Rumor has it that another classic Walt Disney World Resort ride is getting a makeover soon.
Over the past decade, we’ve seen multiple Disney rides undergo massive revamps. Maelstrom was rethemed as Frozen Ever After, Splash Mountain will debut as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom Park this summer, and soon Test Track will also close for a total renovation.
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There are allegedly plans to give one more Disney World ride some TLC this year: Soarin’ Around the World.
According to Orlando Theme Park News, insiders came that EPCOT’s Soarin’ – which involves guests ‘flying’ over various iconic landmarks across the globe, such as Neuschwanstein Castle, Monument Valley, and the Great Wall of China – will be updated with brand-new footage eight years after the current version of the ride debuted at the park.
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Sadly, this doesn’t mean we should expect to see a non-skewed Eiffel Tower or sharper graphics any time soon. If the rumors are correct, the only footage that will be reshot and replaced is the final scene of the ride in which passengers fly over EPCOT itself.
This seems about right, considering the number of updates made to EPCOT in recent years. At present, the final scene of Soarin’ Around the World lacks the entirety of World Celebration Gardens. Instead, it swoops over a shot of the monorail passing in front of Spaceship Earth at nighttime and still features the Fountain of Nations and Innoventions (both of which were closed and demolished in 2019).
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If the rumors are true, filming dates for this new footage are fixed for some time in May. This will assumedly be carried out after the Disney World park closes to guests for the day, and depend on construction.
Currently, sections of World Celebration are still surrounded by walls as crews hurry to complete work on CommuniCore Hall and the CommuniCore Plaza stage ahead of their official opening on June 10. Upon opening, the stage will welcome its first limited-time sing-along show. The Encanto (2021)-inspired “¡Celebración Encanto!” will be performed multiple times a day and feature iconic characters such as Mirabel and Bruno.
Last month, EPCOT restored its version of Soarin’ to Soarin’ Around the World (which first debuted in 2016) after several months of running Soarin’ Over California, a version preferred by a vast portion of the Disney parkgoer community. Various versions of the attraction can also be found at Disney California Adventure, Tokyo DisneySea, and Shanghai Disneyland.
What updates would you like to see Disney make to Soarin’ at EPCOT? Let us know in the comments!
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