Disney makes a conscious effort to update older theme park attractions to meet modern standards. These changes can include anything from minor technology upgrades to major overhauls of the entire ride experience.
Both Disneyland Resort in California and Walt Disney World Resort in Florida will debut a new version of the classic Soarin' ride in 2026. Keep reading to learn what to expect from this third version of the classic ride and its different opening dates for each coast. At Mickey Visit, we cover the latest Disney news, like details on Disneyland's new Bluey attraction and new perks for resort guests at Disney World.
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Soarin' Across America Coming to Disneyland and Disney World
Soarin’ has been a fan-favorite ride since it first opened over two decades ago. The simulator attraction imagines riders hang-gliding over scenic destinations by means of a gentle but giant ride mechanism moving in front of a huge screen.
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The original version of the attraction, Soarin' Over California, debuted with the opening day of Disney California Adventure at Disneyland Resort in 2001. This version of the ride was later duplicated at EPCOT in Walt Disney World in 2005.
In 2016, both coasts debuted Soarin’ Around the World, trading the Golden State for a global itinerary. Since then, the California version has occasionally returned, mostly on the west coast such as right now for a limited engagement.
Walt Disney Imagineering is now gearing up to introduce its third Soarin’ film, Soarin’ Across America. This new version of the attraction will take riders for an elevated trip through the United States.
We expect the new film to include such landmarks as the Statue of Liberty and the Grand Canyon, based on the imagery Disney has shared so far about the attraction overlay.
Below you'll find everything we know about Soarin' Across America, how its arrival may impact Disney California Adventure and EPCOT, and how it plays into Disney's larger campaign for the 250th anniversary of the United States.
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Opening Date Timeline for Soarin' Across America
At EPCOT, Soarin' Around the World will continue to operate through May 13, 2026. Starting on May 14, EPCOT's Soarin' will be temporarily closed. On May 26, the ride will reopen as Soarin' Across America.
At Disney California Adventure, Soarin' Over California will continue to operate through July 1, 2026. Unlike EPCOT’s version, though, the west coast's ride won’t have any downtime at all in its transition. The very next day, July 2, Soarin' Across America will open at Disney California Adventure.
We wonder if other small changes or maintenance to EPCOT’s attraction may happen when considering the timeline for this same changeover on the west coast. Since Soarin’ Across America is assumedly the same film debuting at both EPCOT and Disney California Adventure, the 12-day closure for EPCOT’s ride stands out.
In any case, Disney has not shared why the 12-day downtime is needed for EPCOT’s version of Soarin’.
New Overlay is Limited-Time Offering, Not Permanent Replacement
Disney has not specified how long Soarin’ Across America will be operating at EPCOT and Disney California Adventure, but the attraction is a temporary engagement rather than a permanent replacement.
The new Soarin’ Across America is part of Disney Celebrates America, a campaign throughout the entire Walt Disney Company honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary. We'll share more about this celebration at the end of this story.
Ordinarily with attractions that debut as part of multi-month campaigns, such as Disneyland's 70th anniversary, we could simply assume it would run for the duration of that event. In this case, though, Soarin’ Across America is not debuting at the start of the campaign it’s part of.
Disney Celebrates America kicked off on Veterans Day 2025 and continues through Independence Day 2026. With Disney having promoted Soarin’ Across America since fall 2025, the new version of the ride isn’t going to disappear on July 4 when Disney Celebrates America officially concludes.
With such a long runway between the announcement in October 2025 and the opening in May 2026, we’d expect Soarin’ Across America to stick around for at least several months, though Disney has not officially revealed any timeframe.
Disney has also not mentioned what version of the Soarin’ film will be in place at Disney California Adventure and EPCOT once Soarin’ Across America completes its limited-run engagement.
Lightning Lane for Soarin' Across America
EPCOT attractions eligible for Lightning Lane Multi Pass, the park's skip-the-line service, are sorted into two groups by Disney.
