Soarin’ Around the World at EPCOT (Walt Disney World)


Soarin’ Around the World is one of the most popular rides at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT theme park.  This amazing ride is located in “The Land” Pavilion in Epcot’s Future World which hosts a number of amazing rides, attractions and dining venues which include: The Land (boat ride tour) and the Behind the Seeds Tour, Awesome Planet (film), The Garden Grill restaurant and the Sunshine Seasons Food Court.

Soarin’ Around the World is a motion simulator ride which features a 180-degree, 80-foot IMAX screen where in-theater effects give guests a real life experience of hang gliding across a number of famous places around the world.  These amazing places include:

  • Matterhorn (Switzerland and Italy)
  • Greenland
  • Sydney Harbour (Australia)
  • Neuschwanstein Castle (Germany)
  • Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania)
  • The Great Wall of China
  • The Great Pyramids
  • The Taj Mahal
  • West and East Mitten Buttes (Arizona)
  • Lau Island (Fiji)
  • Iguazu Falls (Argentina)
  • Eiffel Tower
  • Spaceship Earth at Epcot

The Soarin’ ride was updated in 2016 with a new film featuring computer generated imagery of the located indicated above (previous version showed places exclusively in the United States) and a third theater was added to help improve ride capacity / reduce wait times.

Check out our full, on-ride POV video of Soarin’ Around the World which includes a portion of the ride’s pre-show.

Soarin’ Around the World is truly one of those one-of-a-kind ride experiences that just can not be missed when visiting Epcot.  The ride has a 40-inch minimum height limit and since the motion of the ride is quite gentle, it is suitable for pretty much guests at thrill levels. 

FastPass+ is offered and highly recommended as wait times will exceed an hour on just about every day of the year.  If you can’t get a FastPass+, try to visit this experience first thing in the morning.

Where Should We Stay When Visiting the Walt Disney World Resort?

The Walt Disney World Resort has a number of great on-site hotels and each and every one of them have their own benefits, characteristics and price points.

There are multiple “categories” of hotels which are as follows:

  • Deluxe Resort Hotels
  • Deluxe Resort Villas
  • Moderate Resort Hotels
  • Disney’s Campgrounds
  • Value Resort Hotels

Deluxe resort hotels include the Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, Disney’s Boardwalk Inn, Disney’s Yacht Club Resort, Disney’s Beach Club Resort and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge.  These resort hotels are all located adjacent to a Walt Disney World theme park (Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT and Disney’s Animal Kingdom) and offer easy access to that park as well as superior amenities and accommodations. 

In addition Disney’s hotels and resorts, there are a number of other on-site hotels options.  Click here to learn more about hotels at the Walt Disney World Resort.

Jerry Joyce

Jerry Joyce has been a Florida resident since 1988 and has lived in a variety of places in the South Florida area. Jerry is an avid boater & water sports enthusiast, beach aficionado, a lover of great food, muscle car fan and a theme park annual passholder for many years. Some of his favorite places in Florida include the Florida Keys, Walt Disney World, Cedar Key, the Loxahatchee River, St. Augustine and Ten Thousand islands.

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