Soarin’ Across America
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Overview
Soarin’ Across America is a simulated hang-gliding experience that lifts you high in front of an enormous curved projection screen for an aerial journey across the United States.
The current film takes you over a mixture of dramatic natural landscapes and famous cityscapes, travelling from coast to coast as part of Disney’s celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.
Rather than travelling along a track, your entire row of seats rises away from the floor and remains suspended in front of the screen while the film creates the sensation of flying.
Wind, scents, music and gentle seat movement are synchronised with the imagery, making the experience feel much more immersive than simply watching a film.
Queue Details
Soarin’ is located on the lower level of The Land pavilion.
The queue is indoors, air-conditioned and carpeted.
The route includes gradual uphill and downhill sections rather than being completely level.
Wheelchair and ECV users can remain in their mobility device throughout the queue until reaching the boarding area.
Guests are divided into separate concourses before boarding and then assigned to one of three seating rows.
Your wheelchair or ECV can be brought into the boarding area and positioned close to the ride seat before you transfer.
The ride seats remain completely stationary while guests board.
The exit route is also carpeted and includes both downhill and uphill sections.
Transfer Info
Wheelchair and ECV users must transfer completely into the ride seat.
The seating consists of long bench-style rows with individual seatbelts.
Your wheelchair can be positioned close to the end of the row for the transfer, and the ride seat is around conventional chair height rather than sitting very low to the floor.
The armrests do not move or lift out of the way, so a sideways or lateral transfer needs to be completed around the fixed armrest rather than across a completely open bench.
Once everyone is seated and secured, the whole row rises away from the loading platform into the flying position.
If physical lifting or bodily assistance is required during the transfer, that assistance needs to come from someone in your own party.
After the ride, the row lowers back to the loading position before guests leave and your mobility device is returned to you.
Sensory Experience
What do these sensory tags mean?
- Heights
- The experience involves noticeable exposure to height.
- Motion Simulator
- A moving seat or platform is synchronised with filmed or projected motion.
- Scents
- Noticeable artificial or environmental scents are part of the experience.
- Wind/Air Effects
- Deliberate blasts of air or wind effects can be felt by guests.
Sensory experiences vary between people. These tags describe elements that may be present, not how strongly any individual guest will experience them.
Soarin’ Across America is physically gentle, but the combination of height, movement and enormous projected imagery can create a very convincing sensation of flight.
Once the attraction begins, the entire seating row rises high above the floor and remains suspended throughout the film.
A large curved screen fills much of your field of vision with aerial footage moving beneath and around you.
The seats tilt gently in coordination with the film rather than making sudden or aggressive movements.
Air moves across riders during parts of the experience, and different scents are introduced to match some of the locations shown on screen.
The large moving imagery can create sensations of climbing, descending and travelling at speed despite the relatively gentle physical movement of the ride system.
Guests in the upper rows are physically higher above the floor, while the lowest row remains closer to the ground.
Feet hang freely once the row lifts, with no floor directly beneath them.
There are no inversions, major drops or 3D glasses.
Practical Tips
The ride seat is around conventional chair height and your wheelchair can be positioned close to the end of the row, but the fixed armrests cannot be moved out of the way. If you use a lateral transfer, this is worth considering before boarding.
If you need your wheelchair positioned particularly close to the seat, tell a Cast Member before boarding.
If heights are uncomfortable, ask whether a position in the lowest row is available. You will still rise above the floor, but not as high as guests in the upper rows.
The lowest row can also feel slightly less exposed because there are other riders suspended above you.
Conversely, the highest row provides the clearest view of the screen without other riders’ feet appearing above you.
If large-screen simulator imagery causes motion sickness, briefly closing your eyes can remove much of the illusion of flight while the physical seat movement remains relatively gentle.
The attraction is indoors and air-conditioned, making it a useful break during a hot EPCOT day.
And yes, Disney has once again managed to make sitting on a bench while watching holiday footage feel like genuine aviation. The dangling feet are doing a surprising amount of the work.
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