Currently, Soarin' Around the World belongs to the group without any restrictions or special parameters. Guests can reserve a Lightning Lane Multi Pass for Soarin' Around the World in combination with any other eligible EPCOT attraction in either of the Lightning Lane Multi Pass tiers.
This stands in contrast to the other EPCOT Lightning Lane Multi Pass tier. In that group, guests can only possess a Lightning Multi Pass for one attraction within the same group at a time.
Disney has not specified which group Soarin' Across America will belong to when it opens at EPCOT. We could see this going either way. While Disney usually maintains the same Lightning Lane Multi Pass groupings when a ride reopens after refurbishment, the newness of Soarin' Across America may qualify it for the other group in Disney’s eyes. The ride could also make the move for any number of operational reasons we may not be privy to without knowing discussions happening by park management behind the scenes.
The attractions currently belonging to the “one at a time” Lightning Lane Multi Pass group at EPCOT are Frozen Ever After, Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, pictured above, and Test Track. If Disney bumps Soarin' Across America into this group, guests would not be able to reserve a Lightning Lane Multi Pass for the ride while simultaneously possessing a Lightning Lane Multi Pass reservation for any of the aforementioned attractions.
Meanwhile at Disney California Adventure, there are no tiers or groups for Lightning Lane Multi Pass. All eligible attractions, including Soarin', are all on an equal playing field, rendering the above conversation moot for this park.
Filming Soarin' Across America
In sharing information about Soarin’ Across America, Disney has emphasized behind-the-scenes photos of the camera crew operating helicopters and drones in real places. We suspect this is an overcorrection to make sure longtime fans know Soarin’ Across America might not rely on much computer-generated imagery, a common criticism of Soarin’ Around the World.
Bernice Howes, Executive Creative Media Producer for Walt Disney Imagineering, oversaw how the scenes would be captured for this new version of the ride. Howes and her team mapped out which locations they were going to shoot before utilizing advanced camera and aerial technology to capture these scenes.
Howes shared a bit more about the process when Soarin' Across America was first announced in fall 2025. She explained, “We sought out satellite maps to display a realistic visual of the locations, and set up aerial paths in order to understand our filming location needs and how one location transitions into the next to tell the story.”
Then, Howes, Scott Sohan, Principal Visual Effects Designer for Walt Disney Imagineering, and their team began a series of camera, lens, helicopter, and heavy-lift drone equipment tests to figure out the specifications they needed for a unified set up they would use to film the new scenes. You can see a helicopter with camera mount used to film scenes for Soarin’ Across America in the photo above.
Disney Celebrates America
Soarin' Across America is one component of Disney Celebrates America, an eight-month campaign across all areas of The Walt Disney Company. Disney Celebrates America kicked off on Veterans Day 2025 and continues through Independence Day 2026.
“When production wrapped almost a decade ago on Soarin’ Around the World, we started thinking about where we might go next with the format,” said Tom Fitzgerald, Portfolio Executive Creative Director and Chief Storytelling Executive, Walt Disney Imagineering, when Soarin' Across America was first announced in fall 2025. “A trip across the United States felt like a natural next flight for Soarin’ to take, and the 250th anniversary of our nation provided the perfect opportunity to ‘book the flight.’”
In addition to Soarin' Across America, Disney Celebrates America also includes:
- continued support by Disney of organizations honoring military families and veterans
- Americana merchandise collection coming to Disneyland and Disney World in May 2026
- a two-hour television special showcasing how American locations and stories inspired Disney theme parks, airing in June 2026 from ABC News Studios
- “Disney Celebrates America,” a 24-hour broadcast across Disney’s linear networks and streaming platforms, including Disney+, Hulu, ABC, Disney Channel, ESPN, Freeform, FX, and National Geographic, on July 4 Weekend
- “Disney’s Celebrate America! — A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky” fireworks presented at Disneyland Park and Magic Kingdom nightly July 3–5, 2026
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