Wandering Zen – Soarin’ Over California

We are back at the Disneyland Resort to experience an old friend that has made a return to the park – Soarin’ Over California.  This fan favorite takes you on a great adventure through the Golden State and is definitely an inspiration for some wandering.  Even though you feel like you’re there while on the attraction, each and every location is worth a visit on your next California road trip!

Before we start to wander, or soar over, California let’s take a quick look at what the attraction is all about.

Soarin’ Over California was an opening day attraction at Disney California Adventure which opened its gates on February 8, 2001.  It became an instant hit and remains one of the most popular attractions at the Disneyland Resort with long wait times and sold out fast passes early each day. Soarin’ Over California was replaced by a new experience, Soarin’ Over the World back in 2015, but it has been brought back, to the excitement of nearly every guest, for the Summer of 2019.  So if you’ve missed it since it left, now is your chance to soar over California once again!

The original attraction almost didn’t happen though.  The Imagineers had a tough time developing a screen and ride system that would envelop the guest while also being able to load and unload efficiently enough to reach the capacity that was needed for the attraction. As the story goes, Imagineer Mark Sumner was at home one day and was pondering a solution when he got out his old erector set and some string and began to tinker around with an entirely innovative new ride system.  He continued to tinker and ended up building a working model that he took back to Imagineering. The rest is history.  His design allowed Disney to efficiently load guests on one level instead of three, which was the way that it had been developed previously, thus cutting construction and labor costs greatly.

Each ride vehicle consists of three rows of seats under a wing-like canopy which is to resemble a hang glider.  Each of the 9 gliders holds 87 guests at a time. Once everyone is buckled in, the lights dim and the cantilever system lifts the modules forward and into the air with your feet dangling freely. You are lifted forward so that you are looking into a huge, concave movie screen. The attraction features an IMAX Laser 4K projection system. The result is really quite amazing and it really gives you the sensation of flight. The ride structure contains about one million pounds of steel, and 37 tons are lifted during each ride cycle. Truly incredible engineering – great job Mark!

To enhance the illusion of flight, subtle vertical movements of the seats are synchronized to the film. and, scents of oranges, pine and others are added to give you the feeling that you are right there!

Now that we’re airborne, let’s soar over California.

• Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco
• Redwood Creek in Humboldt County
• Napa Valley
• Monterey Bay Sanctuary
• Lake Tahoe
• Yosemite Falls and Half Dome in Yosemite National Park
• PGA West Palmer Course in La Quinta 
• Camarillo
• Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
• USS John C. Stennis, Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier at the Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego
• Malibu Beach
• Downtown Los Angeles
• Disneyland in Anaheim

Click any of the links above to learn more about these great locations and get to work planning your next California road trip!