Disney's Soarin' rides will reopen in June

That day can't come soon enough. My kid finally decided that he "loves" Soarin', the week before it closed.

I do wonder what they'll do for the soundtrack. The original was by Jerry Goldsmith, who is unfortunately not alive. It was really fantastic.

The original soundtrack is so amazing, they made it one of the entrance themes for Epcot. I really hope it sticks around as that at least, because it's pretty much wonder and amazement distilled into aural form.

I really didn't realize how important the soundtrack is to Soarin' until I saw some of the footage from the new attraction. They used some rather dull stock music as filler, and the entire thing fell flat. It somehow made the Great Wall of China seem unimpressive.

Two questions:

1) At Disney World, aren't they opening a third theater for Soarin'?

B) Is Patrick Warburton still the captain?

Yes, the third theater has been under construction for well over a year. A question about Warburton came up on the official blog, to which they responded that we'll have to wait and see. That guy is a national f'ing treasure.

DEVILS!!! DEVILS!!!!! :)

Jeff said:

A question about Warburton came up on the official blog, to which they responded that we'll have to wait and see. That guy is a national f'ing treasure.

He was awesome as The Tick, and really enjoy his work on Rules of Engagement...

But the NewsRadio gig as Johnny Johnson....sublime!

To me, I think of him more as Brock Sampson than anything else. Go Team Venture!

Jeff said:

I do wonder what they'll do for the soundtrack. The original was by Jerry Goldsmith, who is unfortunately not alive. It was really fantastic.

There is talk that Bruce Broughton (composer for the most recent update of Spaceship Earth, Ellen's Energy Adventure, O Canada, and other Disney theme park attractions as well as feature films) will do a new score incorporating Goldsmith's original themes. Broughton is a natural choice since he seems to "get" Disney theme park music. I look forward to hearing what he comes up with, assuming he is indeed the one doing the new score.

Spaceship Earth has music? You mean the stuff they play in the background of the "your future" part of the ride?

Agree with all of the upthread comments. The ride in its original form is almost perfect. I'm honestly not looking forward to the new version simply because I doubt it can live up to the original. The score is perfect. I hope they can do an equally good job with the new one.

I know nothing lasts forever but that truly is as close to a perfect attraction as there is.

Jeff said:

Spaceship Earth has music?

OK, yeah, I guess I knew that, it's just that if you're moving, you only hear little bits of it. I had no idea there was that much material, especially for the part through the cathedral. One of the few places that I haven't been stuck for special needs loading!

Jeff said:

To me, I think of him more as Brock Sampson than anything else. Go Team Venture!

Forgetting ^that in my house... *might* lead to divorce proceedings.

I'm a big fan of the Spaceship Earth score. Recent years have brought so many IP-based attractions to the theme parks (which are great on their own) that it was nice to see that WDI can still produce a "classic" Epcot musical score when called upon to do so. I am hopeful the new Soarin' music, especially if the Goldsmith themes are used along with new arrangements, has the potential to be a new classic so to speak.

The original one in California was almost perfect. I sort of wish California Adventure would have kept the original film since it fits the park so well. The Florida one on the other hand always felt a bit out of place to me. I know they downplayed the "Over California" aspect there, but it still always seemed weird to just have images of one state. The ending where you fly over Disneyland especially made no sense at Epcot.

Just for argument's sake, I don't think most people know/knew that all that footage came from California. I sure didn't the first time we rode it. It just seemed like cool footage of different landscapes that could've been from anywhere, aside from the Golden Gate Bridge.

I suppose if you're from California and really, really know the landscape or if you're a Disney nerd that meant something, but that never even crossed my mind. Until now. :)

We sure missed Soarin' in March!

I also doubt the average guest knows it isn't Magic Kingdom in the last shot. At least, I sat next to a girl who said, "We were just there yesterday!" So, one guest confirmed, millions to go.

Well, there are all the California city names during the waiting video in the holding area before Patrick comes on. Of course, way too many people asked me "What ocean is that, Atlantic or Pacific?" as a serious question at Cedar Point the two years I was there, so...they probably think there's a Los Angeles, Florida and are wondering where they can find those mountains and cliffs nearby to go skiing.

Wait.... that's not an ocean? But I can't see the other side.