I recently went back to Disneyland again for my niece’s fifth birthday, and I realized that I have strong feelings about the “Soaring Over California” ride in California Adventures.
It is probably not the worst ride in the park, but it feels like the worst ride because everyone keeps talking it up. Friends and family always say “People told me to be sure to ride Soaring over California.” It’s like when people hype some movie as being the greatest ever and then it turns out to star Ben Stiller. I would probably rather do Soaring Over California than, say, Tarzan’s Treehouse or something, but I still feel adversarial to the whole concept.
Basically, you sit in a chair in front of a large projected movie screen and “fly” over various California landscapes:
Oooh! Hot air balloons! Look out, you might hit one!
And then they spray you with various scents--for example, you’re flying over a bunch of orange trees and then you smell oranges. Wow, it’s like you’re really there. With a bunch of orange trees. That’s...mind blowing.
Here’s my issue: the concept of the ride is fine. But why waste it on California landscapes? The ride is already in California. If you want to see a bunch of hot air balloons, go ride a hot air balloon. You want to fly over vineyards? They have so many vineyards in California that I’m starting to think that they reproduce naturally, like fungus. Are there really winemakers overseeing all those damn things?
Instead of boring California scenery, they are tons of cool things that you could be flying over. All it takes is a little imagination. Here are my suggestions for revamping the ride:
I’d like to officially protest the fact that my opinion was not solicited when the ride was created. However, at the present time, I am willing to accept a formal apology from Disneyland.
Please accept my apology.
That is just too funny! I’m on the east coast & have been to Disney World in Florida - my Mom & I got stuck in the It’s a Small World ride - I had a few choice things to say about THAT when it was all over!
Haa-HAAAA!!!
Disney should also apologize for the color pink and princesses.
you’ve gotten to the core problem with California Adventure as a park: if people are already IN California, why shouldn’t they just go to the places that you’re faking? The “pier” and rollercoaster area is supposed to be like Santa Monica - which is only about 45 mins north. The wineries and such are an hour away in Temecula, complete with ballooning. The ocean is about 10 miles west. Hollywood is also just a hop, skip, and a jump (about 40 miles) north. It’s a shrine to lazy tourists. You can save yourself a drive of 1 hour in any direction in exchange for a $72 ticket to a theme park. Dumb dumb dumb.
That being said, I do like Soarin’ Over California in principle and I’ll go on it sometimes just to see/hear Patrick Warburton. [disclaimer: I live 10 mins from the park and have an annual pass, so I go there when there are no lines, ride one thing, eat a churro, and go home]