Soarin’ at EPCOT is now Soarin’ Across America. The former Soarin’ Around the World film is not currently playing at Walt Disney World. Disney replaced it with a new flight across the United States on May 26, 2026.
The basic ride experience is still unmistakably Soarin’. You sit in rows of suspended seats, rise in front of a huge curved projection screen, and feel like you’re gliding through the air while wind, motion, music and scents help sell the illusion.
I’ve ridden Soarin’ many times over the years, and I still think it’s one of EPCOT’s easiest major rides to recommend to someone who wants something more exciting than a slow boat ride without jumping straight to a coaster like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.
Soarin’ Around the World Is Not Playing at EPCOT Right Now
This is the first thing I would know before visiting because a lot of older EPCOT guides, videos and even search results still refer to the attraction as Soarin’ Around the World.
The current EPCOT experience is Soarin’ Across America.
Disney introduced the new film as part of the celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary. The flight includes more than a dozen locations around the country, with landscapes and city scenes ranging from New England and New York Harbor to Grand Canyon West, the heartland, bayous, western plains, northern wilderness and island shores.
The music changed too. Composer Bruce Broughton created a new arrangement built around the familiar Soarin’ musical themes.
Disney currently describes Across America as a limited-time experience, but it has not announced a date for Soarin’ Around the World to return. I would plan a current EPCOT visit expecting Across America unless Disney announces another change.
Where Is Soarin’ in EPCOT?
Soarin’ is in World Nature inside The Land pavilion at EPCOT.
Once I’m inside The Land, I head downstairs. Soarin’ and Living with the Land are both in the same pavilion, which makes them easy to pair without walking across EPCOT.
This is also one reason I try not to bounce unnecessarily between Soarin’, World Showcase and attractions on the opposite side of the park. EPCOT involves enough walking without creating extra laps for myself.
How Long Is the Soarin’ Ride?
The actual Soarin’ flight lasts roughly five minutes. I allow considerably more time than that for the full attraction because you still have the queue, preshow, grouping, boarding and unloading.
That’s one reason a posted 30-minute wait doesn’t mean I’m walking out 35 minutes after I enter the queue. The five-minute film is only one part of the time I spend inside the attraction.
Once seated, everyone is buckled in before the rows rise toward the projection dome. Disney uses an 80-foot, 180-degree digital projection dome along with wind, scents and gentle ride movement to create the sensation of flight.
Is Soarin’ at EPCOT Scary?
I don’t consider Soarin’ a particularly scary ride, but fear of heights can change the experience dramatically.
It isn’t a roller coaster, and it doesn’t race around a track. Your row of seats rises in front of the screen and moves gently while the film creates most of the sensation of speed and flight.
Disney currently requires riders to be at least 40 inches, or 102 cm, tall.
Disney also categorizes Soarin’ among attractions with small drops, but this doesn’t feel like riding a traditional drop attraction to me. The bigger issue for a nervous rider is usually the feeling of being suspended high above the ground.
If someone is comfortable with heights but doesn’t like intense coasters, I think Soarin’ can be a very good middle ground.
Motion Sickness Is a Different Question
Soarin’ can bother people who are sensitive to motion simulators even though the physical movement is fairly gentle.
The large screen fills so much of your vision that your brain can interpret the aerial footage as much more movement than the seat itself is actually making.
I wouldn’t compare it with the spinning sensation on Mission: SPACE. Soarin’ is much gentler. But someone who becomes nauseated from large-screen simulators should still take the possibility seriously.
If I start to feel uncomfortable on this type of attraction, looking away from the screen or closing my eyes usually breaks much of the illusion because so much of the perceived motion comes from the image.
Where I Like to Sit on Soarin’
Seating matters more on Soarin’ than it does on many Disney rides.
I prefer the center section and the highest row.
Being near the center gives me a straighter view of the curved screen. Sitting in the highest row also means I don’t have another row of dangling feet above me once the ride vehicles are lifted into position.
The difference isn’t large enough that I would skip the ride if I were assigned somewhere else. I’ve ridden from different positions and still enjoyed it.
But if the attraction isn’t extremely busy and getting the best view matters to me, I’ll politely ask the Cast Member assigning rows whether I can wait for a center section in the top row. I go into that expecting that I may have to wait for another cycle.
Seats near the far sides of the theater can also make straight objects on the giant curved screen look slightly distorted. I notice it more on buildings and other vertical structures than on landscapes.
Soarin’ Uses Lightning Lane Multi Pass, Not Genie+
Another part of older Soarin’ guides that needs updating is Genie+.
Genie+ is no longer the current system at Walt Disney World. Soarin’ Across America is included with Lightning Lane Multi Pass.
At EPCOT, Disney currently places Soarin’ in the group that also includes attractions such as Living with the Land, Mission: SPACE, Spaceship Earth and The Seas with Nemo & Friends.
Frozen Ever After, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and Test Track are currently in the more restrictive group where you can initially choose only one.
That actually makes Soarin’ a useful Multi Pass selection for me because I don’t have to give up my initial Remy’s, Frozen or Test Track choice just to reserve it.
I explain the rest of that system in my EPCOT Lightning Lane strategy.
I Wouldn’t Automatically Rope Drop Soarin’ Anymore
Soarin’ is popular, but it isn’t usually the EPCOT attraction I would sacrifice everything else to reach first.
If I have Early Theme Park Entry and my priorities include Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Test Track or another major headliner, I would usually think about those before Soarin’.
Soarin’ has substantial capacity, and I have more flexibility to return to The Land later in the day or use Lightning Lane Multi Pass.
If Soarin’ is someone’s favorite attraction, there’s nothing wrong with going there immediately. I just wouldn’t treat that as the default EPCOT strategy for every visitor.
The Across America Film Makes It Worth Revisiting
If you skipped Soarin’ recently because you’ve already ridden Around the World several times, I think the 2026 change gives you a good reason to go back.
The ride system hasn’t been reinvented, which is important to understand. You’re still sitting in the familiar suspended Soarin’ seats in front of the enormous projection dome.
What’s new is the journey itself: different locations, new aerial footage, a new musical arrangement and a queue experience built around the United States.
For me, that’s enough of a change to move Soarin’ back up the EPCOT list, particularly because the attraction remains a gentler alternative to the park’s bigger thrill rides.
If you’re comparing it with everything else in the park, my complete EPCOT ride list shows the current lineup.
What Happened to Soarin’ Around the World?
Soarin’ Around the World hasn’t simply been renamed.
It’s a different ride film. Around the World took riders past international landmarks and landscapes including places such as the Swiss Alps, Greenland, Sydney Harbour and Mount Kilimanjaro.
Disney’s current EPCOT page marks that version as unavailable and tells Guests to experience Soarin’ Across America instead.
Disney describes Across America as limited-time, so Around the World could potentially return in the future, but Disney has not announced when or whether that will happen.
For a trip I’m planning now, I would consider Soarin’ Across America the current Soarin’ ride at EPCOT and check Disney’s official attraction page before visiting in case the film changes again.
