new version of Soarin’ opens to the public on May 26th so get those park reservations ready! There will not be a virtual queue, just standby and Lightning Lane. It will be worth whatever wait there is and hey, you can go check on the lettuce over at Living with the Land after! I hope you all get to experience this new itinerary on Soarin’ and have a magical day!
